Prognosis

Virus Takes Root in Venezuela Oil Town Already in Collapse

In Maracaibo public hospital patients vie for only 8 ICU beds
Forced to recycle masks, medical staff have stopped showing up

Workers spray disinfectant in a market in Maracaibo on May 28.Photographer: Maria Fernanda Munoz/picture alliance via Getty Images

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By Nicolle Yapur and Alex Vasquez

June 24, 2020 at 2:30 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Blood stains on the walls and floors. Cockroaches and rats in hallways. And several dozen Covid-19 patients per ward, but only two nurses and one bathroom.

Ever since the coronavirus started coursing through Latin America in March, health experts worried what would happen if the pandemic took root in embattled Venezuela. In the hot and humid coastal city of Maracaibo, that day has arrived.