Covid-19: Ecuador in Chaos, Dead Bodies Left on the Streets

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The coronavirus pandemic has spread around the world and in recent weeks has claimed countless victims and frightened the population in many countries.

China, Italy, Spain and the United States, which concentrate the vast majority of infections and deaths, are being forced to restructure their health systems to attend the large number of patients who come in every day to hospitals with symptoms of the disease.

In Ecuador, the situation has become chaotic and in the past few days the bodies of those killed by the coronavirus have spread on the streets of cities. Without a health system that supports the demand for care, many patients lack medical support and die from complications caused by the disease.

In the city of Guayaquil, many people began to report that they were forced to place the bodies of victims on the streets, since the government is unable to pick up the corpses from their relatives’ homes. All over the city one can see the dead lying on the streets, even outside hospitals.

According to official data, in Guayas province alone, where Guayaquil is located, the novel coronavirus has already claimed 60 lives and infected 1,937. So far, over 100 people have died in Ecuador, where there are almost 4,000 people infected with the disease.

The pictures began to take over social media on Wednesday, April 1st, and ultimately shocked internet users by the number of dead on the streets. On Twitter, the tag #EcuadorEnEmergencia (#EcuadorOnEmergency) took over the platform and shocking videos began to be shared.

Lenín Moreno, the country’s president, has even downplayed the situation and has been criticized by the victims’ families, who accuse the government of neglect.

However, according to the Ecuadorian press, after the international repercussion of the case, the commander of the country’s National Force, Darwin Jarrín, who is in charge of the army and police of the municipality of Guayas, reported that by Thursday, April 2nd, all the bodies will be removed from the streets and buried.