Colombia to restart domestic flights to and from Amazonas province

Colombia will next month restart domestic flights to and from Leticia, the capital of its Amazonas province, the government said on Wednesday, ending months of isolation for the city. Those looking to travel from Leticia when flights restart on May 1 will have to present COVID-19 vaccination cards showing they have received necessary doses, the health ministry said.

Colombia will next month restart domestic flights to and from Leticia, the capital of its Amazonas province, the government said on Wednesday, ending months of isolation for the city. Flights to and from Leticia were grounded at the end of January over fears about the spread of the Brazilian P1 coronavirus variant.

Studies have shown the P1 variant to be roughly 2.5 times more contagious than the original coronavirus and more resistant to antibodies. Colombia's Amazonas province shares a border with the Brazilian state of the same name and the decision to halt flights came after a case of the P1 variant was reported in Tabatinga, a Brazilian city next to Leticia.

"In Amazonas, particularly in Leticia, the projected seroprevalence is very high, which led the advisory committee to recommend reopening flights in its last session," Julian Fernandez, Colombia's director of epidemiology and demographics, said in a statement released by the health ministry. Seroprevalence is the percentage of individuals in a population who have antibodies to infectious agents such as viruses.

Amazonas' population numbers just under 80,000 and the majority live in Leticia. So far, more than 50,000 vaccine doses have been administered there, according to the health ministry. Those looking to travel from Leticia when flights restart on May 1 will have to present COVID-19 vaccination cards showing they have received necessary doses, the health ministry said. Travelers must have received their second dose at least 15 days prior and show a negative antigen result.

People who have chosen not to be vaccinated will face seven-day quarantines in hotels - for which they will have to pay - if flying to or via capital Bogota, the statement added.