Coronavirus stokes fear among Venezuelan migrants in Latin America

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-colombia-venezuela/coronavirus-stokes-fear-among-venezuelan-migrants-in-latin-america-idUSKBN2170XX

For millions of Venezuelan migrants who fled the crisis in their homeland, many struggling daily in countries across Latin America to afford food and rent, the spread of coronavirus threatens to bring new hardship.

More than 4 million Venezuelans have left their country since 2015, as economic and political upheaval caused shortages of food and basic goods as well as the collapse of the health and education systems.

From Buenos Aires to Bogota, many of these emigrees scrape a living hawking goods on the streets of Latin American cities, working as cab drivers or waiting on tables in restaurants.

Most lack access to healthcare and state welfare, and have no savings to fall back on if they cannot work. With countries across the region imposing quarantines, curfews and border closures to stem the spread of coronavirus, many migrants now fear they will be trapped and more vulnerable than before.