Bolivian health workers on strike to demand "lockdown"

Healthcare workers in an area of Bolivia hammered hard by the coronavirus pandemic started a 48-hour strike on Tuesday as they tried to put authorities under pressure to apply a strict lockdown to curb growing infections.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has recorded more than 229,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 10,800 coronavirus-related deaths.

Santa Cruz, the most populous and prosperous region in Bolivia, has so far recorded nearly 80,000 cases and more than 5,000 virus-related deaths, according to official figures.

Edil Toledo, the acting president of Santa Cruz Medical College, told Spanish news agency EFE that Santa Cruz is "the centerpiece" of the Bolivia pandemic.

'There are between 30 and 40 cases every hour. Every hour a patient dies. The situation in Santa Cruz is worrying, "said Toledo.

With hospitals flooded with patients, Toledo declared doctors have coincided with local administrators more than a dozen times to demand more extreme steps to suppress infections - such as the introduction of home orders or the cessation of public transport - but they could do not reach an agreement.

As the strike kicked off Tuesday, hundreds of health workers in the streets of Santa Cruz swung on drones and signs.

Emergency health workers and hospitals treating COVID-19 patients were reportedly not part of the strike, but all other medical procedures, including specialist care, were suspended.

The Bolivian government has been reluctant to introduce more measures amid an economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

The belief is that the vaccination drive will bring the virus under control.

More than 8,000 people have been immunized so far, according to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, most of whom are health workers.

In January, Bolivia initially received 20,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, out of a total of 5.3 million planned doses.

It also anticipated to receive approximately one million vaccine doses in March through COVAX, a World Health Organization program to ensure equitable access to vaccines.

The COVAX program aims to deliver 1.3 billion vaccine doses to 92 low- and middle-income qualifying countries by 2021, although it may experience delays.

Bolivia is expected to receive another five million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in April, local media reported.

The government said that would be enough to vaccinate the country's 11.5 million people.