Ecuador removes capacity restrictions and reopens nightlife

Quito, 18 Mar Ecuador will once again have businesses, private establishments and public spaces full to 100% capacity after its authorities eliminated any restrictions on capacity this Friday and also decreed the reopening of nightlife. In its latest resolution, the national Emergency Operations Committee (COE) gave the green light for full capacity in “economic, commercial, cultural, recreational, sporting and mass public events.” This also includes football matches, both in the Ecuadorian football league and international club and national football matches, where the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) had requested that the match on March 29 against Argentina be played with the full Monumental Stadium of Guayaquil. Only public land transport units such as buses should continue to operate without carrying standing passengers, so their maximum capacity at the moment depends on the number of seats available. Likewise, the national COE urged entrepreneurs to “open with 100% capacity activities such as bars, discos, karaoke and restaurants”, giving way to return to normal nightlife in the country. FIRST CASES OF BA.2 This decision to lift all capacity limits comes two days after the Ministry of Public Health reported the first five cases in the country of BA.2, a subvariant of omicron that has not yet been proven to be more lethal. The only restrictions that remain for the control of the covid-19 pandemic in public spaces are the obligation to wear a mask both indoors and outdoors, the periodic disinfection of hands and the requirement to present the vaccination certificate to enter establishments or mass meetings. The vaccination card will continue to be required for all persons over 12 years of age, except to enter centers of essential activities such as health, education, work and public services. SCHOOLS RETURN TO NORMAL The COE also ratified the permission for schools to function normally, with no limit on students in the classroom, something that more than 1.8 million students from the Andes and the Amazon of Ecuador have already started to do this week, and that from May students from the coast and the Galapagos will also do. To enter the country, there is still an obligation to present a vaccination certificate with at least two doses received or, failing that, a PCR with a negative result whose sample has been taken 72 hours prior to shipment. Currently, the incidence of covid-19 in Ecuador remains low, even after the four Carnival holidays in early March, where there were celebrations, meetings and a large mobilization of people between the different regions of the country. So far, Ecuador has recorded more than 850,000 confirmed cases of covid-19 and more than 35,000 deaths between confirmed and suspected, while it has a high vaccination rate, with 77% of its 17.7 million inhabitants already vaccinated with at least two doses. CHIEF fgg/lll