The government of Ecuador announced today that it has ended the national emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused more than 67,000 deaths in the country since it was declared in February 2020.
The national Emergency Response Committee (COE), activated in the face of the pandemic, said in a statement it decided last week to “accept” the WHO declaration lifting the maximum alert level once the disease is under control, agency AFP reported.
“It is with great hope that I declare that Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva at the time.
The government that heads the COE reported today that Ecuador, which has a population of around 18.3 million, has recorded nearly 1.7 million cases and 67,527 deaths.
The COE declared “closed” but continued to recommend the use of a mask in hospitals, crowds, public transport and closed places.
Ecuador was one of the first virus spots in Latin America.
The emergency also spread to the port of Guayaquil in the southwest, where the deceased were gathering in homes, streets and hospital rooms due to lack of capacity in their morgues.
(telam)