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Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 06:40 UTC

 

 

Ecuador's health system has collapsed: bodies of dead in the streets of Guayaquil

Saturday, April 4th 2020 - 08:36 UTC
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The body of a coronavirus victim lays abandoned in front of a medical center in Guayaquil. EFE / DIARIO EXPRESO (DIARIO EXPRESO) The body of a coronavirus victim lays abandoned in front of a medical center in Guayaquil. EFE / DIARIO EXPRESO (DIARIO EXPRESO)

The authorities in Ecuador have collected at least 150 bodies of people who died due to the coronavirus from the streets and homes of Guayaquil, the main port city in the country. The latest data reveals that there have been at least 3,100 have tested positive for COVID-19.

The country's epicenter in Guayaquil people has been criticizing the government's response to the spreading virus. The citizens have been sharing videos and pictures to bring attention to what is happening inside the country. The citizens say that this is the result of the collapsing health care system.

Ecuador's funeral parlors, hospitals, and morgues have been overwhelmed with the piling number of deaths in the country because of the novel coronavirus. There are reports that say the funeral parlors and cemeteries are closed because of the fear of the workers contacting the coronavirus.

Videos spreading online has been showing relatives struggling to bury the dead. Cynthia Viteri, the city's Mayor, tweeted on Wednesday saying that refrigerator trucks will be deployed to store the bodies. She blamed the federal government for not actively working on the situation.

The people have been sharing videos and images of the situation in the country. Previously, people in countries like China and Iran had also shared the images online which showed the people collapsing and the hospital overrun with patients and dead bodies.

There have been several Twitter posts about the deteriorating situation in the country. It is unsure about when the videos or pictures were taken but one picture by a twitter user showed the dead body in the street.

Local media reported that the municipality have recovered at least 400 bodies from the streets. It has been difficult for the authorities to determine the reason behind the deaths of all the cases. The authorities have also recovered bodies from homes as well. People have shared the video of the bodies in the hospital.

The relatives of the deceased have been struggling to bury the bodies as there is no clear provision to do so in the country right now. They are struggling to give the dead a dignified burial during the coronavirus outbreak.

The sheer volume of the number of people visiting the hospitals have been drying up the resources in the country. National nurses association has said that five of the health care workers have passed away due to the coronavirus and more than 300 nurses have been infected by the coronavirus.

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