COVID-19 Ecuador Update 8

24,934 confirmed cases 2,353 deaths; 900 confirmed, 1,453 for respiratory failure.*

So, you all know I like numbers and statistics.... (All of these statistics and numbers are directly from the Ecuadorian government, and the rankings taken from the WHO official COVID-19 website)

Ecuador is ranked: -67th in population, with 17,598,136 inhabitants. -95th in tests administered, 67,273 tests administered. -18th in confirmed cases, 24,934. -14th in deaths directly from covid-19, 2,535 deaths.* -39th in recovered, with 1,523 recovered from the virus. -13th in active cases, with 22,511 cases still active. 151 deaths per million inhabitants (USA has 183)*

*These are deaths that are confirmed covid-19, and people that have died with confirmed respiratory issues and inside the epidemiological fence of contact with proven cases.

However, the country has, in the last two months, had over 10,000 deaths more than what is normally registered.

In the image below, we see that up till the 22nd of April, the country has about 8,000 deaths more than normal, even excluding the normal increase in overall deaths from population increase, etc. Up to the 28th of April, there have been an additional 1,705 deaths country wide, which are not in the image below.

On top of all this, when we look at the breakdown of deaths by province, in almost all of the 24 provinces except Guayas (the hardest hit and ground zero) deaths are down the last two months, whereas in Guayas, march had about 2,600 deaths more than normal, and April (up to the 22nd) had about 7,000 deaths more than normal. The average deaths per day for Guayas in April, 2019 was 62 a day. In 2020 (with still a week to go in April) it was 5 times greater, at 335 deaths a day.

Lastly, these are all confirmed deaths by the government entity responsible for recording all births and deaths, we have no idea what the actual numbers of dead are, as there are still unidentified bodies in morgues and laying around in hospitals, and a large possibility of more bodies still not picked up from homes and off the streets.

So, apart from the confirmed and declared suspected deaths from covid-19, we have between 8,000-10,000 deaths caused indirectly from the virus and the state of emergency it has caused in the country.

A lot of these could be deaths from the virus, but not confirmed...if someone doesn't have strong symptoms, and passes on, even if they had contact with someone confirmed from the virus, they are not in the statistics. Others are bodies that have passed at home, and with no medical worker present to diagnose, there death, even if caused by the virus, does not go in the official records. Some of these are officials dead in the line of duty, as there have been a few killed in traffic stops and controls. Others are people with chronic illnesses who because of the saturation in the hospitals, did not receive the care they needed and passed on. Others have been killed in robberies and hold ups, which are more common as the streets and roads are less transited.

There are other and various causes of deaths, all related to but not directly caused by the virus. However, by and large the cause is starvation. Many people who live day to day selling odds and ends on the streets; young girls and mothers in prostitution; homeless who wander the streets, depending on food from shelters or scraps from others; or even your regular Jose not able to go to work and provide for his family...These people are growing desperate as they watch family members suffer and die.

We are starting to coordinate with different ministries, locally, and especially in the hard hit cities, to provide food baskets for those most affected by the virus.

We are so thankful for those that support us personally, and those that have given to allow us to help these people that greatly need it with physical food, even as we also offer spiritual food.

The numbers at times can be overwhelming, and we can sometimes think "it's only a little, it wont do much of a difference." but to a father, a mother, a child, it will make all the difference in the world.

If you want to partner with us, provide food for even one person, one family, please get in contact.