Iván Duque extends the health emergency until February 2021

Iván Duque Márquez confirmed, on the afternoon of this November 25, that the health emergency decreed by the coronavirus pandemic in the country, will go until February 28, 2021. With which it seeks to guarantee an effective control of the measures that are being carried out to mitigate the health crisis in the Colombian territory.

“Based on the global reading of the alert situation, by virtue of the analyzes and by virtue of continuing on alert and transmitting information, We have made a rigorous evaluation and I have given the instruction that the health emergency extends until February 28, 2021“, assured the president.

In turn, he added that the extension was also due to the preparation of the vaccination schemes that the Government has been advancing and that is expected to be implemented in the next year.

“We are about to meet three months with good collective behavior that we hope will be extended in December”, assured the president during the Prevention and Action program.

The president also referred to other dynamics that are developing in the territory:

“We are developing the Prass strategy in the territory to do tests, tracing and selective isolation, but we must understand that our challenge is to protect ourselves to do it with others. We have to prevent outbreaks from happening ”.

The Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, announced that after the 20 million doses that Colombia has already assured, this immunization will only serve 10 million Colombians.

Ruiz spoke with the Blu Radio station on Wednesday morning and said that The main objective of the National Government is to vaccinate citizens with comorbidities as seniors.

“Most of the vaccines are two doses, that means 10 million people. Our objective in the first phase is to vaccinate health personnel, those over 60 years of age and people with comorbidities. These groups add up to 15 million ”, explained Ruiz.

The main criticisms of the Government in matters of public health and immunization at this time are related to the fact that Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Argentina announced in early January 2021 that they will begin vaccination days for their citizens. Did Colombia ‘catch the night’? “The night has not caught us. Colombia has a series of film vaccinating people and we do not vaccinate until there is security, ”said Minister Ruiz.

Fernando Ruiz also clarified that, at this time, he cannot give exact dates of when immunization will begin in Colombia due to a confidentiality agreement. However, he told the microphones of Blu Radio that “they will give him a few days” because “news is coming on this issue and until there is a signed agreement we will not reveal it.”

He concluded this section by announcing that the country already has agreements with large pharmaceutical companies such as Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Janssen, Cansino and Sinopharm.

Although he did not reveal the exact day and month in which Colombians will be able to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus, Ruiz said that he and his team hope that in the first half of 2021 the first vaccines will arrive in the country and prioritize the populations before mentioned.

“Through the COVAX mechanism we plan to have vaccination in the second half of 2021, but due to bilateral purchases we are expecting to have vaccines for the first half“Ruiz concluded.

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