BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIACOVID-19 has been handled more thoughtfully in Colombia than in most other countries in the hemisphere, as authorities moved early to impose strict quarantine measures and organize its health services efficiently. Bogotá, the capital, went into strict lockdown on March 18, even earlier than the rest of the country, and most residents are allowed to walk only to nearby pharmacies, hospitals, or food stores for now. Despite these measures, the coronavirus numbers are bad, and climbing rapidly. Infections in this country of 50 million people and in Bogotá, with a population of eight million, stand respectively at 8,959 and 3,469, and total deaths at 397. Nearly half those deaths are in Bogotá.
Faced with a collapsing economy, the national
