COVID-19: Colombian President calls for solidarity with Venezuelan migrants

Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez during a Facebook live session on April 5 appealed to his fellow citizens for solidarity and support for more than a million Venezuelan migrants currently present in the country. Ever since the preventive lockdown has been imposed in Colombia, the Venezuelan migrants who had left their country to avoid economic crises have found themselves stuck in the midst of a health crisis without any proper source of income. 

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Ivan Duque said that Colombia will help the Venezuelan migrants despite the difficulties caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Ivan said that the government will continue to support more than 1.7 million displaced Venezuelan migrants with food aid and protection programs. According to reports, more than 600 Venezuelan migrants arrived at the Colombian border on April 4, where they were received by the immigration officials. The migrant crisis in Colombia peaked when the Venezuelan government in July 2016 opened its border to allow migrants to cross the border due to shortages and other economical difficulties. 

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Colombia has recorded 1,485 confirmed coronavirus infections so far, of which 1,362 cases are still active. According to data by worldometer, 35 people in Colombia have lost their lives due to COVID-19, while 50 patients remain under critical condition. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The Coronavirus infection has claimed more than 70,100 lives across the world and has infected over 12,82,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last month before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and Iran have also overtaken China in terms of death toll related to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)