A medical worker wearing a mask and cap walks near a hospital in Quito, Ecuador, March 5, 2020. (Photo by Santiago Armas/Xinhua)
Ecuador is facing an accelerated increase in infections due to citizen relaxation, mainly in large provinces where hospitals have been overwhelmed with requests for beds in intensive care units.
QUITO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador surpassed 400,000 cases of the novel coronavirus disease on Sunday after registering 1,375 new cases, for a total of 400,296, the Ministry of Public Health reported.
Meanwhile, 75 more deaths from COVID-19 were also reported, bringing the death toll to 13,997.
Another 5,225 deaths are considered to be COVID-19 related, but not verified, according to the ministry.
Ecuador is facing an accelerated increase in infections due to citizen relaxation, mainly in large provinces where hospitals have been overwhelmed with requests for beds in intensive care units.
The provinces of Pichincha and Guayas have registered the largest increase in infections in the country, and Pichincha, where the capital Quito is located, has a case incidence rate of 4,364 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Pichincha and Guayas, along with 14 other provinces, have been under a state of emergency since April 23 which was declared to stop the spread of infection and prevent the collapse of the health system.
Under the state of emergency, which will last until May 20, a nighttime curfew has been enacted which lasts from Monday to Friday, with total confinement on weekends.
The population is urged to continue to be cautious to avoid getting infected as the national vaccination program advances.
A total of 1,245,822 people have been vaccinated so far, with 981,620 receiving the first dose and 264,202 receiving the second, according to official figures. ■
