Colombia has reached obe million confirmed coronavirus cases, becoming the second country in Latin America to report that number in less than a week.
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The nation of 50 million saw cases peak in August and has seen a decline since but still continues to register around 8000 new infections a day.
Epidemiologists expect to see another marked increase by the end of the year.
Overall, Latin America continues to register some of the highest caseloads, diagnosing more than 100,000 confirmed infections each day, though the World Health Organisation reports that Europe is now seeing even larger numbers as a second virus wave strikes.
Experts say the region is experiencing a table-top like effect in which cases remain relatively high instead of dramatically dropping. In a number of countries, the virus has begun spreading to areas that had previously registered relatively few cases.
In Colombia, a six-month lockdown helped slow contagion and gave officials time to expand the number of ICU beds.
While cases rose dramatically in Bogota, stretching hospital capacity, the city has managed to avoid the sorts of dire scenes seen elsewhere in the region of patients lined up outside hospitals, struggling to find a bed.
Nonetheless, the cost has been high: Nearly 30,000 people have died, including a number of medical workers.
One count by a medical association estimates that nearly 200 physicians and other workers have died.
Meanwhile, mass protests against the government's handling of a wide range of issues - including the economic fallout of the pandemic - continue.
The path of the virus through Latin America is a consequence of weak public health systems, social factors like poverty and poor government decisions early on that resulted in flawed or limited testing and little contact tracing.
Today the region is home to half the 10 countries with the highest total cases around the globe.
Australian Associated Press