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In Caldas, there are 12 municipalities that register cases both active and recovered from covid-19. So then, there are 15 who could, at the moment, start their economic reactivation.
One of the ‘hot’ areas of the pandemic is eastern Caldas, where La Dorada is, the municipality with the most infections (53 out of 100 in total). In this subregion there are four neighboring municipalities that have or have had people with the new coronavirus, but in addition to the unfortunate data, the type of economy and the climate, they share a common neighbor, the municipality of Victoria, which is in the middle of all of them.
Victoria is a small population, it does not have more than 11,000 inhabitants, however, due to its location it shares economies with La Dorada, Marquetalia and Norcasia (Caldas) and Mariquita and Honda (Tolima).
Its mayor, Elkin Echeverry, considers openness, but not total, because a large part of those who have premises or businesses in the municipality source or carry out their activity in their neighboring municipalities, especially in La Dorada.
(Follow the news about the coronavirus in Colombia minute by minute)
“Victorians travel a lot to La Dorada to buy and sell livestock, to conduct business, sell assets and even go to specialized medicine. Allowing these sectors to revive would imply that people and products constantly come and go from there, where the situation is very complicated, “said the president.
In Victoria there is already peak and gender, curfew from 4:00 p. m., It has six checkpoints, two of them operate 24 hours a day to prevent someone from entering the municipality without authorization, but it would lack an aspect that no Mayor can control. The presidential decree would indicate that, in addition to having no cases of covid-19, the municipalities must be at least 70 kilometers from another that does have positive cases.
None is more than 70 kilometers
“We are very much waiting for the decree to arrive, because If so, we could not do anything, because the furthest municipality is 50 kilometers away.. We are 45 minutes from all those who have covid-19, the furthest is Samaná, which is 30 hours away, ”said the Mayor.
Among the Victorians there is also doubt about the opening, because although there are no cases, they see the risk latent. “In general, there is fear because, for example, products such as dairy products, soft drinks and other supplies arrive from La Dorada, nobody knows which person can catch it in that coming and going; That without counting on the drivers and ambulance personnel. People who are are grateful to God because there is no contagion, because they have a lot from where the virus has come ”, said Eduard Guerrero, a merchant from Victoria.
(Also: Know where and how you can get tested for the covid-19 in your city)
According to Guerrero, the common denominator prefers to keep everything calm. “Many merchants are about to file for bankruptcy, but they still don’t pressure the Mayor to open, because they know that’s worse. For example, the first infected person in Marquetalia, who came from another place, necessarily had to go through here, “he added.
There are those who see it with good eyes, but believe that they need more time, since it is not certain that the communities know and follow the protocols. “Now we are not ready, the Administration must visit and realize that people do have self-care protocols, they must train and socialize with people that, otherwise, could be counterproductive for everyone ”said Sandra Milena Olaya, social leader of the municipality and coordinator of the youth network for eastern Caldas.
Olaya pointed out that many young people in the municipality live off those who worked in agricultural production on family farms, so the opening of inter-provincial roads is already a relief.
“It would be a first step that they can move the products to the header, because they have had to give away because there is no one to sell to, but they are very attentive to see how it can be done, because they are aware of the risk, “said the young woman.
(Also read: How to avoid contagion when using public transport)
It will be until this Monday, when the new decree reaches each Mayor, that decisions can be taken to reactivate some economic lines, although they are not yet the strongest in the area, which are nature tourism and agriculture.
LAURA USMA CARDONA
For THE TIME – MANIZALES
