CCL: The health emergency continues, what does that mean?

More than two years have passed since the government declared a state of emergency due to covid-19, which ends on Friday after the publication this morning in the official newspaper of El Peruano about its cancellation.

With this position all restrictions removed left behind due to the new coronavirus, such as the voluntary use of a mask, the accreditation of three doses of vaccines, the presentation of a vaccination card, and others.

health emergency continues

However, although state of emergency lifted The health emergency is still ongoing as the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has not yet disappeared.

As a reminder, in March 2020, the executive branch issued Supreme Decree No. 008-2020-SA, in which it declared a 90-day state of emergency at the national level, which was extended seven times, the last extension ending on February 25.

“Elevation State of emergency in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided by the government does not include a declaration of a health emergency, which means that public institutions in the health sector can procure through direct purchases from a single supplier without going through the requirements of public competition and bidding, which can lead to serious violations, ”explained the trade Lima Chamber.

Given these concerns, the union believes that the executive branch should lift the public health emergency due to the lack of justification for the low infection and death rates reported by Ministry of Health care.

“It is appropriate to reassess the validity of maintaining the health emergency to give way to the planning and implementation phase of health sector improvements, which includes public procurement requires greater strengthening of the healthcare system,” the business association said in a statement.

Due to the health emergency, the situation in the health system has been more disclosed, and for this reason direct purchases of equipment and consumables have been allowed, except for the usual procedures, which at the same time require requirements, conditions, formalities and appropriate guarantees to be carried out. out of the selection process.

“While the final extension of the declaration of emergency was only four days away, it is positive that the executive branch canceled it, because, in addition to being unjustified in the current conditions, it also made it possible for other actors to use direct reward mechanisms to carry out public procurement subject to subsequent regularization, which at present may be more of an open door for violations, rather than a mechanism for dealing with emergencies,” the union said.