Covid-19 in Cartagena and the Bolívar Department, Colombia. Current status, perspectives and challenges until the arrival of the vaccine

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, a new coronavirus, was first observed in Wuhan (China) in November 2019. In a short time, SARS-CoV-2 spread across the world, creating a pandemic. There is a need to know the current situation of each country and region and to generate strategies to contain and mitigate the impact on global health and the economy. To control COVID-19 in Cartagena and the Department of Bolívar, Colombia, a strategic network involving public health entities and higher education institutions has emerged. The network has been in place for six months, and 77,122 subjects have been tested in Cartagena and Bolívar Department, of whom 8,260 (10.71%) tested positive (RT-qPCR). Of those who tested positive, 51.4% were male (p>0.05), and 13.1% were health personnel (9.43% female, p < 0.05). The mortality rate was relatively low, 1.22%, with males being the most affected, accounting for 0.9% of deaths (p > 0.05). The daily case report showed upward and downward fluctuations by the mobility restrictions applied to the population, and from day 120 of the start of the pandemic, the epidemiological curve stabilized, and a logarithmic plateau was reached. COVID-19 spread in 39/46 municipalities of Bolívar; however, Bolívar and Cartagena had a low number of cases and deaths compared to other departments and city in Colombia. Cartagena and Bolívar have been given an economic opening with restrictions on crowding and mandatory use of a mouth cover until a vaccine is available. UNIMOL was the first laboratory in Cartagena, Bolívar and Colombia to receive approval from the National Institute of Health to process COVID-19 samples; thanks to the timely diagnosis of cases by UNIMOL, intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy did not exceed capacity, and population confinement was appropriately initiated.