COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia

On 6 March, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection confirmed Colombia's first case of coronavirus, a 19-year-old female patient who recently travelled to Milan, Italy.[9][10]

On 9 March, two more cases were confirmed.[11]

On 11 March, six more cases were confirmed, three in Medellín,[12] two in Bogotá and one in Cartagena. Later on the same day, three more cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 9.[13]

On 12 March, four more cases were confirmed, two in Bogotá and two in Neiva.[14] Authorities declared a health emergency, suspending all public events involving more than 500 people, as well as implementing measures intended to keep cruise ships from docking in any national port.[15]

On 13 March, three new cases were reported, one in Bogotá, one in Palmira and the other in Villavicencio.[16] President Iván Duque announced that as of 16 March, entry to Colombia will be restricted for visitors who have been in Europe or Asia within the past 14 days. Colombian citizens and residents who have been in Europe or Asia can be admitted into the country, but must undergo a 14-day self-quarantine as a precaution.[13]

Additionally, Duque announced Colombia would shut down all of its border crossings with Venezuela, effective as of 14 March.[17] Associated Press reported that experts are worried that the Venezuelan refugee crisis could boost the spread of the virus.[18]

On the night of 15 March, the Health Ministry announced 11 new cases, bringing the total up to 45. Of those 11, 6 were in Bogotá, 4 in Neiva and 1 in the town of Facatativá. Additionally, President Iván Duque, along with the Ministries of Health and Education, announced suspension of classes for all public and private schools and universities in the country.[19]

On the morning of 16 March, nine new cases were reported in Bogotá.[20] Later that same day, three additional cases were also reported in Bogotá,[21] bringing the total to 57. President Iván Duque declared all land and sea borders[22] be closed in conjunction with the governments of Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Córdoba, Meta and Santander Departments issued curfews to avoid the spread of the virus.[23][24][25]

Disinfection against coronavirus

On the morning of 17 March, Colombia's Health Ministry confirmed 8 more cases.[26] Later the same day, they confirmed another 10 cases, bringing the total to 75.[27] Cartagena's mayor extended the curfew, which previously applied only to the tourist city center from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 am, to the whole city from 6:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. during weekdays, and for 24 hours during weekends.[28] Bogotá mayor Claudia López, announced a mandatory isolation drill for the extended weekend, from 20 to 23 March.[29] The Bogotá drill allowed exceptions for the elderly and disabled and delivery personnel to move around. Pet owners were authorized to take animals outside for 20 minutes and one person per family could leave to purchase supplies.[30]

On 17 March, at 9:00 pm local time (UTC–5), President Iván Duque spoke to the Colombians and declared the state of emergency, announcing that he would take economic measures that were announced the following day. The first measure taken seeking the protection of the elderly is to decree mandatory isolation from 7:00 am on 20 March to 31 May for all adults over 70 years of age. They must remain in their residences except to stock up on food or access health or financial services. Government entities were instructed to make it easier for them to receive their pensions, medicines, healthcare or food at home.[31]

On the evening of 20 March, President Iván Duque announced a 19-day nationwide quarantine, starting on 24 March at midnight and ending on 12 April at midnight.[32]

On 21 March, the Ministry of Health confirmed the first death from coronavirus in Colombia, a 58-year-old man who worked as a taxi driver in Cartagena who died on 16 March and reportedly carried Italian tourists on his taxi on 4 March. According to authorities, the person started presenting symptoms two days later. Initially, COVID-19 had been dismissed as the cause of his death as he had tested negative for coronavirus, however, his sister had tested positive for the disease. After the patient's decease, the National Health Institute (INS) analyzed two tests from him, both of which were negative with one of those being taken improperly, but decided to keep the investigation open owing to his sister's condition. Eventually, the INS concluded that the taxi driver was her only possible source of contagion, therefore attributing his death to the new virus in spite of the laboratory evidence stating otherwise.[33]

On 22 March, the Ministry of Health confirmed the second death linked to the virus, a 70-year-old woman from Yumbo whose daughter had returned from Cuba on 2 March and reported to have had contact with two people from the United States, one of which had tested positive for coronavirus. In addition to this, 21 new cases were reported, bringing the total up to 231.[34]

On 26 March, only 21 new positive cases were confirmed, which represented a decrease from previous days when over 90 positive cases were reported. According to the INS, this decrease was due to damage to the machine that prepared the samples for processing and subsequent diagnosis of COVID-19, which affected the speed at which results were being produced.[35]

