President Iván Duque announced from Paris, where he held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macrón, that as of November 16, his government has mandated the vaccine certificate for all persons attending public or private events. The obligatory certificate issued by the Ministry of Health – and known as MiVacuna – will also be required to enter bars, gastrobars, discotheques, casinos, cinemas, dance clubs, billiard halls and churches, to name a few listed in the new decree.
The decision to extend the mandate to the entire country comes after Bogotá reopened to 100% crowd capacity, including its sports stadiums, movie theatres and cultural institutions. Health Minister Fernando Ruíz conditioned entry to public and private establishments upon presentation of MiVacuna. “Currently the entire adult population has access to vaccines, so there is no reason why not to get vaccinated,” stated Ruíz. On Sunday, the government began vaccinating children between the ages of 3 and 11.
According to the latest data from the Ministry, 47,490.157 doses have been administered and 21.4 million persons have completed their vaccination scheme. In Bogotá, 80% of the eligible population have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, equivalent to 4,923.961 individuals. Colombia is averaging 1,200 new cases per day, and daily deaths are below 50. Wednesday marked the first day since April 2020 without a confirmed death from the virus. Despite the encouraging news, however, Ruíz warned that the fourth wave of new infections has been “deferred” – given the vaccination roll-out and obligatory wearing of face masks until, at least, the end of this year.
