EDITORS:

The following story has moved as this week’s Sunday Spotlight, a feature showcasing the best off-the-news enterprise in the AP report:

VIRUS OUTBREAK-TRAILBLAZING MEDELLIN

As coronavirus cases surge in Latin America, one city is defying expectations and managing to keep numbers remarkably low: Medellin, Colombia. The city of eternal spring – once long ago the brandished murder capital of the world – is now emerging as a surprise COVID-19 pioneer. Three months in, there are just 712 cases citywide and only 7 patients hospitalized in ICUs. The metropolis recently went five weeks without a single COVID-19 death. City officials and epidemiologists credit a combination of early preparation, a novel app that connected needy residents with food and cash while also collecting important data that helped track down cases, and a medical system that is quickly tending to the ill. By Christine Armario. UPCOMING: 1,150 words, photos.

The AP