In Ecuador, a small country of 17.5 million inhabitants, in the economic capital, it is a real health disaster that is taking place in o...
In Ecuador, a small country of 17.5 million inhabitants, in the economic capital, it is a real health disaster that is taking place in one of the cities in Latin America most affected by the coronavirus pandemic ( Covid-19).
The mortuaries are full and almost eight hundred corpses have been evacuated from homes by police, an official said on Sunday. In addition, bodies in black plastic bags litter the streets of the metropolis while waiting to be picked up by the army or the police mobilized for the occasion.
The province of Guayaquil lists 73% of the 7,500 official cases in the country, including at least 333 confirmed deaths on Sunday, April 12. "We see our dead fall in silence every day," said Cynthia Viteri, the mayor of the city of 2.2 million, who was infected with coronavirus (Covid-19) but recovered from the disease. "Here, it is not only the health system that collapsed, but also the funeral services and the mortuaries." The mayor has moreover recognized the guilt of "all" government including.
The authorities' late response to the epidemic had "devastating consequences," said Daniel Samancas, epidemiologist in Quito, AFP: "The authorities themselves have apologized for the lack of strategies in the management of corpses, forecasting in the supply of medical materials ”.
The funeral services of the city overwhelmed, can no longer manage the care of corpses. The morgues are full. The government requisitioned the penitentiaries of the country for the massive manufacture of cardboard coffins. Hospitals can no longer accommodate sick people and caregivers who are contaminated in turn can no longer provide permanence. Health services, underfunded and understaffed, can no longer manage anything.
Residents broadcast videos of bodies left on the streets and calls for help from families wishing to bury their dead on social media. The Ecuadorian government has taken charge of the burials due to the inability of relatives to do so for various reasons, including financial ones. Relatives of the victims cannot attend.
Another 631 corpses were collected from hospitals in Guayaquil. And the worst is yet to come: authorities predict up to 3,500 coronavirus (Covid-19) deaths in Guayas province alone. A curfew of 15 hours a day is imposed there on the inhabitants. But despite the fact that soldiers are deployed on the streets, it is common to see street vendors there, without masks, and queues in front of shops, without the recommended distance.
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