Colombia enters 5th wave of COVID-19 pandemic

BOGOTA, July 9 (Bernama) -- Colombia has entered the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, so citizens should reinforce self-care measures and get vaccinated against the virus, Minister of Health and Social Protection Fernando Ruiz said Friday.

"Evidently we are in the fifth peak. It has been spreading in different cities, especially in urban areas ... the number of deaths from yesterday (Thursday) indicates a relative stability compared to the previous week," Ruiz said, reported Xinhua.

The official pointed out that people over 70 years old were most affected when taking into account last week's death toll, while hospitalisations were up among unvaccinated young people.

"These two groups are highly sensitive. Young people, because a significant group has not been vaccinated, and in older adults, the issue of the booster is extremely important," he explained.

Ruiz also stressed the need to accelerate testing to identify new cases in time, emphasising that although the Omicron variant of the virus is dominant in the country and less lethal than others, it can still cause complications.

"We expect a fairly busy two or three weeks of infections, followed by a reduction... this is the time for getting vaccinated and being aware of a greater risk," the minister warned.

The South American country registered 23,667 COVID-19 infections and 132 deaths in one week, bringing the total number to 6,198,848 cases and 140,202 deaths, according to the latest Health Ministry report.

-- BERNAMA