<p>BOGOTA, Colombia &mdash; Colombia moved Thursday to reactivate its economy by easing several lockdown measures even though it is still fighting a third peak in the pandemic, which has been aggravated by a month of crowded antigovernment street protests. </p>
<p>The Health Ministry said that Colombia will no longer require a negative coronavirus test from travelers entering the country by air and that students will return to classrooms once the vaccination of teachers is completed in July. </p>
<p>The ministry also announced that concerts, large sporting events and nightclubs at 25% capacity will be allowed in cities with less than 85% occupancy of ICU beds. This could rise to 50% of capacity in cities that have vaccinated 70% of their population in the first stage, which includes older adults, health workers, teachers and patients with chronic diseases.</p>
<p>Colombia, with 50 million inhabitants, has received 14 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca, and it has applied 10.3 million doses, according to government figures.</p>
<p>“This does not mean we cannot have a fourth peak,” Health Minister Fernando Ruiz said in a statement. “We will continue with the use of masks, hand washing and distancing.” </p>
<p>Colombia’s business sector celebrated the easing of restrictions, but some healthcare workers in cities such as Bogota, Cali and Medellin said they were exhausted with ICUs reaching occupancy rates of 96% to 99%.</p>
<p>“At the beginning of the pandemic they called us angels, the super protectors of these patients,” said Fabián Pardo Rodríguez, a nursing assistant at La Samaritana University Hospital. “As of this moment with what is happening we feel completely alone.”</p>
<p>The hospital, located in the center of Bogotá, is at full capacity and created a place called the “peace room” where families can view the lifeless bodies of their loved ones from a distance.</p>
<p>Doctors fear a worsening of the pandemic with the country reporting a record 28,600 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, bringing total confirmed cases to 3.4 million. There have been 90,300 deaths related to COVID-19, the disease that can be caused by the virus.</p>