QUITO, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the country registered 815 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and 26 more deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 117,175, with 6,674 deaths.
The province of Pichincha, where the capital of Quito is located, continues to register the highest number of new cases in the country, with a total of 24,705 infections and 947 deaths.
The National Committee for Emergency Operations, which is managing the health crisis, has decreed that all social gatherings will continue to be suspended until Sept. 12.
The committee also announced that the permissible capacity of restaurants and shopping centers in Quito has been raised from 30 to 50 percent.
Ecuador began to gradually lift preventive isolation measures and social restrictions on June 1 in order to reactivate the economy, but international land borders remain closed, all face-to-face classes continue to be suspended, and entertainment venues such as bars and nightclubs are still not permitted to reopen. Enditem
