In March 2020, when we were all trying to understand Covid and its effects, a country made the news all over the world. Ecuador, my country.
It was used in the media as the example of what could happen if the pandemic go out of control. It was reported that in the port of Guayaquil, the biggest city in the country, bodies were laying on the street. So bad was the situation that some corpses were being burned in the streets. Even though, most of it was misinformation and exaggeration the things were pretty bad in this small country of South America.
Authorities were lost without test. They were slow in react and the disorganization led to local authorities having to deal with something they were not prepared. In Guayaquil for instance, the first reaction of the government was to close and lock up everything. That included the services that in normal times visit the families to collect the deceased. In Ecuador, due to economic conditions and culture, still a % of the population end their lives in their own houses.
There were never any body being burn in the streets, the videos that circulated showed people burning tires in protest and desperation because the corpses were not being picked up by the coroner.
But also the population was not prepared for what it come. Has to b known that a % of the population in the Ecuadorian cities have informal jobs that forced them to be in the street most of the day. The quantity of people who own a car is x over x, so most of the people have to use public transportation to reach their work places. On top, we are a culture who prides of the close contact between friends and family. We hug and kiss every time we see each other. And it seems disrespectful not to do it.
Covid had an easy time! By April we had…. of cases.
But the reaction, at least in the capital was now fast. The city went in lock down, the use of mask was compulsory even in the streets, the government started, slowly, testing. Entrepreneurs and industries got together to facilitate testing and preparing triage centers.
I visited Quito in September, when in the US some people were still discussing the need to use mask. There it was not possible to find somebody without a mask. Being ask if they though that hinters their rights they will look at you really puzzle.
Ecuador is a developing country still has great difficult securing vaccines for its 15 million inhabitants. According to the John Hopkins data it had had 290 thousand cases with 16 thousand dead a staggering 5%. Today it has 1200 infected per 7 days average and is not going down fast enough. So far, the country has received only 40.000 Pfizer vaccines to be distributed among the elderly residents and medical personal on their care. In the meantime, an scandal about non priority citizen getting the vaccine led to the resignation of the Health Minister.
The good attitude of the people is being tested, if the country do not get more immunization vaccines it will become impossible to control the strain of mutation of the virus. We will be back into the media outcry.
Comments