Bogota, May 31 (AP) The mayor of Colombia's capital is planning to shut down one of the city's largest neighborhoods as cases there continue to rise.

Mayor Claudia Lopez said Saturday that starting June 1st the working-class Kennedy area - home to nearly 1.5 million people - will be under a strict quarantine.

Also Read | Egypt Army Says 19 Islamic Militants Killed in Sinai.

Police and military will enforce the lockdown and no one will be allowed out, except to seek food or medical care or in case of an emergency.

Businesses like manufacturing that had been allowed to operate will be ordered closed. Lopez said that testing for the virus will be doubled.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Calls Scott Morrison's 'ScoMosas' Delicious, Promises to 'Enjoy Snack Together Once Decisive Victory Against COVID-19 is Achieved'.

The Kennedy area was inaugurated by late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who visited Bogota in 1961 as part of the Alliance for Progress.

The area today has more nearly 2,500 cases and hospitals there are reaching maximum capacity.

Lopez said that in the rest of Bogota no new sectors of the economy will be allowed to reopen until at least the middle of June. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)