Colombia: Bogota’s Mayor Declares Hospitals on Orange Alert

Bogota's Mayor Claudia Lopez Sunday put the city’s hospital system under orange alert and announced the resumption of non-essential commerce on Tuesday.

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"Since we can't take the risk, we will declare an orange alert in the entire Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital system in Bogotá. Since Tuesday, the Ministry of Health has assumed the responsibility for the leadership of public and private ICUs to assign them to the patient who needs them," said Lopez in a press brief.

According to Colombia’s Health Ministry Ministry, there are 724 ICU beds available for COVID-19 patients in Bogota. Thus far, 405 beds are held for occupancy of 55.94 percent.

Lopez affirmed all pandemic control indicators are positive, but her administration concerns on UCI’s situation.

"Until last week, we were between 30 and 50 percent occupied in the ICU, but this week we exceeded that and today we are at about 54 percent. That is a challenge, not that it is dramatic, but the ventilators that will allow us to expand that capacity have not arrived," the mayor said.

Lopez also announced the resumption of non-essential commerce on Tuesday, as part of a move to boost the economy in the South American nation.

"We will enable the trade sector which was the one that was missing. Trade will operate in non-essential services. What are not drugstores, nor food, nor essential services will operate from noon onwards," she explained. Bogota’s mayor also stressed commerce would reopen only at 35 percent of capacity.

As for Monday morning, Colombia’s Health authorities reported 50,939 COVID-19 cases, 1,667   deaths, and 19,822 recoveries from the virus.