Lawmakers urged Colombia’s government to decree an emergency basic income on Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic is saturating hospitals and causing hunger.
The National Health Institute reported a record number of 5,336 newly confirmed COVID-19 infections and 187 deaths.
According to newspaper El Tiempo, the test results on average take 10 days to return, leaving a high number of suspected cases. Healthcare facilities in the central Santander province allegedly refuse to do testing unless someone has private insurance.
Confirmed coronavirus cases
Source: National Health Institute
Hospitals saturating rapidly
More than a month before the expected peak of the pandemic, hospitals across the country are rapidly saturating and filling ICUs.
The governor of the southwestern Nariño province declared a red alert and the acting governor of Antioquia raised the alert level to orange.
While governors in the northern Atlantico, Magdalena and Bolivar province did not declare a red alert, their hospitals ICUs reached more than 85% of their capacity.
Also in the western Choco and southern Putumayo provinces the situation in the hospitals turned critical.
Lawmakers urge emergency income
Lawmakers urged Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla to implement an emergency basic income (EBI) as the collapse of the economy is causing widespread hunger.
Opposition Senator Ivan Cepeda (Polo Democratico) urged President Ivan Duque to impose a second lockdown to prevent the collapse of the country’s healthcare system.
Duque has shown no interest and dedicated his daily COVID show on facebook to new economic activation measures blamed by local authorities and medical authorities for the collapse of healthcare.
According to Senator Ivan Marulanda (Green Alliance), Congress will seek to force the government to implement an emergency basic income when the lawmakers return from their summer recess on July 20.
Invisible poverty
With no reliable government statistics available, the predicted increase in extreme poverty and hunger is almost invisible, especially in the countryside.
In Cali, the country’s third largest city, the city hall kicked off a food program benefiting almost 50,000 people.
Both the World Food Program and Oxfam have warned of the devastating effects of the pandemic on the poor, particularly in Latin America and Africa where social security is virtually non-existent.
