Despite an early and strict quarantine protocol instituted by the Bolivian government in March, coronavirus infections continue to rise in Bolivia. The country is now among the top 10 most affected in the world. And as António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has said, “this is, above all, a human crisis that calls for solidarity.”

The public health situation in Bolivia is grim. There are more than 50,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, but because of inadequate testing, the true number is believed to be much higher. Hospitals and cemeteries are described as ‘collapsed’ by the surging demand for services. “The government predicts that infections will continue to rise throughout July and August” explains Patricia Vargas, Executive Director of our sister organization, Puente de Solidaridad. “Until they can flatten the curve of infection, we will have very serious problems.”

At Hospital Viedma, more than 200 doctors, including some of our closest partners, have contracted the coronavirus.

The uncontrolled spread of the virus has left Bolivia in a state of catastrophe. Hospitals are beyond capacity and patients are dying from a lack of resources, especially the need for intensive care. In an already fragile health system, the virus has decimated the medical community. At the Viedma Hospital, the highest level public hospital for the state of Cochabamba (pop. 1.9M), more than 200 doctors, including some of our closest partners, have contracted the virus. Among nurses, fear of contracting the virus is so great that many have decided not to work. These factors, among others, have contributed to a dangerous short-fall in needed healthcare personnel.

Pharmacies are also experiencing shortages, endangering the health of those with COVID-19 and those managing other routine health issues. Shortages in COVID-19 tests also undermine the nation's ability to control the outbreak. Publicly available tests are in short supply, and the wait for results can be up to 10 days. Private tests can be procured, but the cost is increasing with demand.

In Cochabamba, the government has dispatched teams of contact tracers to neighborhoods around the city. They are searching for hot spots, in hopes of isolating the virus and slowing it’s spread. These teams offer testing, and provide small kits including thermometers and basic medicines to families they find with infections. In the neighborhoods they have canvassed, they have found many cases. However in neighborhoods they have not canvassed, the disease remains rampant, unreported, and untreated.

Our Puente de Solidaridad colleague, Alfonso Flores lives in an area south of the city that has not been visited by the contact tracing teams. He described the way neighbors are working together to do their part to fight the virus. “When families notice that multiple people in a household or neighborhood are experiencing similar symptoms, they isolate themselves. They can’t always get tested, and they know that the hospitals around them do not have space or resources to treat them. Instead,they are self isolating and seeking medical advice by phone from any healthcare workers they may have personal connections to.”

Dr. Carlos Brockmann is interviewed about his efforts to provide telemedicine to patients who are sick and isolating at home.

These realities of testing shortages, collapsed hospitals, and sick people isolating at home, are confirmed in a recent study which shows that for every 6 people who die in Cochabamba, 3 died in their homes, 2 in the streets, and 1 in a hospital. Recognizing this, doctors throughout Bolivia have been donating their time to provide telemedicine support through WhatsApp. Dr. Carlos Brockmann, a key partner in our Heart Surgery Program, has led this effort which now includes more than 70 of his fellow colleagues. They report receiving an average of 180 calls each day.

In the face of this enormous crisis, good people are working together every day to ease the sufferings and burdens of their neighbors. Whether through volunteer telemedicine, or caring for the sick in their own communities, Bolivians are leaning on their strong familial and community ties to meet the challenge of this moment.

Our team members at Puente de Solidaridad are foremost among those working to ease the burdens of this pandemic. Each team member knows friends or family who have been affected, and many who have died from the coronavirus. Each day they take calls from patients and medical partners in dire situations. And despite the risks to their own health, they remain committed to do all they can to accompany the sick and increase access to essential health care.

It is difficult to hear of the suffering this pandemic is causing our brothers and sisters, both near and far. But we, too, are invited—through prayer, donations, and solidarity—to ease the suffering of those who are sick, and to work toward a global recovery that prioritizes the needs of those who are most vulnerable.

“A Human Crisis that Calls for Solidarity” As Rising Cases Overwhelm the Bolivian Health System