‘Pico y Cedula’ Abolished in Medellin Metro Area

Área Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá (AMVA, the Medellin metro council of governments) announced last night (August 30) that “pico y cedula” shopping restrictions have at long last been abolished.

Such restrictions had been imposed in the Medellin metro area since late March, aiming to help thwart the spread of Covid-19 infections.

While Colombia’s national government has extended the Covid-19 “limited quarantine” through November 30, “Mayors of Valle de Aburrá establish that as of August 31, 2020, the metropolitan area ‘Pico y Cédula’ will no longer apply,” according to the AMVA bulletin.

Instead, each of the 10 municipalities within AMVA “will take appropriate gradual opening measures for each municipality,” according to the organization.

“Pico y cedula” shopping restrictions had been applied to Medellín, Bello, Envigado, Itagüi, Sabaneta, La Estrella, Caldas, Copacabana, Barbosa and Girardota (the AMVA council members) as well as many other towns and cities throughout Antioquia and Colombia.

The new, more-liberal standard comes as the metro area is starting to experience a plateau in Covid-19 cases and stabilization in demand for intensive care unit (ICU) beds, according to the local mayors.

However, mass gatherings and parties with family or friends “are prohibited, because these activities are the cause of further spread of the virus,” according to AMVA. In addition, people here must wear face masks in public places, and office workers are encouraged to telecommute rather than travel to offices.

Nationwide, as of August 30, Colombia now has recorded a cumulative total of 607,938 cases of Covid-19 since tracking began six months ago, with 450,621 recoveries and 19,364 deaths.

Bogota has the most cumulative cases (209,250) followed by Antioquia/Medellin (79,784); Atlantico (64,007); Cali/Valle del Cauca (46,549); Bolivar (25,147); Cundinamarca (22,772); Cordoba (19,568)); Santander (17,733); Nariño (13,990); Magdalena (12,289); Sucre (11,624); Norte de Santander (11,608); Cesar (10,514); Meta (8,775); Tolima (7,039); Risaralda (6,105); Cauca (5,247); Caqueta (5,860); La Guajira (5,024); Huila (5,007); Boyaca (3,761); and Choco (3,719), according to the Health Ministry.