Hospitals treating coronavirus patients in Bolivia's two largest cities, La Paz and El Alto, are overwhelmed by the demand.
La Paz Mayor, Luis Revilla, said, covid hospitals in the city are full. The La Portada hospital is full, emergency is full, as well as the Cotahuma hospital.
Revilla said, they are calling for the Sur hospital to be up and running as soon as possible.
A protesting nurse in La Paz said the hospital has been overwhelmed for several weeks. Mary Ticona said, "We collapsed about two months ago. We are attending to our people as we can, in stretchers, wheelchairs, however we can attend to them. We have collapsed."
Ticona is urging Bolivia's national health officials to get involved and make coronavirus tests available for the hospital staff, so they can determine who is infected with the coronavirus.
Ticona said, some co-workers are already showing symptoms of the virus, which is still surging in one of Latin America's poorest countries.
So far, Bolivia has confirmed more than 42,000 coronavirus cases and more than 1,500 deaths.
