Colombia's coronavirus-related cases surpass 4 million

By Sinan Dogan

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) – The number of coronavirus-related cases in Colombia has exceeded 4 million, the country’s Health Ministry reported late Wednesday.

The latest tally came as 29,995 new infections were reported.

Meanwhile, 645 people lost their lives to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the data showed, taking the country’s death toll to 101,947.

The number people who won the battle against the virus rose to over 3.74 million with an additional 26,497 recoveries.

Among the places most affected by the outbreak in the country was the capital Bogota, with more than 1.18 million cases, and the province of Antioquia with 618,029 cases.

In the country, where the number of active cases has reached 171,616, the intensive care occupancy rate ranges from 85%-90%.

The first shipment of the Janssen vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson against the virus reached the country, Health Minister Fernando Ruiz Gomez said on Twitter.

"Today, we received the first Janssen vaccine with 480,000 doses for pilot testing in 40 different cities. This vaccine gives society significant immunity by administering a single dose,” he said.

The amount of vaccines that have arrived in Colombia have reached more than 20.73 million doses.

Colombia, with a population of more than 51 million, ranks 10th in the world in terms of the number of cases.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed nearly 3.89 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 179.5 million cases reported worldwide, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Merve Berker