[ad_1]
BOGOTÁ – The Colombian government decided to increase its military presence in the border areas with Brazil and Peru, given a significant increase in cases of the disease in the region. According to local authorities, the Colombian department of Amazonas registers the highest number of infections per capita in the country, 94 cases for each group of 10,000 inhabitants. In Letícia, the regional capital, many of those infected came from Brazil, through the Tabatinga border crossing, a city that has 329 cases according to the Amazon Health Surveillance Foundation.
“We have made the decision to militarize all border points and exercise control to prevent cases from reaching the floating population,” Colombian President Iván Duque said on a government television program on Tuesday. To date, Colombia has recorded 12,300 cases and around 500 deaths, and has taken strict measures to isolate and restrict activities.
Threat: The coronavirus pandemic invades the Colombian Amazon through the border with Brazil
In addition to the risk of imported cases, Leticia’s health authorities denounce the lack of resources in the only hospital in the city, which does not have an intensive care unit. For this reason, they advocate that hotels be used to increase the number of beds available. Social isolation measures and movement restrictions will be expanded.
Cases between detainees
Another concern is the spread of the disease among the city’s prisoners: according to the director of the only Letícia penitentiary, of the 181 inmates, 89 were diagnosed with Covid-19. Repeating a tragic and common scenario in Latin America, the place operates beyond its capacity and is far from having adequate sanitary conditions.
Brazil’s risk:Lack of coronavirus makes neighboring countries see Brazil as a threat
The unit’s director, however, revealed that they do not know who is infected and fears that the situation will spiral out of control soon. He also said he does not know how the coronavirus got there.
Colombia decreed an emergency throughout the prison system in late March, after a rebellion left 23 detainees dead and nearly 100 wounded at the La Modelo prison in Bogotá. In addition to the suspension of visits, the authorities allowed 4,000 detainees convicted of crimes considered less serious, in addition to those over 60 and people with chronic diseases, to carry out house arrests.
Even so, several prisons have become the focus of the disease in Colombia. In Villavicencio, 859 are infected among the 1,835 inmates.
