Bogotá moves towards economic reactivation while preventing future contagion

Mercado en Bogotá
This plan was launched following the national government dispositions that authorized the reopening of manufacturing, construction and commerce.
Publicado:
21
Jun
2020
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After several months of lockdown and social distancing, Bogotá is getting ready to face one of the most challenging effects of the pandemic: economic downturn. In this context, Colombia´s National Department of Statistics (DANE) revealed that national unemployment rate had reached 23%, a reality that hits Bogota particularly hard taking into account that the city concentrates the economic muscle of the country. For this reason, mayor Claudia López announced the beginning of a reactivation plan combined with strict sanitary safety protocols as a way to boost the economy while continuing with the mitigation of Covid-19.

This plan was launched following the national government dispositions that authorized the reopening of manufacturing, construction and commerce. Therefore, any business that wanted to return to work had to fill an online application to obtain a permit. The conditions to obtain the permit are:

1 )Fulfilment of biosecurity.

2) A mobility protocol.

3) Monitoring the health conditions of the employees.  

For instance, to comply with biosecurity the applicant business has to guarantee social distancing in its facilities, cleaning and disinfection, facemasks, temperature checks and promoting telecommuting to reduce working on-site. 

Secondly, the online application demands a mobility protocol to decrease the demand on public transportation as a way to mitigate overcrowding and contagion. Consequently, the applicant business will have to operate according to established shifts depending on the nature of its operations. For example construction will operate from 10:00 to 20:00, manufacturing between 10:00 and 5:00, and commerce from 12:00 until 23:59. Also, each business has to detail the transportation means of each of its employees and has to guarantee bicycle mobility for some of them.  

Thirdly, all business that wants to restart its activities has to monitor the health conditions of all of its employees. Moreover, they are obliged to report to health authorities any case of staff members that show symptoms of infection, to facilitate timely attention.

Furthermore, commerce business and malls will have to control their client's access in compliance with density requirements.    

As a result of the economic reactivation plan, 73.385 businesses have been granted with reopening permits, benefiting approximately 521.527 workers. In conclusion, the city is developing this reactivation strategy together with social programs to face the increase of poverty. According to mayor López, ‘‘Bogotá has to move quickly to generate new employments and to assist vulnerable communities during the pandemic. With solidarity, consciousness and discipline, we will overcome this crisis’’.