03/06/2020 - 13:17
- Clarín.com
- World
Ecuador added three new cases on Thursday and became the country with the highest number of coronavirus infected in Latin America : in the prelude to the weekend, it already has 13 patients.
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health said in a statement that the new cases "are within the scenario that the Health authorities had planned based on the contacts the first infected one had."
The first Ecuadorian patient, a woman over 70 years old who lives in Spain, arrived in Guayaquil on February 14 and is in critical condition . The other 12 patients have mild symptoms , and are quarantined at home. Meanwhile, 122 people are isolated in their homes under epidemiological observation.
Against this background, the Ecuadorian authorities announced that prevention controls are intensified in the country's airports , for which, from March 10, visitors must fill out a document that among other things requires information such as name, countries visited. Last 21 days and contact phone numbers. In addition, controls are performed with thermal cameras .
Ecuador confirmed 13 patients with coronavirus, the largest in all of Latin America. / REUTER
Why so many cases?
The doctor of the University of the Americas, Esteban Ortiz, explained to The Associated Press that the reason for the high rate of infection in Ecuador is that the first patient entered "asymptomatic and for 10 days moved freely without being diagnosed , so there was time to multiply the contagion. ''
He added that "it is a matter of time before cases occur outside the family environment of the first patient."
Regarding the infections in Ecuador, Gina Watson, representative of the World Health Organization, said that except for two infected -the doctor who initially treated the first patient, and an employee of the same family- the rest belongs to the family environment.
The rest of the region
Meanwhile, the Colombian Ministry of Health reported that President Iván Duque was at a conference in Washington where some attendees had contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. It was not clear if that person was in the same event.
Although the exhibition was considered "low risk" tests were conducted that were negative for Duke . The rest of the entourage would also be tested.
On Thursday afternoon, the Chilean Ministry of Health confirmed a fourth case : a 40-year-old patient who was in Italy and returned to his country on February 29. A statement said that he was already discharged and remains isolated from his home, under epidemiological surveillance.
People with chins on the outskirts of a hospital in Talca, Chile. / REUTER
This case joins two reported the previous day and a third diagnosed on Tuesday. The first infected correspond to a marriage, a doctor and a nurse, who traveled for a month in countries of Southeast Asia, and the last to a doctor who traveled in Europe, including Italy.
The four patients presented mild symptoms of the disease, according to the authorities, and develop isolation in their homes.
Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich said that " we are well prepared , we have 50 hospitals, trained personnel and medical training."
In Brazil, the first country in Latin America to register the presence of the new coronavirus, there was an increase in the number of confirmed cases: from three - Wednesday - to eight on Thursday , according to the Ministry of Health in the afternoon .
Six of those cases are in the state of São Paulo , and two of them are related to the first reported, of a man who returned from travel from Italy, so they would be the first records of local transmission. The other two are in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
Employer of the airport in the city of San Pablo, Brazil, with chinstraps. / REUTER
Brazil currently has more than 600 suspected cases , with the largest number in São Paulo.
They ruled out almost 400 cases that were suspicious.
In recent days, three other countries in the region confirmed cases of the new coronavirus: Mexico, Dominican Republic and Argentina . The latter reported his second case on Thursday afternoon.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health reported that it is a 23-year-old patient from Buenos Aires who was traveling through northern Italy, and returned on March 1. It was added that it is in good condition , but is interned to ensure isolation measures. The authority emphasizes that people with symptoms of the virus go to a consultation to verify their health status.
Central America, until now, remains free of the virus, but Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has already launched a preventive measure. On Thursday afternoon, he decreed "state of public calamity" throughout the national territory for 30 days to avoid agglomerations and panic purchases, as well as control borders and prevent false news from being published.
Worldwide more than 90,000 people have become ill, and around 3,100 died. The epidemic affects about 80 countries on all continents.
Source: AP