The coronavirus entered Ecuador through its main urban center, the port city of Guayaquil. The outbreak began with a number of people complaining of pulmonary problems, but doctors were unaware of what was going on. In no time, the city would witness some of the most horrific scenes of the coronavirus pandemic. The Guayas province — where Guayaquil is located — saw cases quickly jumping from 1,400 to more than 13,000. Daily horrors included literal trails of abandoned bodies on the streets. In hospitals, health professionals were forced to pile up corpses in bathrooms, as morgues simply couldn’t process the overflowing demand.
Guayaquil Mayor Cynthia Viteri said on Twitter that at least 33 percent of the city was infected — which would take figures to around 750,000 cases, enough to place Ecuador as the third-worst-affected country in the world. Official nationwide figures, however, have the tally at fewer than 48,000. As in Brazil, underreporting due to low testing has hampered Ecuador’s response to the pandemic.
Now, however, Ecuador’s worst days seem to be behind it....
Search
