RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health said Wednesday, December 23rd, more than 400 antigen tests to detect the COVID-19 pandemic have been applied to travelers from Britain, Australia, South Africa and the European Union.
Since a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in Britain, Ecuador has required testing on travelers arriving from those countries at the Mariscal Sucre airport in capital Quito and the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil, the two largest cities, the ministry said in a statement.
On Deember 14th, the British authorities reported the existence of the new strain and warned the variant may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original.
On Monday, Ecuador’s Committee for Emergency Operations, which is in charge of handling the health crisis, required travelers arriving from those countries to present a negative COVID-19 test taken within 10 days prior to the trip.
In addition, it required that they undergo rapid antigen tests upon arrival.
“Health professionals apply the swabs to people over 14 years of age and, as a priority, to older adults,” said the ministry.
Ecuador registered a total of 207,084 cases of COVID-19 with 9,413 deaths by Wednesday.