Colombia’s Capital Bogota to Impose Quarantine on Six More Neighborhoods

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombia’s Bogota will impose strict two-week quarantines on six more neighborhoods starting next week, Mayor Claudia Lopez said on Tuesday, January 12th, as the city moves to control a second wave of coronavirus.

The districts of Bosa, Ciudad Bolivar, Puente Aranda, Rafael Uribe, San Cristobal, and Usme will enter quarantine from January 18th until January 28th, Lopez said in a press conference.

A city-wide quarantine ended at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, with nightly curfews planned to run until the end of this week. However, all of Bogota will go into a strict lockdown over the coming weekend.

“The city will be in total quarantine again from this Friday, Jan. 15 at 8:00 p.m. and until next Monday, Jan. 18 at 4:00 a.m. Only essential businesses may open and only those who are included in exceptions may move around,” Lopez said.

Six other neighborhoods have already been placed in strict quarantines. Usaquen, Suba, and Engativa are locked down until next Monday, while restrictions on movement in Kennedy, Fontibon, and Teusaquillo began Tuesday and will continue until Jan. 22.

During periods of strict quarantine people are largely confined to their homes. Non-essential shops and businesses will be closed and one person per household will be allowed to buy food or medicine.

Colombia has declared more than 1.8 million coronavirus infections and 46,782 deaths from COVID-19, the disease it causes, according to numbers from the country’s Ministry of Health.

In Bogota, which has reported over 525,000 coronavirus cases, occupancy of intensive care units assigned for COVID-19 patients stands at 93.5%, according to local government figures.