BOGOTA – In the 14 years he has worked on an ambulance, Dr. Carlos Barragan has a habit of attending 3 calls during a 12-hour shift, often resulting in traffic accidents.

Coronavirus replaced him.

Now Barragan and two other people from his crew are handling up to seven calls per call in high-altitude Bogota. Colombia is under a 5 week nationwide quarantine until 27 April.

“That’s a lot for us,” Barragan said as the crew held protective gear at the start of their day. The pay increase not only includes calls from COVID-19 patients, but also those struggling with mental health problems resulting from the lockdown.

When a coronavirus call arrives, fear rips his head.

“There is a worry, there is fear, but we know that we need to do this because it is our job,” said Bairagan, a married father of two.

There are more than 3,200 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Colombia. More than 140 people have died.

Andrés Alvarez, director of emergencies for Bogota’s health department, said the city’s emergency health numbers are growing rapidly.

“Before COVID we usually received an average of 1,400 calls (daily),” he said standing between rows of dispatcher desks. “In the first case, calls increased 625% on March 6. We had 7,000 or 8,500 call days.”

About 80% are related to coronavirus, Alvarez said, asking for tests in people with respiratory symptoms and wondering where to go for care.

Alvarez has added dozens of dispatchers and house call doctors to his staff to manage the increase, initially for 3 months.

Dispatcher Juliet Bernal has called for 13 years, but she is now answering 10 times.

“It’s at least 500 calls, sometimes a little more,” he said before taking another. “It’s one after the other!”

Health activists around Latin America have reported hostility from members of the public fear they are experiencing COVID-19 echoing in Bogota.

“You go to the supermarket or wait in line at the bank and people see the uniforms and discriminate because they think you will infect them,” said ambulance doctor Barragan.

He constantly reviews safety protocols, Barragan said, and the team spends up to 3 hours driving the ambulance every time they transport someone with a coronavirus.

“We try to take care of ourselves as much as possible so as not to infect anyone.”

Although he knows the cases will continue as long as there is no vaccine, Barragan hopes that quarantine will trick and curb the spread.

“Quarantine can be work.”