"The patients are isolated in their homes," Andramuno told reporters on Sunday, as broadcast online by the El Comercio daily. The health minister said that the patients were only showing mild symptoms. All of them had come into contact with the first coronavirus-infected person in Ecuador.
The first coronavirus case in Ecuador was confirmed on Saturday. According to Andramuno, the first patient is a 70-year-old Ecuadorean woman who came back from a trip to Spain on February 14. She is currently in intensive care.
Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic have also reported COVID-19 cases this week. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 7,160 coronavirus cases have been registered outside of China, where the outbreak started in December.