EEE — MIDAY, JUNE 14,2020 | TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS 1c ay ‘ Olombian city i App allows Medellin to supply needy, track cases Christine Armario ASSOCIATED PRESS BOGOTA, Colombia - Two and ahalf million residents. Four confirmed coro- navirus 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 CO- VID-19 death. “Medellin can be considered a best- case scenario,” said Dr. Carlos Espinal, director of Florida International Univer- sity’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 im- . portant data that later helped track cases, and a medical system that has moved rapidly to treat the sick before they fall critically i Mayor Daniel Quintero’s critics fear the immense data being collected on citizens amounts toa severe invasion of privacy, but even they admit that it has proven effective, in containing CO- VID«9. ‘It's impossible to fight the virus without information,” Quintero, 39, said. “We'd have deaths in the hundred3 ‘ ese decisions.” 9-prep meetings in ary, weeks after taking office. The virus was a blip on the radar for most Commuters observe social distancing on metropolis recently went five weeks wit! Latin American governments back then. Some thought he was absurd for worrying about a virus raging in China. Medellin did many of the things other cities would try in the weeks ahead, but it had some built-in advantages. Its in- ternational airport receives far fewer travelers from abroad than bigger cities like Bogota. That made tracking passen- gers landing from hot spots like Spain and the U.S. easier. It also has what is considered one of the best public health systems in Latin America. The response has been enormous: 1.3 million families - some 3.25 million people in total - from Medellin and sur- rounding areas registered. The aid was key for Maritza Alvarez, who lives with six elderly relatives, two of whom are street vendors. Since sign- ingup, she said they've gotten packages of food three times and two cash trans- fers. That has allowed them to mostly stay indoors instead of going out to earn money and bry food. o\in Medellin, Colombia. The tout a COVID-19 death. Luis BeNAvIDES/AP. The app also asks questions such as who users live with, if they have CO- VID-19 symptoms and what pre-exist- ing health conditions they suffer. That information has proven key in identify- ing cases, but it has also raised con- cerns. ‘Two cases have been filed in court challenging Medellin’s assertion that downloading and registering with the app is voluntary, noting that businesses and employees are being asked to sign up in orderto restart work. A judge ruled in favor of one complainant, agreeing that not all the information requested should be obligatory. Others are con- cemed about what the data might be used for once the pandemic is over. “Technology is an important tool in controlling the virus,” Daniel Duque, a councilman, wrote in a recent blog post. “But the pandemic shouldn't be an ex- cuse for governments to turn into a Big Brother that watches and controls ev- erything” In an interview with The Associated Press, Quintero brushed such concerns. aside. “They're partly right. Medellin is the ity in Latin America with the most in- ‘ormation on its'citizens,” he said via Zoom from his headquarters, brightly lit screens with charts and maps behind him. “But the question of our intentions in how we use this data can’t be doubt- ed” In Medellin, medical workers test anyone suspected of having COVID-19 at their home. Those who test positive are given a free oximeter. If their blood oxygen levels dip, nurses bring o7 to their homes. Those who don’t im- prove are taken to a hospital. The app has proven key in quickly tracking down those who may have had contact with someone who tests posi- tive. Medellin does about 40 coronavi- Tus tests for each case diagnosed, a number over double the nationwide av- erage, officials said. Though Medellin’s per million testing rate is low, several epidemiologists said they believe the city’s more targeted testing is proving effective. Colombian scientists estimate that for each CO- VID-19 death there are at least 100 more cases. That means in Medellin, which has had four deaths, there should be at least 400 infected people. The city has currently identified about 300 cases on top of that amount. Bogota, by contrast, has reported at least 339 coronavirus deaths but has only detected around 14,500 cases, Suggesting that despite more testing per million people, they still haven't found many of the existing cases. Still, confirmed coronavirus cases in Medellin have increased from around five to16 per day since the city reopened its economy in May. “We are entering a new phase now,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Catajio, an epide- miologist with the Antioquia Founda- tion for Epidemiology. “We hope to count on a health system that is suffi- ciently prepared.” Over the last two decades, Medellin has transformed, leaving behind the vi- olence of Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel and boosting education, libraries, parks and other civic projects. Locals believe their reputation for discipline and industriousness will car- ry them through another difficult chap- ter in Colombia's history, $ “We feel supported,” said Alvarez, the beneficiary of food packages. “I never thought big data would help me” r