On 6 April, President Iván Duque announced in his daily broadcast an extension of the nationwide lockdown until 27 April to curtail further transmission of the coronavirus. During said broadcast Health Minister Fernando Ruíz revealed that infection numbers were lower than initially expected. While the country was expected to have over 5,700 cases by 4 April according to initial estimates, the actual number by that day was just over 1,400. At the same time it was announced that businesses affected by the lockdown would benefit from up to COP 12 trillion (US$2.9 billion) in credits.[36]

On 9 April, Bogotá mayor Claudia López announced gender-based quarantine measures, known as Pico y género, to reduce circulation of the population. Under this rule, women can go out for essential tasks, like grocery shopping, on even-numbered days, while men can go out on odd-numbered days.[37] The rule explicitly allows for self-designation of gender identity where it mentions the existence of transgender people; nonetheless, the rule has had a harmful impact on the transgender community.[38] Informal workers who rely on daily labor for wages have also been harmed by the quarantine.[39] In other departments and municipalities, transit-restriction measures such as Pico y cédula, which allow people to go out for essential tasks on specific days of the week according to the last digit of their ID (cédula) were implemented.[40]

On 10 April, INPEC reported the first death of a prisoner by COVID-19: a 63-year-old man who had been held in the Villavicencio prison until 1 April and died six days later at the city's local hospital. The following day, a 78-year-old inmate at the same prison died as well and another one was confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus, who would die on 17 April. That same day, 13 inmates and seven guards were reported to be active COVID-19 cases. By 23 April, the outbreak at Villavicencio prison was reported to have extended to 109 cases.[41]

On 20 April, President Iván Duque announced a further extension of the nationwide lockdown until 11 May, but allowed the construction and manufacturing sectors to reopen starting from 27 April, under specific protocols. International and domestic commercial flights would remain suspended until the end of May, as would inter-municipal transport. On the other hand, public transport within cities was required to operate at a maximum of 35% capacity. Individual exercise was also allowed.[42]

On 5 May, President Iván Duque announced a further extension of the nationwide lockdown for two weeks, until 25 May at midnight. He also announced that more economic sectors would be allowed to re-open under strict protocols starting from 11 May: automobile, furniture, and clothing manufacturing industries, wholesale trade and certain retailers such as laundries, bookstores and stationeries. Children aged 6–17 would be allowed to go outside three times a week for 30 minutes, with those aged 14 and under required to be accompanied by an adult who does not belong to a high-risk group (people over 70 years old or with underlying medical conditions). In addition to that, municipalities without confirmed COVID-19 cases would also be able to start re-opening their economic sectors, in coordination with mayors, governors and the national government. Bars, dine-in restaurants, gyms, and clubs would remain closed, and massive events would remain forbidden.[43]

On 8 May, Bogotá mayor Claudia López announced new measures regarding the planned reactivation of the economy. All permitted construction works with safety protocols in place could resume by 11 May, working from 10 a.m. to 7 pm. Manufacturing companies with safety protocols in place could request permission to resume operations as early as 18 May, between 10 a.m and 5 a.m. (for this sector, which may have more than one work shift, business hours will depend on the size of the company), while wholesale traders and retailers may resume beginning 25 May, from noon to midnight. As the economic reactivation would make the pico y género measure unworkable, given that more people would need to leave their homes to go to work regardless of gender, this restriction was lifted on 11 May.[44] An "orange alert" was declared for some neighborhoods in Kennedy, the locality with the most COVID-19 cases in the city. Residents of those sectors would be subject to a strict quarantine, only able to go out for essential tasks. Street sales and outside physical activity were prohibited in the area. These zones were to be monitored by health authorities for two weeks.[45]

That same day, the National Health Institute reported 595 new confirmed cases on its daily report, raising the total of confirmed cases to 10,051. Bogotá was the region with the highest number of new cases, with 225. 21 new deaths were reported, raising the total to 228, and 2,424 people had recovered. Moreover, the institution reported that 4,387 tests were processed that day, and over 123,700 tests had been processed since the start of the outbreak in March.[46]

