Laura Gamba
04 February 2020•Update: 04 February 2020
BOGOTA, Colombia
Colombia safety protocols were nonexistent Tuesday after the government announced safety measures in wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to a Colombian businessman.
Colombia began taking precautions and implementing extraordinary public health and safety measures because of the potential arrival of the coronavirus that authorities said has killed at least 427 people and infected more than 20,000 globally.
“Even though the risk of the virus entering the country remains low, Colombia has all the surveillance protocols in place,” said Health Minister Ivan Darío Gonzalez from Bogota´s El Dorado International Airport on Jan. 23.
Since then, health authorities announced the implementation of protocols that states passengers must be questioned about their travel history, have come into contact with people from in Wuhan, China -- where the outbreak occurred -- and whether they have respiratory symptoms.
The Colombian Health Institute announced it established immediate response actions to the eventual entry of coronavirus cases.
But Tuesday, Sergio Bautista, a Colombian businessman based in China said he experienced a lack of controls at the El Dorado airport.
Bautista says he told immigration authorities he came from China and asked whether there were health procedures for checking his family's status.
After waiting for health officials for a while, he was sent away because “they were eating at the moment,” according to Bautista.
"I actually asked them, how do you identify people who come from China because it's all connecting flights, there are no direct flights," the businessman said.
"He said, 'we trust people act in good faith,'" he added.
In a Jan. 30 news release, the government announced it will ensure necessary resources for the evacuation of Colombian citizens in Wuhan.
The Foreign Ministry stated that in view of the coronavirus quarantine situation in Wuhan, “the Government will support the 14 Colombians who expressed their desire to be evacuated as well as all Colombians who decide to leave too.”
According to the statement, Colombians will be evacuated from Wuhan and kept in quarantine for two weeks, after which, if they are found to be virus-free, they will be allowed to travel.
The government announced it will pay for hotels and plane tickets.
National Health Institute Director Martha Ospina gave the country good news Tuesday when she said Colombia developed a tool to test for coronavirus, which means it will no longer have to send the samples to the United States.
Although there have been 10 suspected cases in the country, so far none have been confirmed.
