Chile announces more benefits for vaccinated people and eases restrictions due to COVID-19

Chile President, This Thursday, Sebastián Piñera announced more facilities for people who have completed the COVID-19 vaccination plan and a more flexible and less restrictive plan to tackle the pandemic.whose numbers have decreased dramatically in recent weeks. The program was called “Step by Step”.

“We’ve had more than 30 days of continuous health improvements that have allowed us to reduce new infections by 60% and reduce hospitalizations.. “This significant improvement allows us to open a new phase,” the president said.

Three months after a serious second wave that put the health system on the line and led to draconian measures and widespread quarantines, Authorities have updated the plan, which has been in place since the pandemic began, which has already left more than 1.57 million total infections and 33,514 deaths.

The new plan “Gives greater levels of freedom and mobility for people who have had a full vaccination”, said the president, citing Bio Bio.

More freedom to vaccinate

The vaccination card, which the government approved last May and which has not yet given many additional rights, will have “central importance”Health Undersecretary Paula Daza said.

As of July 15th, The card will give greater mobility, expand capacity in meetings, and allow people to attend events both indoors and outdoors.

Will be allowed All shops, restaurants indoors and even gyms, sports centers, cinemas, theaters, museums and other establishments that opened a few weeks ago since March 2020 are all reopening.Although it is only for the vaccinated and according to the epidemiological situation.

In addition, sporting events will once again have an audience at a reduced capacity from next July 15th, as a result of the relaxation of health restrictions announced by the authorities on Thursday for people with a full vaccination plan.

together, Clubs and authorities must ensure the health of fans who decide to watch matches inside stadiums, which are only available for a number of between 75 and a maximum of 5,000 people, According to the epidemiological stage of the sector in which the event occurs.

Passed A year and a half since the last time fans were able to enjoy a game sitting in the stands of a sports stadium.

Chile posted one of The most successful vaccinations against COVID-19 in the world, which today reach more than 81% of the target population with a single dose and 73% with two doses, mostly with Coronavacand to a lesser extent with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Cancino.

Back to classes

Another novelty is The grand opening of schools, which so far can only be opened depending on the epidemiological situation, causing many to remain closed for months or even to open and close intermittently and chaotically

Face-to-face returns will be voluntary in all educational centers And they may open regardless of the situation, although it takes months to unionize education workers He called for not returning to classes in person, due to the lack of health procedures.

In addition, there will be Two types of curfews, one from 10 pm to 5 am (one in effect for several months) and the other from 00 am to 5 am.It is only possible in areas where at least 80% of the population has been vaccinated, and this will vary depending on the level of infection.

The country that has recorded a significant decrease in new cases and positivity rate in the past two weeks – which has been below 5% for five days -, It added 3,193 new infections and 186 deaths during the past 24 hours.

In parallel, despite the fact that Borders have been closed since April except for emergencies, and there has been delta variant arrival, the most contagious according to the World Health Organization (WHO), of which at least three cases have already been confirmed in the past week.

(With information from EFE)

Read on: