Analyze

1. Instituto Nacional de Salud -INS- (National Health Institute) is one of the State-funded leading health and biomedicine institutions in charge of: i. Developing and managing scientific knowledge on health and biomedicine, in order to contribute the health conditions of people; ii. Researching health and biomedicine through basic and applied sciences; iii. Monitoring health safety; iv. Act as a national laboratory of reference.
2. During the beginning of Covid 19, INS has monitored the cases in Colombia, analyzed positive results from national labs, organize and systematize datasets; inform citizens about infection numbers and projections, and recommend epidemiological models to the central government.

Source link (here)

One week before the national lockdown, the Ministry of Health ordered the cancellation of any massive events with more than 50 people, cancelling classes in Universities and schools, and avoiding flights from countries with high rates of virus.

Source link (here)

https://www.datos.gov.co/Salud-y-Protecci-n-Social/Casos-positivos-de-COVID-19-en-Colombia/gt2j-8ykr/data

This is the online open data about the evolution of COVID-19 displayed by the National Health Institute INS (Instituto Nacional de Salud) from Colombia.

1. The INS publishes this data after gathering results from the rest of the country.
2. This informations supports government´s decisions on quarantine, projections and bringing normal life back.
3. The INS has criticized the results of tests received from some regions. They argue that they are not well handled and they must not to be reconfirmed.

The Group of Inmunovirology of the University of Antioquia isolated and cultured SARS-CoV2, the pathogen that causes the COVID-19. This will allow researchers to test how the virus acts against antiviral medication and desinfectant products, that will provide key information about the effectiveness of those.

Link source (here)

Ministry cites a Chinese study about smoking and Covid-19, warning the risks of tobacco use of contagion and death. 

https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/Riesgos-del-tabaquismo-ante-el-covid-19.aspx

Cabin disinfection started to by adopted in different public places in Colombia, either by initiative of the private sector or public institutions. However, in this bulletin, the Ministry of Health reminds that they could harm human health and there is not evidence of its effectiveness.

https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/Cabinas-desinfectantes-no-son-recomendables-para-covid-19.aspx

https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/Las-cuatro-fases-para-enfrentar-el-…

Antonio Trujillo, Colombian professor at John Hopkins University, explains four phases which the country has to passed in order to manage the Covid crisis.

https://www.datos.gov.co/Salud-y-Protecci-n-Social/Casos-positivos-de-COVID-19-en-Colombia/gt2j-8ykr/data

1. The INS publishes this data after gathering results from the rest of the country.
2. This informations supports government´s decisions on quarantine, projections and bringing normal life back.
2. The INS has criticized the results of tests received from some regions. They argue that they are not well handled and they must not to be reconfirmed.

The government of Paraguay released ayudapy.org a georeference and crowdsourcing platform to donate, volunteer, and inform about individual needs (food, medicine, childcare, and hygiene products) during the COVID-19 crisis. Paraguay has one the lowest infection rates of Latin America, and since the government decided to lock down citizens in March, people have suffered from food scarcity (link). Ayudapy has been criticised because people seem to to not getting help to their houses.

Context: Currently, I´m based in Bogota, Colombia´s capital city of 8 million people. At the beginning of March, the government informed about the first COVID-19 case in the country, a young woman who came back from a trip to Italy. The 19th, with less than 30 confirmed cases, Bogota declared a provisional and pedagogical quarantine for a weekend. Around a dozen of cities followed Bogota´s initiative, living with few choices the central government to take a different approach. On March 23 the President declared national state of emergency, and extending a national quarantine, with few exceptions (medical staff, public servants, police and military forces, inner city transportation, among others). After a month under quarantine we have witnessed a strong support to the central government, a national coordination approach few times seen in the country. Political opposition forces and the Congress have been behind the scenes. News networks have displayed an enourmous time to medical, epidemiological, health and scientific experts. President and local leaders speak to the public nearby or citing experts from top scientific institutions. Epidemiological models are shaping decisions about when to go out, who can go out, and how normal life can be retake.

Analytical approach: I am analyzing how COVID-19 governance is taking place in Colombia, through the participation of scientific experts. I am concerned about how scientific data and information are displayed and communicated, focusing on health and epidemiological issues. I am interested in foolowing how other researchers analyze data platforms, transparency issues, and the articulation between health safety and inequality and economic impact.

Contact: awx1111@gmail.com