QUITO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador on Monday reported 113,767 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and 6,556 deaths from the disease since the start of the outbreak here six months ago.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, in the past 24 hours, tests detected 119 new cases of infection and one more COVID-19 patient died.
The actual death toll is likely more than 10,000 as another 3,741 deaths are suspected of having been caused by COVID-19, though that has not been verified.
Nationwide, the city hardest hit by the pandemic is the capital Quito, the current epicenter of COVID-19 in the country, with 21,589 people testing positive.
The city has stepped up its track and trace capacity to process up to 1,500 COVID-19 tests a day, up from just 700 to 800 tests a day. Enditem
