Metropolitan COE declared Quito on red alert; buses will work with 50% capacity during peak hours

units of public transport in Quito must circulate with 50% capacity. The measure will apply from 06:00 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 21:00. The rest of the time (off-peak hours) the buses will work with 75% capacity.

This is one of the resolutions that the Metropolitan Emergency Operations Committee (COE), which met on the afternoon and evening of Tuesday, January 18. The session was chaired by the mayor of Quito, Santiago Guardera, and took place after the national COE, on January 16, placed the capital within the provinces with the highest epidemiological risk from COVID-19.

In this way, the Metropolitan COE declared the red alert threshold in Quito. The decision governs January 18 to 25 and will be reviewed or ratified next Tuesday, once the epidemiological report from the Ministry of Health is known, the Municipality reported.

Furthermore, at that time will reinforce random controls on buses To check the presentation of vaccination card or certificate, use of the maskand that there is adequate ventilation.

In this regard, Mayor Santiago Guarderas said that the red alert declaration is to “precaution life and health of the people of Quito”.

“We will reinforce the controls for compliance with biosecurity measures and capacity. The vaccination is a priority for the city until 100% immunity is reached,” Guarderas posted on social media.

On the issue of education, the agency proposed to analyze that establishments municipal educational continue in virtual classes until the end of the quimester. At the same time, promote vaccination against coronavirus in teachers and students.

The Metropolitan COE made a I urge the Ministry of Labor to reduce the face-to-face sessions of the public sector, due to the fact that there is a high concentration of state entities in the capital.

The Ministry of Health was also urged to carry out vaccination campaigns in peripheral and rural areas, as well as for the productive and hotel sectors.

According to the Metropolitan COE, the resolutions were adopted because the cases of positive people with COVID-19 have increased by 187%, from the penultimate week of December to the first of January 2022. And it is expected that the trend will continue to rise.

only in the In the first week of this year, 5,836 cases were registered. “This figure is comparable to the most complex moments in previous waves, such as what arose at the peak of January 2021 and in the wave of April and May 2021,” says the Municipality’s statement.

In children and adolescents between 10 and 19 years old, it is where more infections have been detected. From less than 1 case per 100,000 inhabitants, registered at the end of November and the beginning of December, to 6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, in the first week of 2022, warns the Metropolitan COE. (I)