Many Venezuelan Hospitals Lack Basics To Function, Let Alone Handle COVID-19 [View all]

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https://www.npr.org/2020/04/10/831569313/many-venezuelan-hospitals-lack-basics-to-function-let-alone-handle-covid-19

Medical professionals treating coronavirus patients in Venezuela say most hospitals lack a broad array of basic necessities, often including soap and running water.

Their warning comes amid concerns that the South American country could soon face a new humanitarian catastrophe because its health system is close to collapse and cannot cope with a surge of cases.

The government of Nicolás Maduro says nine people have died from COVID-19 in Venezuela, with just 171 cases, but there is widespread suspicion that officials are suppressing information about the scale of the infection.

"The health system is in very bad shape to fight the coronavirus right now," says Dr. Julio Castro, an infectious disease specialist at the Central University in Caracas. "Sixty-six percent of the biggest hospitals in Venezuela do not have running water. They just receive water once or twice a week. They don't have water, and they don't have soap either."