Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Colombia's Medellin Emerges as Surprise COVID-19 Pioneer

Associated Press

   BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - Two and a half million residents. Four confirmed
   coronavirus deaths.

   As coronavirus cases surge in Latin America, the Colombian city of
   Medellin is defying expectations and managing to keep numbers
   remarkably low.

   Months into the pandemic, there are just 741 confirmed cases citywide
   and only 10 patients hospitalized in ICUs with COVID-19. The metropolis
   recently went five weeks without a single COVID-19 death.

   "Medellin can be considered a best-case scenario," said Dr. Carlos
   Espinal, director of Florida International University's Global Health
   Consortium.

   In theory, that shouldn't be the case. The city is dense, home to many
   poor residents who will go hungry if they quarantine for too long and
   connected by a congested public transportation system. All these
   factors have made the virus especially hard to contain in Latin
   America.

   How has Medellin, so far, defied the odds?

   City officials and epidemiologists credit early preparation, a novel
   app that connected needy residents with food and cash while also
   collecting important data that later helped track cases, and a medical
   system that has moved rapidly to treat the sick before they fall
   critically ill.

   Mayor Daniel Quintero's critics fear the immense data being collected
   on citizens amounts to a severe invasion of privacy, but even they
   admit that it has proven effective in containing COVID-19.

   "It's impossible to fight the virus without information," Quintero, 39,
   said. "We'd have deaths in the hundreds if we hadn't made these
   decisions."

   Quintero, Medellin's youngest mayor ever, is an engineer by training
   who began holding COVID-19 prep meetings in January, weeks after taking
   office. The virus was a blip on the radar for most Latin American
   governments back then. Some thought he was absurd for worrying about a
   virus raging in China.

.