Reporter : Jose Sanchez
Editor : Lu Yongxin
Publisher : New Tang Dynasty Television
Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : On 15 April 2020, the body of a patient who died of covid was transported to the morgue of Guayaquil Hospital. (JOSE SANCHEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
The medical system of Ecuador nearly collapsed due to the covid pandemic. The first-line medical staff in Ecuador in Latin America revealed that dead bodies have filled a local hospital's mortuary such that there are stacks of corpse bags as high as the total height of 6 to 7 people in the hospital toilet.
According to Reuters data, a total of 24,258 people have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Ecuador, and 871 people have not been cured, but the true number may be much higher than this. Guayaquil is by far the most severely affected city in Latin America.
A 35-year-old anonymous nurse at a hospital in Guayaquil, the capital of Guayas province, said that when the outbreak suddenly occurred in March, within 24 hours, each nursing staff in the hospital had to take care of 15 patients. As the pandemic rages, they have to take care of 30 patients. He said: "There are so many people going to the hospital ... in fact, they passed away in our hands."
He told AFP that the hospital had to allow some patients to be discharged or referred in order to vacate the beds to accommodate the patients.
The same is true for the mortuary. He said, "The mortuary staff cannot handle the corpses. Many times, we have to wrap the bodies and put them in the toilet. When the body bags have reached the height of 6, 7 people, no one comes to handle them collectively."
Another 26-year-old nurse also confirmed the chaotic situation in the hospital, "the deceased are on the toilet, floor and armchair."
A national public security official said that he had visited the emergency unit in Guayaquil and also saw stacked bodies. He said: "How to deal with 150 bodies in the mortuary where only 8 bodies can be placed? I had to put the dead in any space nearby."
Guayaquil Mayor Cynthia Viteri said the outbreak hit Guayaquil "like a bomb". He said, "Whether the living or the dead have nowhere to settle, this is how serious the Guayaquil epidemic is." Mortuaries, funeral homes and hospitals are all overwhelmed.
Earlier, the death toll from the pandemic surged. Guayaquil’s morgue and hospital space was inadequate, and the funeral system was paralyzed. Hundreds of bodies rotted at home for several days or lay on the side of the street, covered with black plastic bags. Vehicles outside the cemetery are in long queues, and the cars are loaded with cardboard coffins.
In order to prevent the pandemic, the government imposed a 15-hour curfew every day, resulting in a slow pace of death identification and funeral home processing. To solve the dilemma, the government combined with the military and police to form a special task force to assist in the disposal of the remains.
The Ecuadorian authorities predict that as many as 3,500 people will die from the pandemic in the coming months.
Editor : Lu Yongxin
Publisher : New Tang Dynasty Television
Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : On 15 April 2020, the body of a patient who died of covid was transported to the morgue of Guayaquil Hospital. (JOSE SANCHEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
The medical system of Ecuador nearly collapsed due to the covid pandemic. The first-line medical staff in Ecuador in Latin America revealed that dead bodies have filled a local hospital's mortuary such that there are stacks of corpse bags as high as the total height of 6 to 7 people in the hospital toilet.
According to Reuters data, a total of 24,258 people have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Ecuador, and 871 people have not been cured, but the true number may be much higher than this. Guayaquil is by far the most severely affected city in Latin America.
A 35-year-old anonymous nurse at a hospital in Guayaquil, the capital of Guayas province, said that when the outbreak suddenly occurred in March, within 24 hours, each nursing staff in the hospital had to take care of 15 patients. As the pandemic rages, they have to take care of 30 patients. He said: "There are so many people going to the hospital ... in fact, they passed away in our hands."
He told AFP that the hospital had to allow some patients to be discharged or referred in order to vacate the beds to accommodate the patients.
The same is true for the mortuary. He said, "The mortuary staff cannot handle the corpses. Many times, we have to wrap the bodies and put them in the toilet. When the body bags have reached the height of 6, 7 people, no one comes to handle them collectively."
Another 26-year-old nurse also confirmed the chaotic situation in the hospital, "the deceased are on the toilet, floor and armchair."
A national public security official said that he had visited the emergency unit in Guayaquil and also saw stacked bodies. He said: "How to deal with 150 bodies in the mortuary where only 8 bodies can be placed? I had to put the dead in any space nearby."
Guayaquil Mayor Cynthia Viteri said the outbreak hit Guayaquil "like a bomb". He said, "Whether the living or the dead have nowhere to settle, this is how serious the Guayaquil epidemic is." Mortuaries, funeral homes and hospitals are all overwhelmed.
Earlier, the death toll from the pandemic surged. Guayaquil’s morgue and hospital space was inadequate, and the funeral system was paralyzed. Hundreds of bodies rotted at home for several days or lay on the side of the street, covered with black plastic bags. Vehicles outside the cemetery are in long queues, and the cars are loaded with cardboard coffins.
In order to prevent the pandemic, the government imposed a 15-hour curfew every day, resulting in a slow pace of death identification and funeral home processing. To solve the dilemma, the government combined with the military and police to form a special task force to assist in the disposal of the remains.
The Ecuadorian authorities predict that as many as 3,500 people will die from the pandemic in the coming months.
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