President Lenín Moreno indicated on Tuesday night that there was a “setback” in the fight against covid-19 due to social relaxation and considered that, if precautionary measures are not taken, the possibility of a total confinement would be ” lethal for the country’s economy. ”
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Pichincha College of Physicians, one of the largest in the country, expressed concern about the situation in hospitals in the province and the country.
Its president, Dr. Víctor Álvarez, warned that, if the projection of infections and deaths continues the same, the province of Pichincha could enter phase 4, the most serious level that could be reached in the pandemic because there would be no response capacity , contagions would become uncontrollable and doctors would have to decide “whose life to save.”
“There would be a state of war where the viability of a patient is selected to enter critical care and that is going to be very sad,” said Álvarez.
The Emergency Operations Committee, which reported an increase in deaths in the country of 25% in relation to March 2020, asked the Ecuadorian municipalities to order the closure of beaches for April 2, 3 and 4, and the prohibition of sale of alcoholic beverages for certain days at certain times. In addition, it requested to establish restrictions on the mobility of private vehicles for April 1, 2, 3 and 4 according to odd and even license plate numbers.
The Municipality of Quito reported through a statement on Tuesday that Mayor Jorge Yunda adopted additional measures for the Ecuadorian capital due to the “increase in cases in recent days” and because the health system “is about to collapse.” According to the Quito Health Secretariat, the occupancy of beds in critical care units stands at 97%, however, some public hospitals report that they exceeded 100% of their capacity.
The measures have to do with the suspension of economic activities for bars, discos and nightlife centers, prohibition of sale and consumption of liquor in public spaces, suspension of pilgrimages for Holy Week, and until May 31 the vehicle restriction will govern from 06:00 to 22:00 according to the license plate number.
At the Social Security Hospital in southern Quito, Marco Bonifaz, deputy director of medical audit, told the media that capacity is overflowing at this hospital. “We are working at 150%, we have exceeded the number of patients in emergency hospitalization and intensive care. Now the stay of the patient is lengthening between 15 and 20 days in the hospital, “he reported.
Meanwhile, the city of Guayaquil is also registering more deaths and infections, according to reports from hospital directors.
The Group of Cemeteries Parks of La Paz of the city informed Citizen Free Press that of 8 daily burials registered weeks ago, in the last week up to 14 people are being buried a day in their cemeteries.
The Guayaquil mayor’s office announced several resolutions that will take effect from this Wednesday, March 31: the change in the closing of the working day in public and private institutions, which will be until 4 in the afternoon and no longer until 5; the limitation of social and corporate events in hotels and meeting rooms with a maximum of 25 people; the suspension of parades, contests and shows; the vehicle restriction from 7 at night to 5 in the morning; and cinemas and theaters will be able to attend up to 30% of the capacity.
The restrictions do not apply to people who need to mobilize for a medical emergency or are part of the front-line personnel in hospitals and production chains.
Speaking to Citizen Free Press affiliate Ecuavisa, Guayaquil Mayor Cynthia Viteri said that this situation is due to citizen relaxation. “They believe that this has already happened, that this is from last year, and they are living a situation that runs the risk of becoming that of last year,” said Viteri.
According to the daily report of the Ministry of Health, in Ecuador 327,325 confirmed cases of covid-19 with PCR tests and 11,912 deaths confirmed with the virus and 4,868 probable cases of covid-19 were registered in Ecuador.