Movies from Ecuador show dead bodies in the street

The fact that the new corona virus is spreading rapidly in different parts of the world has been clear in recent weeks. Latin America has so far been relatively spared from a larger spread of infection, but at the same time, the number of blacks is suspected to be large and now worries are growing.

Not least in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. 2.3 million people live here, and of the 120 deaths recorded so far in the country, more than half have occurred in Guayaquil. A figure that is expected to rise.

"We are aware that the official figures do not correspond to the actual number of infected or dead," admits President Lenín Moreno in a speech to the nation.

The lack of ambulances and garage places is great and residents testify to having the remains of deceased relatives at home for several days while waiting for transport, reports El Universo magazine.

At the same time, the Ecuadorian government has imposed strict restrictions, with a 15-hour curfew between 2 pm and 5 pm every day. In social media, movie clips have been published showing dead bodies on the street, only partially covered by blue plastic smears.

"What's going on in Guayaquil? It's in the homes, on the sidewalks, in the street corners, ”the city's mayor Cynthia Viteri tweeted last week.

Ecuador is now used as a deterrent among other Latin American countries, reports El Universo.

Among other things, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has drawn attention to the situation on Twitter.

"After seeing what is happening in Ecuador, we can no longer underestimate what this virus can do," Bukele writes.

Brazil is the country in Latin America that has reported the most deaths, at the time of writing 327, which is not strange given the large population of the country (and the fact that President Jair Bolsonaro dismisses the risks of covid-19).

One reason Ecuador is hit so hard could be the country's previous frequent air traffic with Spain, reports the BBC BBC. At present, however, all Latin American countries have more or less completely closed their boundaries, hoping to curb the spread of infection before increasing in scope.