Colombia surpasses 500 daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombian health authorities on Thursday confirmed 505 deaths due to Covid-19, a record for the country which for several days has been registering figures never before seen in the pandemic and now total 73,230 deaths.

In addition, 17,308 new infections were recorded on Thursday, bringing the total to 2,841,934, and active cases, which also continue to rise, are now 108,611, according to the Ministry of Health.

As for patients listed as recovered, the health authority reported that the number rose to 2,650,643.

The country is in its 3rd and most virulent peak of the pandemic that for several weeks has seen its intensive care units (ICU) and the health system in general on the verge of collapse.

On Thursday, 89,407 samples were processed, 54,649 of them PCR samples and 34,758 antigen samples, for a total of 14.62 million tests performed.

On Wednesday, Colombia administered 89,267 vaccines against coronavirus, totaling 4,714,640 doses administered, of which 1,505,225 people have received the full schedule with two doses.

ANOTHER 549,900 VACCINES FROM PFIZER

On the other hand, the Government announced that 549,900 vaccines from Pfizer pharmaceutical company have arrived in the country. So far, the country has received 8,077,084 doses from this laboratory, from Chinese Sinovac, and Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca.

The vaccines that landed at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota are part of bilateral negotiations between the Government and Pfizer. The purchase of 10 million doses for 5 million people was agreed upon.

This batch should have arrived yesterday, but due to the protests against the tax reform, the Government decided to delay its arrival for another day.

VACCINE SHIPMENT TO CALI SUSPENDED

On the other hand, given Cali’s complicated public order situation (southwest) due to the protests, the Government suspended the shipment of vaccines to Valle del Cauca, the department of which this city is the capital.

Minister of Health Fernando Ruiz said on social networks that by request of the Health Secretariat of Valle del Cauca, “justified in the severe affectation of public order, we have taken the painful decision to suspend until Sunday, May 2nd, the scheduled shipments of vaccines to the department.”