translated from Spanish: Colombia reached one million cases of coronavirus and approaches 30,000 deaths

The nation of 50 million people in August recorded an increase in contagion, which although they have declined since then, some 8,000 new cases continue to be recorded per day. Epidemiologists foresees another marked increase by the end of the year, a prognosis that has made health workers such as nurse Freddy Harvey Rodriguez and his son doctor nervous at one of Bogota’s largest hospitals.” The fear is that what’s coming is going to be tougher,” Rodriguez said recently. Argentina reached one million confirmed cases on Monday and Peru and Mexico are expected to reach that grim mark in the coming weeks. Brazil ranks third in the world in cases of coronavirus and overtopped one million contagions in June. Overall, Latin America continues to record one of the highest numbers of contagions, with more than 100,000 confirmed per day, although the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that Europe is reporting higher numbers due to a second wave of infections. Experts say the region experiences a board effect in which a relatively high number of cases persist without decreased significantly. In several countries, the virus has begun to spread to areas that previously had relatively few cases.” The behavior is different,” said physician Luis Jorge Hernández, professor of public health at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. “There are no big flare-ups but new shoots.” In Colombia, the six-month confinement contributed to slowing down contagions and gave the authorities time to expand the number of beds in intensive care units. Although cases have increased dramatically in Bogota, straining the capacity of hospitals, the city has managed to avoid the kind of terrible scenes seen elsewhere in the patients region by lined up outside the clinics and struggling to find a bed. However, the cost has been high: Nearly 30,000 people have passed away, including numerous medical employees such as Rodriguez’s colleagues. According to a medical association count, nearly 200 doctors and health employees have passed away. Rodriguez noted that his son spent more than $100 equivalent to buy protective equipment at the start of the pandemic. Both remain concerned about becoming infected. They work at Kennedy Hospital in Bogota, located in a large middle-class neighborhood. The sector records the highest number of cases in the bustling capital. Dr. Camilo Rodríguez said he gets to work in one uniform and puts on another when he treats patients with COVID-19. He lost a close friend and mentor due to the virus and is afraid to pass it on to his family.As an additional concern, the doctor showers in the hospital before returning home.” Getting infected is really infecting my family,” she said. The passage of the virus through Latin America is the result of weak public health systems, social factors such as poverty, and poor initial decisions by governments that resulted in failed or limited reviews and poor contact tracing. The region has half of the 10 countries with the highest total of cases in the world.

Original source in Spanish