Ecuador will start phase of physical distancing gradually on May 4

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Ecuador Adds 10,000 Cases to Coronavirus Count

(CNN Spanish) - The Minister of Government of Ecuador, María Paula Romo, announced that the country will go "from isolation to social distancing" on May 4. He said that Ecuadorians will enter "a new normal" within the coronavirus pandemic and that "it does not mean returning to what was January or February," he emphasized.

According to Romo, during the next week the country will prepare for the new stage of distancing where protocols for offices, factories, companies, shops, new shifts, use of public transport, among other situations, must be met.

"The great challenge is discipline and organization," said the minister, who also pointed out that people will have to change their habits to function in public places by always wearing a mask and maintaining hygiene habits.

• Ecuador doubles number of coronavirus infections after processing dammed tests

“Our great task is going to be to keep a distance between us, distance in the street, in the offices, in the shops; a distance of at least a meter and a half and wear masks, "said Romo. He added that the activities will resume after 47 days of evolution of the pandemic and of having decreed the state of emergency and the curfew in the country.

"We can say that the peak has passed in most of the country's provinces," the minister reported. He warned that it is important to "not trust" and that a feeling of "false security" could lead to new outbreaks. "We are not emerging from the emergency, we are changing phase and instructions, but it does not mean that the emergency is over," said Romo.

The Emergency Operations Committee (COE) of Ecuador reported that it has registered a slowdown in infections since the number of visits has decreased in hospitalization and emergency services. This is, according to the government, the main main indicator for changing stages. Minister Romo reported that this will be a change of stage and that the schedules and processes that will be met will be announced this Friday afternoon by President Lenín Moreno on the national network.

The COE reported that until this Friday, 22,719 confirmed cases of coronaviruses have been reported in the country and 576 deaths, as well as 1,060 deaths due to "probable covid-19". 56,513 samples have been made for coronaviruses, of which 23,138 have been discarded.

The number of confirmed cases went from 11,183 to 22,719 because more than 20,000 tests that were dammed in the laboratories were processed and their results were known this Thursday. The government has clarified that "it is not a regrowth", but results that were repressed on different dates due to lack of logistics.

Ecuador