Colombia reaches one million virus cases

Colombia reached 1 million virus cases on Saturday, becoming the second country in Latin America to reach the milestone in less than a week. The nation of 50 million saw cases peak in August and has seen a decline since, but still continues to register around 8,000 new infections a day.

On Saturday, authorities confirmed a total 1,007,711 cases with 68,008 of them still considered as active. Epidemiologists expect to see another marked increase by the end of the year, a prognosis that has put medical workers like nurse Freddy Harvey Rodríguez and his son Camilo, who is a doctor at one of Bogota's largest hospitals, on edge. Freddy Harvey Rodriguez said in a recent interview that he fears the new breakout will be worse and even newly purchased equipment will be insufficient.

"It was not only reaching a million. We are certain and we are afraid that what is coming is going to be worse," said Rodriguez.

Argentina hit 1 million cases on Monday and Peru and Mexico are expected to reach the grim marker in the weeks ahead. Brazil ranks third worldwide in the number of virus cases and passed 1 million infections back in June. In Colombia, a six month lockdown helped slow contagion and gave officials time to expand the number of intensive care unit beds, but nearly 30,000 have died, including medical workers like colleagues of Doctor Camilo Rodriguez. Doctor Rodiguez said working in the hospital has already taken a toll on him, after a losing a mentor.

"Losing him in the way we did, because of the irresponsibility of all that people in the street who is not wearing the masks," said Rodriguez.

One count by a medical association estimates that nearly 200 physicians and other workers have died. The pair still worry about getting sick, despite spending over $100 in protective gear at the start of the pandemic. Both work at Bogota's Kennedy Hospital, which is located in a sprawling working class neighborhood, the area with the highest total number of cases anywhere in the bustling capital.

The virus' cruel path through Latin America is a consequence of weak public health systems, social factors like poverty and poor government decisions early on that resulted in flawed or limited testing and little contact tracing. Today the region is home to half the 10 countries with the highest total cases around the globe. 

(Image Credits: AP)