(CNN Spanish) – The Ministry of Health of Ecuador reported that a hospital has been assigned to deal exclusively with cases
that can be confirmed of coronavirus in the country, in addition to the 14 hospitals that the public network has.
It is a hospital that “will have all the necessary capacity and medical staff,” according to Minister Catalina Andramuño, who said that due to security issues she cannot say what the hospital is, but she will have supplies, qualified personnel and will start working next week.
He added that not all possible cases may require hospitalization, but outpatient care.
The Minister of Transportation, Gabriel Martínez, said that in the next 24 hours there will be an increase in health control, especially for passengers coming from China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.
In addition, the Ministry of Health has arranged to check the origin of passengers who, presenting symptoms or not, will be reviewed by the health system.
The Ministry of Education said that in all schools programs of prevention measures of the coronavirus will be reinforced and any suspicion will be alerted.
Regarding the entry of tourists to the Galapagos Islands, Norman Wray, of the Government Council of the Archipelago, said control will be strengthened in ports of entry to the Galapagos to identify “any situation that may cause concern.”
With respect to the budget allocated to face this emergency, the Minister of Health, Catalina Andramuño, responded that there are 60 million dollars that have been estimated that will be needed.
On the other hand, the president of the Directing Council of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security -IESS-, Paúl Granda, announced that four units of the IESS network are prepared in different cities in Ecuador and another four units will be prepared in a couple of weeks to attend to possible cases of coronavirus in the country.
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