BOGOTA/QUITO, Aug 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colombia has reached 410,453, with 13,475 deaths, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said.
The ministry reported that over the last 24 hours, 12,830 new cases were registered, the highest daily addition since the first case was detected in the country in early March.
Additionally, in the last 24-hour period, there were 321 deaths and 40,101 tests for COVID-19 were conducted.
Mandatory preventive isolation has been extended by the Colombian government until Aug 30, but shopping areas in places that do not report any new COVID-19 cases would be allowed to gradually reopen.
Meanwhile, Ecuador reported 862 new COVID-19 cases and 19 more deaths from the disease in the last 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 95,563 and death toll to 5,951, the Ministry of Public Health said.
The province of Pichincha, where the capital city of Quito is located, has become the new epicenter of the epidemic in the country, with a total of 18,275 confirmed cases and 773 deaths, surpassing the province of Guayas, which reported 17,936 cases and 1,664 deaths.
Most of the cases in Pichincha have been registered in Quito, which saw a spike in new cases after preventive health measures in the city were relaxed, according to the health ministry.
Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos said Tuesday that Pichincha’s public hospitals have opened more beds and more medical personnel have been hired to cope with the increase in COVID-19 cases in the province. — NNN-XINHUA
