Ruíz indicated that during December 2020, the country expects 120,000 inbound travelers, between tourists and Colombians returning from abroad. “As long as the Ministry of Health does not apply the ruling and does not change the rule, the situation will continue the same,” said Ruíz.

“For the people who are traveling to Colombia we want to tell them that while this situation supplies the entire legal process, they will be able to continue coming to Colombia without taking the PCR test and without having to be subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine,” he said.

In late November, an attorney, Alberto González Mebarack, launched a lawsuit in Bogotá to demand that the Colombian Ministry of Health reimpose the requirement for a negative PCR test on any traveler entering Colombia. After considering the demand for 11 days, the judge initially ruled in favor of the attorney, who claimed that the motivation for his suit was that Colombia does not have sufficient health care capacity to control risks caused by such international travel.

Photo courtesy Colombian Health Ministry

Over 1,300 arriving travelers to Colombia have been referred to health authorities for secondary Coronavirus screening so far, according to Migración Colombia.

Travelers must admit to any travel through China, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, Ecuador, or the United States, if they have been in contact with any suspected coronavirus victims, or if they have experienced malaise, sore throat, fatigue, cough, or fever.

Increased intelligence and monitoring of flight data through the Joint Center for Migration Analysis is also providing more detailed information on the previous itineraries of international travelers, allowing health and migration authorities to reconstruct international itineraries of passengers and identify discrepancies.

Authorities are also stepping up security along  Colombia’s borders with Venezuela and Ecuador. “We will be considering specific works to evaluate the migration protocols, chains and service structures and the monitoring of the different guidelines in Riohacha, Cúcuta, on the border with Ecuador and in San Andrés, as very special areas where we have special need to focus actions, ”said the Minister of Health, Dr. Fernando Ruíz.

According to Migration Colombia, an average of 24,000 travelers arrive in Colombia daily, not including Venezuela. Of those, 60% arrive through El Dorado International Airport.

• 35,000 arrive from Venezuela
• 6,000 arrive from the US
• 1,800 arrive from Ecuador
• 320 arrive from Germany
• 46 arrive from Italy
• 7 arrive from China
• 4 arrive from Japan
• 3 arrive from South Korea

Above photo: Migración Colombia General Director Juan Francisco Espinosa.

Photo courtesy Migración Colombia