TIJUANA’S CORONAVIRUS FIGHT

Mexican Red Cross paramedics Michael Zavala, left, and Ivan Mora care for a woman on a Tijuana street who was exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Paramedics are on the front lines of the pandemic in Tijuana.

The coronavirus is killing so many people in Tijuana that the morgue has run out of refrigerator space for bodies. As of Tuesday, the Mexican border city had confirmed 392 deaths.

On the front lines of the pandemic in Tijuana is the Mexican Red Cross. Its 13 ambulances handle the majority of emergency calls for the city of 1.8 million people. Lately that has meant as many as 40 coronavirus calls a day.

On a Wednesday afternoon in April, paramedic Sergio Garcia pulled his emergency vehicle — a red-and-white hatchback — onto a dirt road in the neighborhood of Poblado Ejido Matamoros and stopped in front of a small wooden house.

In the passenger seat was Dr. Alan Muro, an emergency physician at one of the city’s main public hospitals and a paramedic. The men were there to assess a patient and determine whether to call an ambulance.

Muro decided to go inside first. He put on gloves, an N95 mask and face visor.

The family directed him to a small room at the end of a hallway, where 41-year-old Eduardo Molina was in bed wearing a face mask. The school bus driver had been sick for days and his symptoms — a cough and trouble breathing — were worsening.

Muro concluded that Molina had been infected with the coronavirus and told the family there was no choice but to get him to a hospital. Garcia came inside and connected him to an oxygen tank.

As they all waited for an ambulance, Molina’s wife, Mary Londe Hernandez, kneeled and through tears read aloud from a small Bible.

When the ambulance arrived, two paramedics in white protective suits went inside for Molina. Coughing and taking short breaths, he struggled as he made his way to the gurney.

“Don’t let me go alone, don’t let me go alone,” he said.

Outside, Muro and Garcia removed their gloves and disinfected their hands and boots before climbing back into their car. There were more calls to answer.

Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times

Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times Georgina Barajas Rios grieves for her mother, Maria Ruiz Olmedo, who died in their home after having symptoms of COVID-19. Paramedic Sergio Garcia is at right.

Paramedic Michael Zavala, above center, loads a patient on a stretcher with help from members of the patient’s family. The Mexican Red Cross has 13 ambulances in Tijuana that handle the majority of emergency calls for the city of 1.8 million people. Lately that has meant as many as 40 coronavirus calls a day.

Paramedic Michael Zavala, right, searches a home for a body after receiving an emergency call. No body was found. Tijuana’s mortality rate is twice the national average, and hospitals are low on medical supplies while also facing staffing shortages as health workers fall ill.

Coronavirus or not, Tijuana remains a violent city. Paramedics Federico Perez Ramirez and Valeria de la Torre Beaven aid a man who was shot in the head.

Paramedic Sergio Garcia prepares an oxygen mask for a patient exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. As of Tuesday, Tijuana had confirmed 392 virus deaths.