Daily
coronavirus
cases
in
Colombia
have
started
to
decline
steadily
since
the
third
wave
of
infections
peaked
June
26
with
a
record
33
,
594
cases
,
and
also
the
worst
day
for
fatalities
with
693
additional
victims
since
the
of
the
virus
on
March
6
,
2020
.
With
health
authorities
confirming
a
deceleration
in
new
cases
,
with
11
,
244
on
Wednesday
(
number
close
to
10
,
190
reported
on
April
5
)
,
the
also
coincides
with
a
decision
by
the
Ministry
of
Health
to
eliminate
the
age
requirement
as
of
August
for
all
persons
wanting
to
receive
a
coronavirus
vaccine
.
Given
a
fast
-
track
vaccine
roll
-
out
that
back
in
February
,
the
national
government
now
aims
to
unify
all
the
stages
to
reach
the
target
of
herd
immunity
before
the
end
of
this
year
?
or
equivalent
to
inoculating
70%
of
the
country's
50
million
population
.
With
the
lifting
of
age
and
all
medical
conditions
for
persons
age
35
or
younger
,
the
Ministry
of
Health
also
completes
25
million
doses
administered
in
July
.
On
Wednesday
,
the
country
received
an
additional
shipment
of
308
,
880
doses
from
Pfizer
,
raising
the
total
number
that
have
distributed
among
five
to
30
million
?
of
which
24
million
have
been
given
to
persons
age
40
or
over
.
The
announcement
that
the
national
vaccination
campaign
will
soon
reach
every
person
in
the
country
,
comes
just
days
after
President
Iván
Duque
defended
his
administration's
pandemic
response
during
his
address
to
lawmakers
for
the
opening
plenary
of
the
2021
-
2022
Congress
.
In
a
speech
that
commemorated
115
,
000
Colombians
who
lost
their
lives
in
the
pandemic
,
and
among
4
million
victims
,
President
Duque
reminded
both
his
political
allies
and
adversaries
that
?
nobody
has
escaped
the
pain
of
losing
a
loved
one
,
and
we
have
all
had
to
make
decisions
in
the
of
uncertainty
.
?
President
Duque
also
highlighted
that
before
vaccines
became
available
,
during
the
initial
stages
of
the
pandemic
Intensive
Care
Units
more
than
doubled
from
an
existing
5
,
400
to
current
12
,
000
.
?
We
went
from
one
laboratory
that
could
process
1
,
000
tests
per
day
,
to
more
than
166
labs
with
the
capacity
to
process
more
than
100
,
000
tests
daily
,
?
he
added
before
thanking
the
nation'
s
workers
.
?
When
we
work
for
the
same
goal
,
we
are
capable
of
doing
great
things
,
?
emphasized
President
Duque
.
The
President's
equivalent
of
a
State
of
the
Union
followed
a
photo
opportunity
where
several
left
-
wing
representatives
posed
next
to
an
inverted
Colombian
flag
in
support
of
so
-
called
?
first
line
?
defenders
.
These
first
lines
have
systematically
attacked
security
forces
with
machetes
,
firebombs
and
improvised
IED
,
as
well
as
ambulances
during
medical
missions
.
Members
of
a
first
line
in
the
locality
of
Kennedy
recently
extended
a
metal
cable
across
one
of
Bogotá's
busiest
avenues
?
Las
Américas
?
resulting
in
the
decapitation
of
a
motorcyclist
.
Among
the
lawmakers
who
joined
the
pantomime
inside
the
Chamber
was
Gustavo
Bolívar
,
responsible
for
a
crowdfunding
campaign
that
raised
COP$100
million
(
US$30
,
000
)
to
purchase
protective
gear
(
googles
and
hard
hats
)
for
first
lines
.
For
the
vast
majority
of
Colombians
first
lines
have
become
synonymous
with
vandalism
and
what
Minister
of
Defense
Diego
Molano
calls
a
?
low
intensity
urban
terror
campaign
.
?
The
National
Police
claims
more
than
600
members
of
the
force
have
injured
since
the
first
lines
were
established
to
defend
and
road
blockades
.
that
have
resulted
in
several
infant
deaths
after
ambulances
were
not
allowed
to
reach
hospitals
in
clear
violation
of
international
humanitarian
laws
.