Colombia: Medellin authorities impose curfew amid spike in COVID-19 cases on October 28 /update 31

Event

The Colombian Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday, October 28, that Medellin (Antioquia department) will be under a nighttime curfew over the Halloween weekend from Friday-Monday, October 30-November 2 to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) following a recent second wave. From Friday, a nightly curfew will be in force between 22:00-06:00 throughout the weekend across Medellin and its nine municipalities. Furthermore, throughout the weekend, there will be a ban on the sale of alcohol and mass groupings will be strictly prohibited and enforced by fines and possible arrest. 

In Manizales (Caldas department), the municipal administration has also announced curfew restrictions for both adults and minors during the Halloween weekend. A nightly curfew will be in effect for minors between 20:00 and 05:00 (local time). Adults will have a nightly curfew between 00:01 and 05:00 which will be in effect from Friday, until Sunday, November 1. 

The Colombian national air carrier, Avianca, resumed international operations in a phased approach on September 28, amid easing of certain COVID-19 travel restrictions. The move follows the resumption of Avianca's domestic operations that went into effect on September 1. The resumption of international flights began with two routes from Medellin's Jose Maria Cordova International Airport (MDE) to Miami and New York on September 28. On Thursday, October 1, Avianca will resume flights from Bogota's El Dorado International Airport (BOG) to Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, and the US. From October 15, Avianca has extended its international routes with flights to Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.

As of October 29, there have been 1,041,936 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colombia with 30,753 associated fatalities. Further international spread of the virus is to be expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay. To reduce the risk of transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures:

• Frequently clean hands by applying an alcohol-based hand rub or washing with soap and water.
• When coughing and sneezing, cover mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue; if used, throw the tissue away immediately and wash hands.
• If experiencing a fever, cough, difficulty breathing, or any other symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness, including pneumonia, call emergency services before going to the doctor or hospital to prevent the potential spread of the disease.