With Mother's Day in Colombia being celebrated on the second Sunday of May (10 May in 2020) and given that the holiday is considered a critical one by authorities due to the high consumption of alcohol, gatherings and brawls, several departments and municipalities decreed curfews and prohibition of the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages (ley seca) within their jurisdictions for the weekend between Friday night and Monday morning to prevent further spread of coronavirus as well.[47]

On 14 May the National Government, through a decree issued by the Ministry of Interior, ordered the governor of the Amazonas Department as well as the mayor of Leticia the closure of every opened economic activity in the municipality and the department except for the ones strictly necessary for health, supply and essential services and declared a lockdown for that specific zone of the country until 30 May. This decision was reached due to the fast spread of coronavirus in the Amazonas Department since the confirmation of the first positive case in the department on 17 April, with 924 confirmed cases and 90 out of every 10,000 inhabitants being diagnosed with COVID-19. According to the reports by the INS, it was the highest rate in the country, ahead of Bogotá with 5.5 infected people per 10,000 inhabitants as of that day.[48]

On 17 May, a humanitarian flight arrived in Colombia with 366 Colombian nationals. Due to travel restrictions, they had been stranded in other countries on four continents. Upon returning to Colombia, they were required to isolate for 14 days.[49]

On 19 May, President Iván Duque announced a fourth extension of the national lockdown until 31 May, as well as the extension of the national health emergency until 31 August.[50] Starting from 1 June, the country would enter a new stage in which reactivation of museums, libraries and domestic service activities would be evaluated, schools and universities were confirmed to continue under the modality of virtual education until August, when universities would be allowed to reopen under a model of alternation between classroom and virtual classes. People over 70 would have to remain isolated until 30 June.[51]

On 23 May, the INS reported a total of 20,177 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,046 new cases on its daily report, being this the first time the country reported over 1,000 infected people in 24 hours since the confirmation of the first case on 6 March.[52]

On 28 May, a further extension of the national lockdown in place since March until 1 July was announced. At the same time, more businesses such as hairdressers and barbers, as well as malls would be allowed to reopen from 1 June, at the discretion of local mayors, while allowing more freedom of movement in some parts of the country. However, local authorities of cities with high rates of infection such as Bogotá, Cali (where an "orange alert" was declared), Barranquilla and Cartagena had already announced that movement restrictions would remain in place and reopening of economic activities would be delayed for at least two more weeks.[53][54] The Colombian government also confirmed that public transport between municipalities and domestic and international flights would remain barred, but stated that the latter could likely resume in September.[53]

On 30 May, Bogotá mayor Claudia López announced a total lockdown for the Kennedy locality for two weeks starting from 1 June and extending to 14 June at midnight. The decision was reached given that the zone had over 2,000 positive cases for COVID-19, the highest number of cases in the city. All exemptions to leave the locality were rescinded, except for essential tasks. All economic sectors that had resumed activities in Kennedy were also suspended, as well as every outside physical activity.[55]

On 2 June Colombia reported 40 new deaths, with which the country exceeded the figure of 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, reaching a total of 1,009. Up to that day, Bogotá reported the highest number of total deaths with 258.[56] On the evening of that day, the Ministry of Education issued guidelines to regional and local education authorities as well as private schools and kindergartens stating that students would remain studying from home until 31 July, and inviting them to arrange for protocols for the gradual return of students to classrooms under a model of alternation starting from 1 August, in coordination with health authorities.[57] This announcement was not well received by parents, who expressed their concerns over the health of their children.[58] On 16 June, associations of private schools stated their intention to not return to classroom classes and finish the school year with virtual education.[59]

In its daily report for 7 June, the Health Ministry confirmed the first positive case in the Guaviare Department, with which every department of Colombia has reported at least one case of COVID-19.[60][61]

On 15 June, Bogotá mayor Claudia López declared an "orange alert" for the city's hospital system, considering that occupation of intensive care units in the city had surpassed 54%. The alert meant that, starting from 16 June, the District through its Regulatory Center for Urgencies and Emergencies (CRUE in Spanish) would officially take over administration and control of all ICU units in both public and private hospitals, and would refer COVID-19 patients requiring a unit to them according to proximity and availability criteria. López also announced the introduction of the Pico y cédula measure to control access to commercial and service establishments, such as banks, supermarkets, and notaries, as well as a two-week total lockdown for zones in the Ciudad Bolívar, Suba, Engativá, and Bosa localities.[62] In Barranquilla, an "orange alert" with similar measures for the city's hospital system was declared by mayor Jaime Pumarejo due to the steady increase of positive cases in the city, which reported 798 new cases on 15 June, over twice the amount of new cases recorded in Bogotá that day.[63]

