Ecuador extended until June 15 the state of emergency, which allows containment of the population and curfew, due to the coronavirus pandemic in this country with nearly 32,000 confirmed cases, including 1,500 deaths, has President Lenin Moreno announced on Tuesday. "With the approval of the Security Council, we are extending the state of emergency from May 16 to May 30," said the head of state.
Ecuador, a small country of 17.5 million people, is the third most affected in Latin America by Covid-19 disease, after the Brazilian and Mexican giants. The state of emergency was decreed there on March 16, with confinement of the population, compulsory telework, suspension of face-to-face teaching and curfew of fifteen hours a day, among others. Only the health, security and food retail sectors have so far been exempt.
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As of this week, some easing measures have been adopted to prepare for a gradual recovery in economic activity, including flexible hours for shops delivering to homes. Taxis are also allowed to run longer, up to 17 hours a day, alternately according to their registration number. Each municipality may also decide to lift the containment, but with the approval of the government depending on the degree of local contagion.
The pandemic particularly affected the coastal province of Guayas and its capital, Guayaquil, the economic capital of the country, with more than 60% of the cases, causing the collapse of health and funeral services. According to the Ecuadorian Constitution, the state of emergency gives the president the powers to suspend the freedom of assembly, to censor the media, to move the seat of government, to collect taxes in advance and to mobilize the armed forces as well as the police.
