While struggling to roll out vaccines, Colombia is in the throes of its worst phase of the pandemic to date. This week, the country broke daily death records on three consecutive days. A total of 490 new casualties were registered on Wednesday.
Capital city Bogota — home to 14 percent of the Colombian population — has become the country’s coronavirus hotbed, with intensive care units at 91-percent capacity. According to Mayor Claudia López, roughly half of patients admitted to ICUs do not survive. In the department of Antioquia, the second-worst hit in the country, Governor Luis Fernando Suárez says he fears a “tsunami of deaths” as hospitals reach a point of collapse.
Meanwhile, the government is facing huge levels of popular dissatisfaction, with protests held over President Ivan Duque’s tax reform proposal and business owners demonstrating against Covid-19 restrictions.
Search
