Ecuador death toll from coronavirus is horrendous in the environs of Guayaquil

Ecuador death toll from coronavirus is horrendous in the environs of Guayaquil

Kanako Itamae and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The nation of Ecuador is reeling from the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Guayaquil and throughout the province of Guayas. Indeed, while the statistics state not so many deaths, the images coming out of Guayaquil tell a different story. Therefore, the government announced that at least 6,700 died in the first two weeks alone in April in the province of Guayas.

Alarmingly, according to the BBC, the number of deaths in Guayas in March is usually around 2,000. This number is based on figures supplied by the government. Yet, shockingly, the number of deaths this year in the same month is over 14,500. Thus, this is indicating that over 12,000 people are likely to have perished from the coronavirus in the same month this year. Or have died from other illnesses but were unable to receive medical treatment because of the health care system being overrun by the coronavirus crisis.

Cynthia Viteri, the Mayor of Guayaquil, pointedly said, They are not only dying from Covid… People with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease are dying from lack of medical attention, because the hospitals are saturated with the critically ill, because there aren’t places where women can give birth without getting infected.”

Hence, with the government saying that 6,700 have died in the first two weeks of April. Then the death toll must be extremely high for these two months. Alas, with little information coming out about other parts of Ecuador, it is abundantly clear that this nation needs international support.

The BBC reports, The government said 6,700 people died in Guayas province in the first two weeks of April, far more than the usual 1,000 deaths there in the same period.”

In early April, President Lenin Moreno uttered, “When the virus appeared in China, we thought it would never reach here… Now it’s in all of us. We are breathing it. It’s in the atmosphere.”

It is essential that Ecuador receives help from more powerful regional nations and internationally. After all, if the coronavirus can cause havoc in America, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other developed nations in terms of death and economics; then just imagine the horrendous situation and the vulnerability of Ecuador.

Internationally, major economic powers need to set aside petty geopolitical differences and come together for the greater cause. Likewise, the World Health Organization needs to drum up more information about neglected nations like Ecuador. If not, then one can only imagine the final global death toll from this brutal pandemic that spares neither rich nor poor – but gives even less chance to poorer nations that are caught in the coronavirus path!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52324218

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/world/americas/coronavirus-Ecuador-guayaquil.html

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