These are the measures that will be taken for the arrival of the omicron variant in Bogotá

The mayor in charge of Bogotá, Luis Ernesto Gómez, made an alert regarding the arrival of the omicron variant in the capital. The official commented that as on other occasions, if this form of the virus is already circulating in the country, it is most likely that it is already in the city, so the district already has a plan to deal with the variant that could generate a fourth peak of contagion.

“We do not have an omicron test in Bogotá, but we know that it is already in Colombia And as has happened with the previous variants, when the first case is identified, it is assumed that it is already spreading in the population”, Affirmed Gómez, in an interview with Snail News.

Due to this, the district has already started talking about the precautions to be taken in the capital to face the most lethal mutation of the covid-19 so far. As a first step, vaccination will be the priority, that is, the mayor’s office will point out that the Bogota population is 100% vaccinated and can have the booster as soon as possible.

“To protect ourselves from omicron we must apply the reinforcement. Today we have 92% of the population with first doses, but only 677,000 people have their booster doses”, Indicated the mayor in charge. In this sense, it is important to remember that, currently, all people over 18 years of age can receive this third vaccine, as long as six months have elapsed after having completed their vaccination schedule. In the case of people over 50, it is four months.

Regarding restrictions or the possibility of confinement, Gómez noted that for now it will not be necessary, this because unlike other places in the world, in the Colombian capital care practices have been maintained such as: the use of masks, hand washing, the requirement of a license to enter public establishments and events, among others. In addition, he recalled that in recent months the appropriate measures have been maintained to control contagion statistics and the occupation of Intensive Care Units.

The declarations of the mayor in charge go hand in hand with what the Ministry of Health had already made, which had mentioned reinforcement as the best alternative; and how did you mention it Time commented, that those who received Pfizer or Moderna, the Ministry recommends that they receive a third dose with the AstraZeneca vaccine. In the same vein, those who received AstraZeneca, should receive the booster dose of Pfizer or Moderna. And people whose first dose was the Janssen biologic will need to complete the schedule with the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine, just like those who received the first two doses of Sinovac.

On the other hand, to avoid the spread of the new variant, MinSalud noted that since On December 14, those who wish to enter the national territory must fill out the Check-Mig form and have the vaccination card where it is recorded that they were vaccinated at least 14 days before the date of entry into the country.

In the case of Colombians, foreign residents and diplomats and their families, if they have not been vaccinated, they can present the negative result of a PCR test carried out up to 72 hours in advance.

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