On April 20, Colombian President Iván Duque announced the extension of the mandatory quarantine until May 11. The measure includes exceptions for the manufacturing and construction sectors, which will be allowed to restart operations according to strict sanitary protocols. The President confirmed that no domestic or international flights will be allowed until then, and the Executive will issue a decree in the next few days to make the measure official.
The president explained that “mass transport systems will not be permitted to bear passengers beyond 35% of their total capacity” and added that “teleworking must be maintained as much as possible”, emphasizing that “no events will be permitted, much less mass ones, restrictions on bars and discos will continue, restaurants will work through home delivery and there will be no universities, schools or kindergarten.”
“This is not a discussion between opening and closing. We must start from the premise that our first responsibility is to people’s lives and health, but (preventing) the coronavirus from bringing poverty and recession,” Duque said. He stressed that the number of positive cases per day and the number of deaths and cases show “good” behavior. Health Minister Fernando Ruiz Gómez explained that the speed at which COVID-19 is being transmitted has shown “positive” results in the country and he assured that this “will allow us to take decisions more calmly”.