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This morning, the mayor in charge of Bogotá provided details of the measures that will be implemented in the course of January to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Will Corferias be re-enabled for hospital purposes?
In just one day, the occupation of beds FIA in the capital it grew by almost two percentage points, rising to 79.6%. The situation is alarming to say the least, since if it reaches 85% there would be an urgent meeting with the Bogotá epidemiological team to take additional measures to slow down the spread of the virus.
This panorama has made many wonder if other localities (in addition to Go up, Lure and Usaquen who began two weeks of confinement) will enter into strict quarantine, such as Kennedy, which is the second with the highest number of infections (below Suba) with 60,403 infections, which represents 13.51% of the total of the capital. The response of the mayor in charge, Luis Ernesto Gómez, is, for now, no.
Also read: Colleges of Suba, Usaquén and Engativá will not have face-to-face classes in quarantine
As explained by Gómez, who has served as Secretary of the Government during the administration of Claudia Lopez, the evaluations made with epidemiological experts allow anticipating that the implementation of this measure is sufficient to cope with the situation that the city is experiencing, in addition to the peak and ID (which lasted throughout the month of January), peak and plate, and restriction to consumption and sale of liquor that will govern during this bridge of kings.
It must be remembered that a balance is sought in this, because although decreeing a strict quarantine throughout the city would significantly reduce the number of infections, this would also affect the economy, especially in people with lower incomes, since, as seen in By 2020, it was the micro and small companies that went bankrupt the most due to the prolonged closures (Fenalco estimated that more than 30% of the businesses in the capital closed permanently).
It may interest you: Fenalco describes the new quarantine by localities in Bogotá as “fatal”
Thus, the message given by the secretary is that the possibility of more drastic measures having to be taken depends on the citizens of Bogotá and the correct implementation of self-care and respect for the measures that seek to mitigate the spread. “The general rule is to stay at home,” he said, referring to those who reside in one of the towns that started the quarantine, adding that this January 5 the warning will be pedagogical, but that then citizens who fail to comply could receive a fine of $ 932,000.
Another question that many ask is whether Corferias It will once again be equipped to meet the health needs that the city demands today. Again, the answer is no, because it must be remembered that, at the time, this place was enabled to provide intermediate hospital services, and some partial emergency services. These services, as explained by the mayor in charge, do not represent a bottleneck for the city at this time. Where there is a high demand is in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) so there are differences between both things.
The strategies of the last days have been aimed at centralizing the supplies of medicines for ICUs (in this way it is easier to enable more if required), speed up the linking and re-linking of health professionals and advance mechanisms for reconversion of hospital beds to ICU beds (such as pediatric beds that can be equipped with technologies and personnel to care for adults).
To meet the needs of people living in poverty and vulnerability who reside in these localities, Gómez explained that they will continue to receive the aid provided by the Bogotá Solidaria program at home, but additionally they will be given a bonus of $ 120,000 (to the poor) and $ 80,000 (to the vulnerable). Market deliveries will also be made in sectors with the greatest needs.
With this bet, the idea is that people remain in their homes and do not have to go out into the streets to find their livelihood. The effectiveness of this will depend, yes or yes, on the diligence and fulfillment of the commitments that Gómez announces today.
