Ecuador puts almost the entire country on red alert due to an increase in cases of COVID-19

Ecuador declared 193 of its 221 cantons on red alert on Sunday, including those in the most populous cities such as Quito and the port of Guayaquil (southwest), and suspended classes due to an accelerated increase in cases of COVID-19.

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The measure, which will be analyzed on January 21, is due to the fact that infections increased from 4,000 in the Christmas week to more than 42,000 in the second week of January, Deputy Health Minister José Ruales told the press.

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He added that “this number of infections is the highest we have seen since the start of the pandemic” in Ecuador, which declared the presence of the virus in February 2020.

Until 2021, the weekly record for infections was 13,037, recorded from April 25 to May 1, according to the American Johns Hopkins University.

Ruales noted that the rise in infections is a trend that is taking place worldwide due to the combination of the omicron variable, its high transmissibility, and the recent Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Ecuador, with 17.7 million inhabitants, registers 614,032 cases (3,469 per 100,000 people) and 34,219 deaths, making it the seventh Latin American nation with the most deaths from COVID-19, according to an AFP count based on official figures .

The Minister of Education, María Brown, indicated in turn that in the face of the new wave of infections, classes were suspended until January 21 in the cantons that are in red, following a system with which the level of risk is measured. .

In the 26 cantons in yellow there will be blended classes and in the two in green in person.

Ruales added that capacity in public places will also be reduced to 30% in red locations, 50% in yellow and 75% in green.

In addition, activities in child care centers for children up to four years of age were suspended, since this age group has not yet been vaccinated.

Ecuador, which in December made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, is inoculating people five years of age and older, who add up to 16.1 million of the 17.7 million inhabitants.

The South American country has completed the inoculation scheme for 81% (13.1 million) of the vaccinable population. It has also placed the first dose to 1.9 million people.

On January 3, the Ecuadorian government reduced the capacity of its institutions to 50%, resuming partial teleworking in the Executive branch.

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Deshawn