Venezuela seemed to have escaped the worst of COVID-19. A new surge could upend that

CARACAS, Venezuela — The messages fill a WhatsApp chat for doctors at private clinics each day in Venezuela’s capital: Pleas for help in finding intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients. As the troubled South American country grapples with a new surge in virus cases, patients and doctors have been scrambling to find enough beds to treat the sick. The vast majority can’t afford a private clinic, instead turning to a public health system where testing is limited, doctors have scarce protective gear and beds are in short supply. Now even the privileged are finding their options limited as h...