Virus-free town in Colombia working to keep it that way
CAMPOHERMOSO, Colombia — When customers enter his hardware store Nelson Avila asks them to wear a mask and wash their hands. He sprays alcohol over the bills and coins they give him before putting them in the till.
Avila’s shop is in Campohermoso, a town of 3,000 people in Boyaca state in the mountains of central Colombia that has no reported cases of the coronavirus. According to the Health Ministry, Campohermoso County — which consists of the town and surrounding farms and villages — is one of just two in the country that are COVID-19-free. Colombia has more than 1,100 counties.
“Those bills can carry the virus” said Avila, 49, as he disinfects a wad of wrinkled pesos. “They go from hand to hand, so we have to be careful.”
Officials and locals say the town has been able to keep the virus away thanks to the disciplined behavior of its residents and constant campaigns urging people to social distance and wear masks.
The town’s remote location has also helped it to stay coronavirus-free. It has just seven streets and six avenues laid out in a neat grid. It is nestled at the bottom of a green valley, 3,300 feet above sea level.
“Campohermosos has a low population density and little contact with big cities,” said Jairo Mauricio Santoyo, the health secretary for Boyaca state.
Given that Colombia, with a population of about 50 million people, has reported more than 2.3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, many consider the lack of infections here a small miracle.
During the first decade of this century, Campohermoso was affected by fighting between paramilitary groups and leftist rebels, says the town’s mayor, Jaime Rodriguez. The coffee-growing area has been peaceful for more than a decade but it is seldom visited by outsiders.
Rodriguez says communication has been crucial in keeping the pandemic away from Campohermoso. Messages about the virus and how to prevent it are broadcast three times a day on speakers perched on the town’s lampposts.
The local radio station also broadcasts daily shows that talk about prevention. To ensure everyone gets the message, the mayor’s office distributed 1,000 radios to farmers who live in Campohermoso’s rural areas.
“The whole town has come together” Rodriguez said. “The police, the health center, church personnel and the mayor’s office all go on the radio station to talk about the virus.”
Rodriguez said his message to townsfolk has been simple: “It’s up to every family to stop it.”
He has also tried to lead by example. The mayor says he began to feel ill during a recent visit to Bogota, where he tested positive for
the virus. He did not return to Campohermoso until he tested negative.
“We’ve put 60 families in town in quarantine because they showed some symptoms,” Rodriguez said. “But all of them have tested negative.”
Businesses are now open in Campohermoso and only allow customers wearing masks. The town has not banned visitors from other parts of the country but those who arrive and wish to stay have been asked to quarantine in a relative’s home, and receive a daily call from the local nurse.
Campohermoso’s only school is running at half of its usual capacity. Students have been divided by shifts and attend school every other day.
And in the largely Roman Catholic town, the local priest has also gotten involved in prevention .
“We pray to Saint Roch, who is our patron saint and the protector of the sick,” says the Rev. Camilo Monroy, who has also gone on radio to talk about ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
The only other town in Colombia that is reportedly coronavirus-free is San Juanito, which is also in a remote valley in the Andes mountains. .