Korea Provides $400,000 Worth of COVID-19 Prevention Supplies to Ecuador

Korean Embassy in Ecuador Provides 410,000 Masks as Humanitarian Aid
KOICA Supports 11 Negative Pressure Carriers to 9 COVID-19 Designated Public Hospitals in 7 Cities Including Capital Quito

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 25th (local time), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ecuador and KOICA donated 410,000 masks and 11 negative pressure carriers for the emergency transport of COVID-19 patients to Ecuador, one of the Latin American countries with the highest number of deaths from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The negative pressure carriers supported by Korea this time will be used for ambulance transport of COVID-19 patients at nine public hospitals in seven cities including Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and the masks will be provided to about 60,000 frontline personnel such as police officers, soldiers, and public officials.

The donation ceremony held at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ecuador was attended by Luis Lara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Ecuador, Rodolfo Paf?n, Vice Minister of Health, Andres Segovia, Deputy Vice Minister of the Interior, Lee Young-geun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, and Han Geun-sik, Director of the KOICA office.

The provision of supplies to cooperate in improving Ecuador’s COVID-19 situation is being carried out on a humanitarian basis, but it is also expected to contribute to the export of excellent Korean K-quarantine supplies such as negative pressure carriers.

At the donation ceremony, Rodolfo Paf?n, Vice Minister of Health, expressed gratitude for the continuous support of the Korean government, and Ambassador Lee Young-geun stated that the two countries will strengthen cooperation to ensure the safety of many people dedicated to Ecuador’s quarantine efforts.

The Korean government has supported about 1.25 million USD (approximately 1.4 billion KRW) so far for Ecuador’s COVID-19 infectious disease response through KOICA and the embassy.

Earlier this year, Ecuador practically failed in its initial response to COVID-19, facing a serious situation where corpses were left to rot on the streets in Guayaquil, the country’s largest coastal city by population. Since then, large-scale quarantine measures such as movement restrictions have been implemented, but only in Quito, the capital with a population of 2.7 million, there have been 62,077 confirmed cases, and currently 95% of the designated COVID-19 hospitals in the capital are at full capacity.

According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health, to avoid repeating the case of Guayaquil where deaths at home were frequent due to lack of medical facilities and testing capacity, the capital Quito is currently focusing on preparing funeral facilities and temporary hospital beds.