On 16 June, it became known that a group of twenty-five personalities over the age of 70, led by former Minister of Finance Rudolf Hommes, former Minister of Interior and Vice-President Humberto de la Calle, former Minister for Employment and acting mayor of Bogotá Clara López Obregón and politician Álvaro Leyva, as well as former mayor of Cali Maurice Armitage, nicknamed the Rebelión de las canas ("Gray hair rebellion"), lodged a tutelage action against the National Government as they considered their fundamental rights were being violated by the mobility restrictions set in place for the elderly population during the pandemic. They also argued they were being discriminated by the Government by being singled out as a special group and protecting them against their own will, thus negating their autonomy to make decisions regarding their own protection.[64] In response to that, President Iván Duque stated that they were not being discriminated, and that the measures in place were aimed at taking care of them and protecting their lives.[65]

On 21 June, the Health Ministry reported 111 deaths in the last 24 hours, being the first time Colombia recorded 100 daily deaths since the start of the pandemic.[66] By that day, over half of the municipalities in the country (575 out of 1,122) had reported cases of COVID-19 compared to only 196 in April, meaning that each day six new municipalities were reporting positive cases. Five municipalities concentrated 65.2% of all positive cases: Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cali, and Soledad in the Atlántico Department, while that department as well as San Andrés had reported cases in all of their municipalities. On the other hand, 129 municipalities were already without active cases, those having either recovered or died. During the previous week, the pandemic had accelerated with the country reporting 10,000 cases in just four days, having taken two months to report that same amount at the start of the pandemic. Moreover, the case fatality rate per million inhabitants increased fourfold from 8 May, going from 9 to 39.[67]

On 23 June, President Iván Duque announced a sixth extension of the nationwide lockdown until 15 July, with the same restrictions and exceptions that were in place up to that moment. The reopening of economic sectors would still be subject to the discretion of local authorities, while pilot programs to test the reopening of additional sectors such as restaurants and places of religious worship were announced to be held in municipalities with low numbers of coronavirus infections.[68]

The monthly unemployment rate in Bogotá jumped from 13% in March to 21.6% in April.[73] By early May 2020, a quarter of Colombians aged 18–25 and a fifth of Colombians aged 26–40 had lost their jobs, according to a poll by McCann Worldgroup. Many others stated they had their working hours reduced or had to take a second job. A majority of Colombians (8 in 10) had their income reduced compared to the one received before the pandemic.[74]

From 20 March, mass transit systems were running at only 10–15% of their usual occupancy. As the economy reactivated, and government guidelines ordered vehicle occupation to be capped at a 35% maximum, passengers increased but ridership remained low. The operation of Transmetro in Barranquilla was suspended on the morning of 2 May until further notice as passengers were not abiding by social distancing instructions within the system and vehicles were overcrowded.[75] Transmetro resumed operation three days later with adjusted health protocols.[76]

On 11 May, vehicles in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Bucaramanga, and Pereira were being used to about one-quarter of their usual occupancy (using pre-quarantine levels in early March as a reference point), while in Barranquilla they operated with less than one-fifth of their usual occupancy, and in Cartagena vehicles had only 6% of their usual occupancy. As a result, in May it was estimated that Colombian mass transit systems would lose COP 1.8 trillion (US$450 million) by the end of 2020.[77]

Considering that the Mother's Day holiday is key for businesses such as restaurants and retail commerce, most of which were closed due to the national lockdown, the Colombian National Federation of Commerce (Fenalco) requested for the holiday to be moved to another date in the second semester of the year after the health emergency was over. In response to that request, Colombian Minister of Trade José Manuel Restrepo stated that the original date would stand, however, an extra holiday in the second semester of the year would be granted as well.[78]

The increase in food delivery and postal shipping increased demand for disposable materials like plastic and styrofoam. In May 2020, an opinion poll found that a majority in the cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla approved of the usage of plastic for these purposes. The poll also found that half of people under 25 years old reported they were using more plastic bags than they had used a year earlier and that only a quarter regretted this increase.[79]

