Colombia toughens its lockdown as virus spreads and anger grows
DOCTORS in Bogotá have warned of catastrophe as Colombia looks set to become the latest Latin American country to lose control of the coronavirus pandemic – despite a set of innovative new lockdown measures.
A spike in cases has forced many towns and cities that had been reopening – including Bogotá and Medellín – to issue new lockdown orders.
In an effort to curb the spread of the virus in the capital, local authorities declared strict, rolling two-week quarantines that rotate randomly around the city’s neighbourhoods. Residents under lockdown can only leave home to visit the pharmacy or a local shop.
The measures are the latest in what doctors have called a trial and error approach from the city’s authorities, creating uncertainty and instability. First, men and women faced alternate days of quarantine and then restrictions were imposed according to an individual’s national identification number.
The new measures come as the virus is surging. Colombia had almost 9,000 cases on Friday and 259 deaths as cases climbed. Bogotá accounts for more than a third of the country’s total cases and more than 20 per cent of fatalities.
Bogotá’s intensive care units (ICU) reached 90 per cent occupancy on Fri
‘The authorities are improvising. We need a coherent health strategy. Politicians need to listen’
‘We simply don’t have the ICU capacity to cope with the current demand’
day, but unions say that last week there were no ICU beds for 146 patients.
“The authorities are improvising,” Dr Sergio Isaza, the president of the Colombian Medical Federation, said. “We need a coherent public health strategy. The politicians need to listen to us.”
Several medical organisations have written an open letter to the authorities asking them to impose a strict lockdown in Bogotá or face catastrophe. “We simply don’t have the ICU capacity to meet the current demand,” said Dr Herman Bayona, president of the
Bogotá College of Medicine. “On top of that, emergency departments are dealing with double the amount of patients they are supposed to handle.”
Colombian President Iván Duque declared an ongoing quarantine in late March. It has become one of the longest lockdowns in the world, but not one of the strictest as shopping centres, hairdressers and other sectors have reopened. The president has said the country cannot afford to stay locked up. But he has clashed with Bogotá’s mayor, leading to the city taking half measures with its unusual rotating lockdown system.
Like many neighbouring countries, Colombia has struggled with its lockdown due to a largely casual workforce desperate to earn money. In some communities families have turned to looting. Attempts to steal gasoline from a tanker in the coastal town of Tasajera ended in a tragic explosion this month.
The driver had reportedly swerved to miss a crocodile. People swarmed to pilfer the petrol from the overturned truck, but a spark set off a huge fireball.