RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approaching, with a slight increase in the number of infections and with the arrival of the omicron variant in Ecuador, authorities are analyzing different measures to contain a resurgence of coronavirus in the Andean country, which aims to immunize 85% of the population before the beginning of 2022.
The National Emergency Operations Committee (COE) has already issued some restrictions for the Christmas holidays. According to the resolution issued by the entity last Tuesday night, there will be capacity limitations in restaurants, shopping malls, bars, religious temples, and other places of massive concentration.
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In addition, “strict compliance” with biosecurity measures will be enforced, such as the use of masks, social distancing, and hand washing.
Additionally, there will be controls and schedules in the country’s beaches and resorts, and massive events in public spaces and the sale of liquor will be prohibited. These measures will be in effect as of Friday, December 17, and will be extended until Monday, January 3, 2022.
The COE’s decisions are based on what has been observed in other festivities and holidays;. However, they have emphasized that the increase of contagions is not significant; according to the authorities, the best thing is not to relax.
The Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, has made a new call to people to get vaccinated: “We ask families to get vaccinated, starting with the youngest children. We see that those who get aggravated are over 50 years old. Also, those who do not have the doses or only have one”.
Despite these measures, the COE is analyzing a new one: to establish as a mandatory requirement the presentation of the vaccination card to enter shopping malls, restaurants, bars, among other places of public attention. Currently, a similar measure in the country seeks to prevent the spread of the omicron variant, which came into force on December 1.
The provision of the COE obliges the officials of the public institutions of the Executive to present their vaccination certificate with the complete vaccination schedule to access the offices where they work in person.
According to information from the Ministry of Health of Ecuador, as of December 13, more than 534,000 coronavirus infections were registered. So far, there are six people on the waiting list to access an intensive care unit, where the average occupancy rate is 50%, according to the health agency.
As for vaccination, 12 out of 17 million citizens are already fully vaccinated, and 1.5 million are waiting to receive their second dose. At the same time, more than 710,000 have already received the booster dose. According to official figures, 70.5% of the Ecuadorian population is fully immunized against covid-19.