28 May 2020 – Mandatory preventive isolation for all until July 1st

Type of Intervention: Executive Order, Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Civil Defence
Level of Jurisdiction: National
Lead People/Agency: Decision made by President Iván Duque Márquez and the 18 cabinet ministers

Implementation of the intervention: mayors so that with the due authorization of the Ministry of the Interior they suspend “the activities or established cases” in the exceptions

Overview: Decree 749 of May 28, 2020, signed by President Iván Duque Márquez and the 18 cabinet ministers, orders the Mandatory Preventive Isolation of all inhabitants of the Republic of Colombia, from June 1, 2020, until zero hours on July 1, 2020, in the framework of the Health Emergency due to the covid-19 coronavirus.

• This Preventive Isolation includes 43 exceptions that seek to guarantee the right to life, health and survival of Colombians.

• Among the exceptions, the Decree includes wholesale and retail trade, including the operation of shopping centers and real estate activities. Also excepted are hairdressing services, public parking lots for vehicles, museums and libraries.

• The standard also allows the development of physical activity outdoors for adults over 70 years, three times a week, half an hour a day.

• In addition, the Decree refers to seven activities that for no reason will be allowed during quarantine, among which are mentioned “establishments and commercial premises for recreation and entertainment, bars, discotheques, dance, leisure and entertainment and games of gambling and betting, billiards, casinos, bingo and video game terminals ”.

• The National Government orders, through this regulation, the closure of Colombia’s borders – maritime, land and river passes – with Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Panama and Ecuador. The measure will be effective from zero hours on May 31, 2020, to zero hours on July 1, 2020.
Full details here: https://dapre.presidencia.gov.co/normativa/normativa/DECRETO%20749%20DEL%2028%20DE%20MAYO%20DE%202020.pdf

Other links: 1
Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee, Learning from other jurisdictions
Source of Evidence or Justification: World Health Organisation, National – government, International – other, International Labor Organization
Evidence/Justification: That according to the Epidemiology Directorate and Demography of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, an epidemic has three phases, namely: (i) a preparation phase, which begins with the alert of health authorities in which the enlistment process is carried out for the possible arrival of the virus ; (ii) a containment phase, which begins with the detection of the first case, in which public health surveillance, case diagnosis and follow-up of contacts should be strengthened, since the objective is to identify in the most timely manner the cases and their possible contacts to prevent the spread and (iii) a mitigation phase, which begins when, following the monitoring of cases, it is evident that in more than 10% of them it is not possible to establish the source of infection, At this stage, measures must be taken to reduce the impact of the disease in terms of morbidity and mortality, the pressure on health services and the social and economic effects derived.

That according to the World Health Organization – WHO there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the Coronavirus COVID-19 is transmitted from person to person, being able to cross geographical borders through infected passengers, and that it becomes necessary
adopt extraordinary measures such as the closure of borders with all neighboring states, in order to prevent new cases of COVID-19 carriers from entering the national territory, which put public order and the health of the population at risk, until the health emergency is overcome, it is appropriate to maintain the closure of borders.

The International Labor Organization -OIT- in the communiqué dated March 18, 2020 on “COVID-19 and the world of work: Implications and responses”, affirms that “[…] Covid-19 will have a Wide repercussion on the labor market.In addition to the short-term concern for the health of workers and their families, the virus and the subsequent economic crisis will adversely affect the world of work in three fundamental aspects, namely: 1) the quantity of employment (both in terms of unemployment and underemployment); 2) the quality of work (with respect to wages and access to social protection); and 3) the effects on the specific groups most vulnerable to the adverse consequences on the labor market […] ”

According to estimates from the National Institute of Health (INS), the average number of confirmed daily cases by report date, between March 6 and May 26, 2020 was 284. Lethality, which establishes the percentage of people who have died with respect to the cases identified as positive in Colombia on the same date it was 3.37%. According to INS estimates, the time required to double the number of cases by which the speed of propagation can be established, at the beginning of the epidemic was established at 1.26 days; in the last duplication that occurs on April 28, the value was 17.07 days. Regarding the positivity of the laboratory tests that establish what is the percentage of positive samples with respect to the total of processed samples, it was 7.2% for May 4, 2020