Health & Insurance.

Telemedicine Moves to Forefront in Antioquia’s Battle Against Coronavirus

Medellin Herald May 21, 2020

Antioquia Governor Aníbal Gaviria Correa on May 20 hailed leadership by the “LivingLab-Telemedicina” patient-contact-and-testing center here in the continuing struggle to detect, contain and overcome Coronavirus. “LivingLab-Telemedicine is developing as one of the greatest successes in

Schools

Medellin Council to Vote on Record US$1.6 Billion Budget for Public Education

Medellin Herald May 21, 2020

Right on the heels of Colombia President Ivan Duque’s new announcement that Colombia will launch alternating-shifts of physical/virtual school and university education in August, Medellin Education Secretary Alexandra Agudelo Ruiz unveiled a record-setting COP$6.2 trillion (US$1.6 billion) budget for the coming school year. If the Medellin City Council gives approval

General News

Medellin Mayor Announces Shopping-Center Reopenings Starting June 1

Medellin Herald May 20, 2020

Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero announced May 20 that shopping centers in Medellin gradually will reopen starting June 1 – right on the heels of President Ivan Duque’s May 19 announcement about Colombia’s transition from Covid-19 “national quarantine” to more city-specific “health emergency” status from June 1 to August 31. “The openings will be staggered according […]

General News

More Cities in Antioquia Reopen Businesses; Medellin Leads All Colombia in ‘Smart’ Reopenings, Covid-19 Avoidance

Medellin Herald May 16, 2020

The Antioquia departmental government revealed May 15 that eight local municipalities that haven’t had a single case of Coronavirus have just won special permission from Colombia’s Interior Ministry to reopen nearly everything. “The municipalities of Caracolí, Maceo, Puerto Berrío, Puerto Nare, Puerto Triunfo, Urrao, Caucasia and Yondó can now implement their gradual

General News

XM: Low Rainfall This Year Hurts Hydropower Output; Conservation Seen Likely

Medellin Herald May 15, 2020

Medellin-based XM – operator of Colombia’s national electric power dispatch-and-trading market – on May 14 announced that relatively low rainfall this year might require Colombians to take steps to conserve water and power consumption. “Although it is true that the country’s [hydropower dam] reservoirs are at historic minimum levels, the Colombian energy matrix has

Health & Insurance.

12,210 More Companies, 201,000 More People Back to Work May 11; Medellin Leads All Colombia in ‘Smart’ Covid-19 Controls

Medellin Herald May 10, 2020

The Medellin Mayor’s Office announced May 10 that starting tomorrow (Monday, May 11), 201,461 more people will return to work here at 12,210 companies newly meeting Health Ministry Covid-19 prevention protocols as well as registration in the high-tech “Medellin Me Cuida” program. Prior to May 11, Medellin and its neighbors in Valle de Aburrá already […]

Infrastructure

Excavation of Medellin’s Second Tube at Western Tunnel Highway to be Complete by October

Medellin Herald May 10, 2020

Colombia’s national infrastructure agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI) announced May 10 that excavation of the second tube of the “Tunel de Occidente” connecting Medellin westward to Santa Fe de Antioquia will be complete by October 2020. The 4.6-kilometers-long, COP$420 billion (US$108 million) tunnel will enable four lines of divided highway as part of the

General News

Medellin Metro Area Unveils ‘Pico y Cedula’ Rotations for May 11 through May 24

Medellin Herald May 8, 2020

Area Metropolitana del Valle de Aburra (AMVA) – the regional coordinating agency for Medellin metro governments – announced May 8 a new rotation schedule for “pico y cedula” shopping trips starting May 11 and then  another, new rotation on May 18. As a result, people with Colombia cedula numbers ending in 7 or 8 can […]

General News

Vehicle Repairs & Parts Sectors Next to Reopen; Construction Sector Opportunities Arise in Medellin

Medellin Herald May 5, 2020

Colombia’s Transport Ministry announced May 5 that — following consultations with local Mayors — vehicle repair shops and auto-parts stores will be the next economic sectors to be freed from Coronavirus quarantines. “Based on the requests and evaluations of the municipal Mayors, the [Transport Ministry’s] Logistics and Transportation Center will approve the

General News

Thousands of Manufacturers, Construction Companies Respond to Biosafety Protocols; Medellin, Antioquia Gradually Returning to Work

Medellin Herald April 28, 2020

Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero revealed April 27 that more than 50,000 metro-area workers in manufacturing and construction already have returned to work — following a pioneering business/worker registration system for addressing the Coronavirus quarantine crisis. Passengers on the Medellín “Metro” train, bus, tram and cable-car system increased by 10% on April 27