Philip Reeves

NPR correspondents in Paris, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro relay how the countries they cover have adapted to life in the age of the coronavirus.

Doctors tell NPR many health workers have left the country and many hospitals don't have necessities, including soap and running water.

Venezuela is in no position to fight COVID-19. Its health care system collapsed long before the virus hit, leaving hospitals without running water and soap, much less ventilators or PPE.

Followers of President Jair Bolsonaro demand that the country returns to work and ends closures imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which has killed 77 in Brazil.

President Jair Bolsonaro labeled regional leaders who have imposed restrictions as "criminals" who are "destroying Brazil." His position has brought him into conflict with them and medical experts.

Local leaders in the South American nation are calling on the president to take far stronger measures to tackle the virus, after the number of identified cases rose from 170 to 922 in just a day.

"Clearly, by the end of April, our health care system will collapse," said Brazil's Health Minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta. Confirmed cases surged by 283 in one day to 904.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro may be adored by supporters, but his cavalier attitude toward the coronavirus, which has infected many members of his government, has others banging pots and pans.

President Nicolás Maduro has allowed the use of U.S. dollars to revive Venezuela's collapsing economy, jumpstarting business and consumption for those with greenbacks. Those without may go hungry.

Juan Guaidó has returned home following a trip to the U.S. to meet President Trump and attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. He defied a travel ban imposed by the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

After receiving a warm bipartisan reception in the U.S. Congress, the man the Trump administration recognizes as Venezuela's interim president, Juan Guaidó, returns to Caracas.

Chile's protest movement has transformed a giant plaza in Santiago into a venue for graffiti, art, street theater, concerts — and bloody clashes with police.

Allowing the use of American dollars has brought a little life back to Venezuela's cities — and strengthened Nicolás Maduro's grip on power. But much misery remains in more rural parts of the nation.

Chileans are once again risking injury and arrest to continue the protests they started in the fall. They're demanding economic reforms that they blame for major social inequality in the country.

Chilean protesters were back on the streets Friday to vent their anger over the country's paltry pensions, fragile safety net and police brutality against demonstrators.

Brazil's president is about to mark a year in office. In his inaugural speech, he promised to build a "society without discrimination or division." Critics say he's done the exact opposite.

Broad swaths of the Amazon Rainforest burned this year. An NPR correspondent met one character deep in the rainforest who told him something that didn't end up in a radio story but stuck with him.

A former ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says the leader has a government-funded "digital militia" that pumps out propaganda targeting the president's enemies.

One woman's personal but epic struggle in Venezuela says a lot about poverty there. She sifts through trash and even moved to the capital where the pickings might offer more than even poorer areas.

Bolivia is struggling to transition to new elections following the fall of Evo Morales and deadly violence. There are allegations that the interim president is hostile to indigenous culture.