Colombia extends COVID-19 restrictions, new curfew announced

President Ivan Duque has announced to Colombia that coronavirus strains are being spread in various cities across the country.

In comments shared on social media, Duque said on Sunday that the restrictions will vary depending on the ICU occupancy rates of the cities.

The evening curfew starts from Monday and lasts until April 19, he said.

"It is clear that ... some municipalities have shown an increase in the last few weeks and that there is also a risk that a new national increase will take place in the coming weeks," Duque said.

"We need to act, prevent and make appropriate decisions." he added.

Colombia has repeatedly warned people not to drop their hats during the Easter holidays and set the weekend curfew.

According to a report by Johns Hopkins University, the country has reported more than 2.4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 63,900 deaths - and it is one of several in Latin America that have an increase in infections.

Colombian cities with an ICU occupancy of more than 85 percent have a curfew rule from 6pm to 5pm local time, while those between 80-85 per cent have access at 8pm.

Connections begin at 10 p.m. in cities with 70-79 percent occupancy, while those between 50-69 percent will be limited from midnight to 5 p.m.

Bogota, the country's capital, had an ICU occupancy rate of 65.5 percent as of Saturday night, while coastal cities, including Barranquilla, were about 90 percent.

Duque also said that Bogota and several other Colombian cities were under observation due to increasing infections and deaths.

Several countries across Latin America have seen an increase in COVID-19 infections, deaths and hospitalizations in recent weeks, while many are also struggling to secure vaccines to immunize their populations.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has faced widespread criticism and reprimand since COVID-19's deaths rose to a record high last month. Brazilian hospitals have been pushed to the limit as younger patients become ill with the virus.

Colombia was the first country in the United States to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, and on March 1, it received 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The country launched its vaccination campaign in February and has so far administered nearly 2.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

The head of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, said last week that vaccine security is the biggest challenge in the region.

'A large part of this is due to the delays in production, as manufacturers increase capacity. But we also see too many examples of vaccine nationalism, which further limits global availability, ”Etienne said in a March 31 newsletter.

'The current system is difficult for inequality and it is not acceptable. Vaccines should be available to anyone who needs them, no matter where they live. ”

On March 30, Etienne said 124 million people in the Americas had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 58 million others had been fully vaccinated.