The first of three "VAT-free days", approved by the Colombian government in late 2019, was held on 19 June. The measure, aimed at helping economic recovery by jump-starting consumption and purchase of clothes, televisions and other consumer goods amid soaring unemployment and monthly economic contraction in the double digits, prompted citizens to flock to shopping centres to take advantage of bargains. There were long queues outside some stores and social media was flooded with images of people jostling to enter shops and hauling away TVs and other consumer goods. Most people seemed to be wearing masks but in many cases social distancing was non-existent, and some shops had to be closed. Minister of Trade José Manuel Restrepo stated that the day was an economic success, with sales across the country being five times higher than on a regular day during the pandemic and 30% higher compared to levels before the start of the lockdown. Online sales were also 18 times higher than on a regular day, with the websites of some stores struggling to cope with demand. President Iván Duque pointed out that most people had observed social distancing during the day, but also acknowledged that there were crowds in some places and citizen behaviour had not been good enough. The day was harshly criticized by local rulers such as mayor of Bogotá Claudia López, who dubbed it as "Covid Friday", citizens in social media, epidemiologists and health experts, who expressed concern over the realization of such a day in the midst of a pandemic and at a moment when the number of daily cases was increasing rapidly and the peak of the pandemic had not been reached yet. They also stated fears that one of the activity's future consequences would be the increase of the speed of transmission of coronavirus, thus damaging the effort made during the lockdown.[80][81] Two further VAT-free days are scheduled for 3 and 19 July.

By mid-April, Grupo Aval reported it had succeeded in opening bank accounts for 77,000 pensioners, people who faced the highest risk of COVID-19 infection due to their age.[82]

Starting from 18 May, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia issued guidelines on in-person customer service for banks and financial entities, ordering measures such as opening at least 85% of their branches, extending their opening hours to at least six hours a day from Monday to Friday and four hours if open on Saturdays, and establishing priority service hours for people over 60 or with special conditions.[83]

By the end of April, following increased testing efforts at the prison in Villavicencio, over 15% of prisoners there were diagnosed positive.[91] On 29 April, the number of positive cases at Villavicencio prison reached 314.[41] In early May, 7 percent of all confirmed cases in Colombia were in the central prison of Villavicencio.[92] By 3 June 89% of all cases in Meta (878 of 983) were at this prison.[93]

By 15 May, the outbreak at La Picota prison in Bogotá had ended as INPEC confirmed that the five inmates there who had been diagnosed with the illness had all recovered,[94] but there were still active outbreaks at six of the country's 132 prisons.[95] Positive cases had been confirmed at prisons in Florencia, Ibagué, and Guaduas. In the prison in Leticia, in the Amazonas Department, there were 90 cases in two weeks.[96][41] Ternera prison in Cartagena reported its first case on 14 May.[97]

An outbreak at Villahermosa prison in Cali was confirmed to have emerged in early June, with 18 people between prisoners, INPEC guards and police members having been confirmed as positive COVID-19 cases on 6 June.[98] This prompted Cali's Health Secretary to carry on mass screening and tests within the prison, which houses 5,643 prisoners and has an overcrowding of nearly 300%.[99] By 8 June, the number of infected people reached 119, while by 12 June 312 people at the prison were infected: 271 inmates and 41 officials, and one person died from the disease.[100]

On the evening of 21 March, about 23 prisoners were killed and 83 injured during a riot at La Modelo prison in Bogotá which erupted amid fears over spreading of the coronavirus through prison walls.[101][102] Prisoners across the country were protesting against overcrowding in prisons as well as poor health services ever since the outbreak of COVID-19.[103]

On 4 May, a brawl broke out at the municipal prison in San José del Guaviare, where it was discovered that inmates had used alcohol-based sanitizer to get drunk. The sanitizer had been donated to help prisoners keep their living spaces clean during the outbreak.[104]

On 15 April, the government issued a decree (which it had announced three weeks earlier) to allow 5,000 prisoners to return to their homes. The focus was on prisoners who were disabled, ill, over 60 years old, or new mothers (pregnant, nursing, or with children under age 3), and who had already served about half of their original brief sentence.[105] By 4 May 268 prisoners had been released under the terms of this decree. Moreover, thousands of other prisoners were released by ordinary mechanisms such as expiration of their sentences.[106] By mid-May, requests for release from over five hundred prisoners had been approved, while a thousand requests had been denied.[95]

Total confirmed cases

Confirmed new cases per day

Confirmed deaths per day

Confirmed recoveries per day