The 45 winners of the photojournalism contest, World Press Photo, were announced this Thursday. Photographer Iván Macías joined the list of seven Mexican photographers who have made it to the top three places in the traditional contest with a portrait of a doctor who treats patients with COVID-19 in Mexico City.

Iván Macías is a photographer from Mexico City, passionate about the ability of the image to generate awareness and bring reflection. He started shooting in 2016 and gradually began his career in photography, collaborating for Time Out Mexico and Proceso magazines.

In addition, he has won the International Photography Awards in the non-professional category in 2019, and in the professional category in 2020, as well as several other photographic competitions in Mexico.

COVID-19 first responder, shows the face of a doctor at the end of her shift with the marks of masks and goggles. This image represents the lives of thousands of health care workers around the world fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic.

The doctor said that in a 12-hour workday, she wears a protective mask for 5 to 6 hours, which caused injuries to her nose and so she wears patches on her face to lessen the damage to her face.

For the "portrait" category, Ivan competed with five finalist photographers from other countries. The other two winners were: Oleg Ponomarev from Russia, who won first place with The Transition: Ignat and Tatiana Nikitina, also from Russia, who won third place with her photograph In Flight.

The pandemic theme has overwhelmingly been the central theme for many photographers, from healthcare workers to patients.  Due to the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the award ceremony was held virtually with a live broadcast to announce the winners of the photo of the year.