​03/06/2020

Press Release No. 050, 2020

-The patient went to the country's health services where she was tested, under the strictest protocols.

Bogotá, March 6, 2020. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection confirms the first case of COVID-19 in the country, after consulting the tests on a 19-year-old female patient.

The citizen, coming from Milan, Italy, showed symptoms and went to the health services where samples were taken for the respective analysis. With these, the National Health Institute confirmed the positive results.

Throughout this week, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Fernando Ruiz, met with the country's Health Secretaries, EPSs, IPSs, insurers and associations to establish the Response Plan given the entry of coronavirus into Colombia. All the territories must activate their contingency plan, from this moment, to face this challenge in world health.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection is in charge of informing the population of confirmed cases in the country.

According to the most recent report, 96 countries have reported cases, including Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

For more than eight weeks, the country has been preparing to face the arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Preparations have been underway at the National Emergency Committee and self-care campaigns for the population based on handwashing have been implemented.

This marks the end of the preparedness phase and the start of the containment phase in the national territory.