RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Over 1,900 deaths were reported in two weeks by a special Ecuador government task force. The figures represent the removal of bodies from hospitals and homes and the issuing of death certificates. Hospitals and cemeteries are already overcrowded, although the worst is believed to be yet to come.
“There is no place for either the living or the dead,” says the Mayor of Guayaquil, Cynthia Viteri. According to Viteri, 71 percent of the confirmed Covid-19 cases occur in Guayaquil.
The authorities expect up to 3,500 deaths in the coming weeks in the province of Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil. However, due to insufficient testing, it is virtually impossible to accurately record the number of people infected with the virus or who have died in the country.
“Patients die without ever having been tested. There is no room, time or resources to carry out further tests to determine whether or not they have died from coronavirus. The number will only be known when this tragedy, this nightmare, ends here,” Viteri said.
On March 16th, Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno declared a state of health emergency in the country. Despite a number of measures such as curfews and mobility restrictions, the number of deaths in the country is rapidly increasing.
On the Santa Elena peninsula, which borders the province of Guayas, over 200 people have died in the past two weeks, although it is not clear whether all cases are linked to the pandemic.
Most deaths were due to respiratory failure or other symptoms similar to coronavirus. This has prompted the population to call on the authorities to intervene.
According to María Paula Romo, the Minister of the Interior, on April 16th, 8,225 people infected with coronavirus have been confirmed from 27,868 samples taken nationwide, 403 of whom have died. In addition, there are another 632 deaths in the country, who are “likely victims of Covid-19”. The estimated number of unreported cases is much higher.
Due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Moreno announced a 50 percent cut in salary for himself and his cabinet members. This was followed by other state officials, including members of the National Assembly.
Moreno had previously announced a number of economic measures to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
For one, the government plans to set up a “humanitarian aid account”, which will be financed for nine months by the contribution of five percent of companies’ profits which have generated over US$1 million in 2018, together with an increased contribution from workers having with salaries over US$500.
The announcement prompted criticism from indigenous groups, unions and entrepreneurs, who said they had liquidity issues because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the LATAM Airlines Group has set up an air solidarity program (Avión Solidario) to fly medical equipment, materials and supplies to areas where access is restricted.
Other private companies are also attempting to use their available resources differently in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, such as for the production of antibacterial gel.
Source: Amerika21