24 May 2020 – Measures to promote economic recovery while minimizing COVID-19 risks

Type of Intervention: Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Education, Finance/Economy, Health, Local Government, Private Sector and Businesses, Social Services, Supply Chains, Transportation
Level of Jurisdiction: City (Bogota)
Lead People/Agency: Decision made by Bogota´s Major

Overview: Decrees the measures for a safe economic recovery. In order to minimize the risks of contagion and spread of the covid-19 pandemic, have accurate information that allows the identification of infected people and promote a safe economic recovery, companies and business establishments:

1.In order to minimize crowds in mass transit systems and mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19, economic sectors exempt from the mandatory preventive isolation measure should operate at the following times:

  I. Manufacturing: Activities that must establish entry times between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.
II. Retail and retail trade. Activities that must work in the time slot between 12:00 noon and 11:59 p.m.
III. Activities that must work in the time slot between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 pm, as long as it involves the execution of construction works for buildings or the intervention of civil and construction works, which, due to their state of progress or their characteristics, present risks of technical stability, threat of collapse or require structural strengthening acti

2. Should they not have done so, adopt the biosafety protocols established by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the District Health Secretariat, and register them in the application www.bogota.gov.co/reactivacion-economica.

3. If they have not done so, they must adopt the safe mobility plans –PMS- and fill out the forms established in the application www.bogota.gov.co/reactivacion-economica. In the event that the PMS have not been registered, they must do so within eight (8) days following the issuance of this decree.

4. Within the eight (8) days following the issuance of this decree, and in the event that they have not been carried out, all the companies and commerce establishments excepted by the decrees of the National Government and that initiate or have initiated activities, All the workers and contractors working in their companies must register in the application www.bogota.gov.co/reactivacion-economica.

It will be mandatory for employers to report daily through the same platform and on line 123, if any of the workers have COVID-19 related symptoms such as fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, feeling of shortness of breath or others. In the event that one of the workers presents any of these symptoms, the employer will not allow him to carry out his work and must allow him to remain at home for a period of not less than eight (8) days.

5. In terms of mobility, the District Mobility Secretariat will promote the registration of bicycles in the public registry
Full details here: https://www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co/sisjur/normas/Norma1.jsp?i=93265

Other links: 1
Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee
Source of Evidence or Justification: World Health Organisation, National – government, International – other, PAHO
Evidence/Justification: For the World Health Organization, the application, modification or suppression of public and social health measures carried out by public authorities should be based on specific risk studies and also comply with at least the following five principles:

“The adjustments to the measures should not be made at once, but should be initiated at the sub-national level starting with the areas of least incidence. Basic individual measures (including isolation and care of suspected and confirmed cases, quarantine of contacts, hand hygiene and respiratory precautions) will be maintained.

 In principle and when possible, measurements should be taken in a controlled, slow and staggered manner, for example at two-week intervals (an incubation period) in order to detect any possible adverse effects. The interval between the taking of two measurements will depend mainly on the quality of the surveillance system and the ability to measure the effect.

In the absence of scientific data on the relative and independent efficacy of each isolated measure, and as a general principle, the measures with the highest level of acceptability and viability and the least negative consequences would be the first to be implemented and the last to be withdrawn.

The protection of vulnerable populations should be paramount in the decision to maintain or lift a measure. Some measures (for example, company closings) may be lifted first where the population or individual density is lowest (rural areas opposite to urban, small and medium-sized cities versus large cities, small businesses versus shopping malls) and could rise up against a part of the workers before allowing all to return to work in their companies. ”

That the Pan American Health Organization stresses that, due to the timely implementation of social isolation measures in several countries of the American continent, it has been possible to maintain a low rate of spread of COVID-19, which has avoided an emergency situation that puts at risk the attention capacity of the health services; measures that, however, have produced serious socio-economic impacts that are precipitating public decisions that can reverse or nullify efforts made to contain the virus, which is why this organization does not recommend interrupting these public health measures altogether until they are counted. with a safe and effective treatment, like this:

“Until both a) the essential parameters regarding the dynamics of SARS-VOC-2 transmission (for example, the route of transmission) and its natural clinical history (for example, the function of antibodies) have not been fully elucidated. specific to SARS-VOC 2 in protection against reinfection); b) a safe and effective treatment is not widely available and, most importantly, c) a safe and effective vaccine is not widely available (at least twelve months), it is unlikely that social distancing at scale Community law and measures related to international transit may be discontinued entirely.