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Updated September 29th, 2020 at 17:31 IST

COVID-19: Colombia extends lockdown until October end 'to prevent mass gatherings'

Colombia is set to extend it partial lockdown until late October, president Ivan Duque announced on September 28. It has recorded 8,13,203 COVID-19 cases.

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
COVID-19: Colombia extends selective lockdown until late October
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Colombia is set to extend it partial lockdown until late October, country’s president Ivan Duque announced on September 28.  He added that the extension is being made to prevent the mass gatherings amid rising COVID-19 cases. According to the latest tally by the John Hopkins Unversity, the South American nation has reported 8,13,203 cases and 25,641 fatalities till now.

 "The decree that we issued for the first month of selective isolation with responsible individual distancing will be extended for the whole of October," Duque said in a televised statement.

Till September 1, all the Columbian residents were ordered to practice mandatory quarantine. However, the government altered its policies and asked residents to "selectively isolate and distance". The new policy aims to isolate suspected COVID-19 carriers to those “who have been in contact” while allowing others to move freely in the state.

5,147 new positive cases

As the country registered 5,147 new positive cases, Duque also said that the health emergency will be in effect in Colombia until November 30. This comes days after The International Monetary Fund said in a statement that it has approved Colombia's request to raise its credit line by $6.2 billion.

Read: Thousands Protest Police Violence In Colombia

Read: Protests In Colombia Over Death In Police Custody

Talking about coronavirus, Antoinette Sayeh, a Liberian economist and Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said that Colombia has taken some very strong measures which will help the country to come to a very timely response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a tally by John Hopkins University, Colombia has recorded a total number of 798,317 cases with 25,103 fatalities.

She said, “The authorities' early response and continuing actions - including the temporary suspension of the fiscal rule to raise health spending, as well as to assist vulnerable households and businesses - are welcome and supporting the economy through the recession”. She added that financial support from the IMF will help Colombia in dealing with the external crisis and also increase the migrants from Venezuela. 

Read: IMF Approves Colombia's Request To Increase Credit Line By $6.2 Billion

Read: Colombia Dubs Venezuelan Elex A "pre-fabrication"

(With inputs from ANI)

Image credits: AP

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Published September 29th, 2020 at 17:32 IST

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