Chile advances to almost full reopening in capital Santiago and several other regions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A total of 52 communes of the Metropolitan Region will advance to Phase 4 of the Step-by-Step Sanitary Plan initial opening, which means that there will be greater capacity, unrestricted travel and inter-regional travel for residents of these areas.

The news from the Chilean government also concerned several regions of the country that will advance to Phase 4, including the communes of Papudo, Petorca, Santo Domingo in the Valparaíso Region, and Tucapel in the BioBío Region. The commune of Pelarco, located in the Maule Region, will advance to Phase 3.

As a result of the government’s recent decision, Chile will not maintain any communes in quarantine as 9 are in Phase 2 of Transition, 24 are under Phase 3 of Preparedness and 313 are in Phase 4 of Initial Opening. It is estimated that between 18 and 19 million Chileans will be in Phase 4 as of Saturday.

Given this unprecedented decision by the national Ministry of Health (MINSAL), Undersecretary of Health Paula Daza emphasized that the advance is based on the fact that the situation in the Metropolitan Region is favorable.

“The Metropolitan Region is among those with the lowest incidence in the whole country, we have 1% positivity rate and less than 1%, meaning that out of every 100 tests performed one is positive. Therefore, we are in a favorable health situation,” Daza said.

The official also urged the community to continue to maintain self-care measures such as the use of masks, hand sanitizer gel and adequate physical distancing. Curfew in the Metropolitan Region will remain in force as of 10 PM.

From Saturday, the communes advancing to Phase 4 of Initial Opening will be allowed to enjoy greater overall travel with no restrictions. For trips between regions, travelers must carry a health passport, although the ban on travel to quarantine zones will be maintained. The curfew schedule, which varies according to each region, must always be respected.

With respect to private homes, a maximum of 40 people may gather provided that all of them have their Health Pass, certifying completion of their vaccination program. In the case of meetings with people who lack this document, the allowed capacity is 20 individuals.

In the case of trade and catering, the total capacity of attendance will be 1 person for every 8m2 of usable area. For indoor restaurants, cafeterias and bars, a distance of 2 meters between tables (with fixed seating) or 2 meters between vending machines must be observed, as applicable. Good ventilation will be mandatory.

DAILY REPORT IN CHILE

On Friday Chile reported 29 new coronavirus deaths, according to information issued by the Department of Statistics and Health Information (DEIS), bringing total deaths nationwide to 36,807 with confirmed PCR tests.

A total of 672 new coronavirus cases were detected in the country over the last 24 hours. Of these, 426 are symptomatic, 189 asymptomatic and 57 were not reported. This number marks 15 days with less than 1,000 cases per day.

The Ministry of Health also reported that there are 4,453 active cases. “Some 13 regions have seen a decrease in cases in the past 7 days and 14 in the past 14 days. The variation of new confirmed cases at the national level is -17% and -27% for the 7 and 14 day comparison respectively,” said Minister of Health Enrique Paris.

Finally, the number of patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) stands at 737 with 574 people on mechanical ventilation. Available beds for critical care throughout the country stand at 570.

Source: Infobae