On Wednesday, the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) decreed the mandatory use of masks due to an increase in flu and COVID-19 cases.
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It recommends people who have not been vaccinated to visit vaccination centers to receive the corresponding doses. It also alerted about the populations at risk: people over 65 years of age, children under five years, and pregnant women.
COE President Juan Zapata said that the mandatory use of masks will be applied in closed spaces with poor ventilation and in places where the physical distance standard is not guaranteed.
He also recommended the use of face masks in public and private health centers, pointing out that it will be mandatory for people presenting symptoms of respiratory diseases. The COE president asked the population to maintain biosecurity measures such as physical distancing, the use of disinfectant gel, and washing of hands
The tweet reads, "Ecuador will return to the mandatory use of face masks in certain circumstances, after a spike in cases of severe respiratory illnesses such as seasonal influenza and COVID-19 was reported."
Cases of respiratory infections have increased in Ecuador. Over the last week, 3.688 COVID-19 cases were recorded.
According to the Health Ministry, the increase in cases of Severe Respiratory Infections (SARI) between Nov. 6 and Dec. 3 is mainly due to the "AH3N2" influenza virus, which mainly affects children between 2 and 5 years of age and the elderly.
Currently, epidemiological teams are active to increase medical care services and the supply of medicines.