Colombia will require a certificate of vaccination against Covid-19 to enter concerts, restaurants and bars

Colombia announced this Thursday that it will require a vaccination certificate against him Covid to enter bars, restaurants and sports or cultural events.

“We ask that for all leisure activities such as concerts, restaurants, bars (…) the vaccination card be required when entering closed places,” he explained Gerson Bermont, responsible for the government for the control of pandemic.

For activities “essential (…) such as shopping, buying medicines, attending health or education issues, the vaccination card is not necessary” but the use of a mask and social distancing do, clarified Bermont in a video released On twitter.

For now, the authorities will only require proof of having received the first dose of the vaccine.

The restriction will initially apply to persons of legal age “and as of November 30 for persons over 12 years of age,” the official added. Establishments that do not comply are exposed to fines and even the closure of the premises.

The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia Lopez, had already announced that it would require the vaccination certificate from mid-November to attend mass events in the capital.

Colombia, which has immunized 21.5 of its 50 million inhabitants against the coronavirus, opened vaccination to children between 3 and 11 years old last week.

“We still need to reach this great goal of 70% of the vaccinated population to guarantee that there is no setback in the economic reactivation processes,” Bermont said.

The country experienced the worst part of the pandemic between April and June, when it reached several records of infections and deaths. Since then, it has registered low levels of contagion and deaths, despite having relaxed restrictions on mobility and capacity in the main cities.

Barely 6% of the population say they have no intention of getting vaccinated, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).

The measure “will guarantee that if there is a new peak (of Covid) we will not have a peak of illness and peak of death,” the official said.

Some 127,000 people have died in Colombia from the virus. In proportion to its population, it is the fourth Latin American country with the most deaths behind Peru, Brazil and Argentina.