12 March 2020 – National Health Emergency declared

Type of Intervention: Advisory, Regulation, Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Health, Civil Defence
Level of Jurisdiction: National
Lead People/Agency: Decision made by the Ministry of Health
Governors, Majors, Health Organizations, Media, Commercial establishments among others are leading the implementacion under the coordination and guidance of the Mnistry of Health.

Overview: The health emergency is declared throughout the national territory until May 30, 2020. This declaration may end before the date indicated here or when the causes that gave rise to it disappear or, if they persist or increase, it may be extended.

Order mayors and governors to assess the risks to the transmissibility of COVID-19 in activities or events that involve the concentration of people in numbers less than fifty (50), in closed or open spaces and that, in development of the above , determine if the event or activity should be suspended.

Order commercial establishments and markets to implement hygienic measures in contagious spaces or surfaces and sanitation measures that facilitate the access of the population to their hygienic services, as well as that of their workers.

Prohibit the berthing of passenger ships of international maritime traffic in port facilities, as well as the disembarkation of passengers, crew and unloading of luggage from these ships in these facilities.

Order those responsible for public and private means of transport and those who operate it to adopt the corresponding hygienic and other measures to avoid the spread and spread of COVID-19.

Order all the country’s authorities and individuals, according to their nature, to comply, as appropriate, with the contingency plan issued by this Ministry to respond to the health emergency by COVID-19.

 Order all radio broadcasting stations, television programmers and other mass media to broadcast the health situation and protection measures for the population free of charge.

The necessary budgetary operations will be available to finance the different actions required in the framework of the health emergency.
Full details here: http://www.regiones.gov.co/Inicio/assets/files/2%20Declara%20Emergencia%20Sanitaria%20por%20causas%20del%20Coronavirus%20COVID%20-19.pdf.pdf.pdf%20(1).pdf

Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee, Scientific Evidence (e.g. academic paper, report), Perception of an increased threat
Source of Evidence or Justification: World Health Organisation, National – academic, National – government
Evidence/Justification: To date (March 12, 2020), 9 cases from abroad located in Bogotá, Medellín, Buga, Cartagena have been detected, and the country has adopted preventive isolation and quarantine measures for people arriving in Colombia from the People’s Republic of China, Italy, France and Spain and ordered the actions for their fulfillment; and that the WHO declared on March 11 of the current that the outbreak of COVID-19 is a pandemic, essentially due to the speed of its spread, and through a press release announced that, to date, in more than 114 countries, distributed on all continents, there are cases of spread and contagion and more than 4,291 deaths, so it urged the States to take urgent and decisive actions for the identification, confirmation, isolation, monitoring of possible cases and the treatment of confirmed cases, as well as the disclosure of preventive measures, all of which should result in the mitigation of contagion.