According to health authorities, the first person with the omicron variant in the country is in good health and has not presented symptoms.
Asymptomatic and in good health is currently the first person who was diagnosed with the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ecuador.
According José Ruales, Vice Minister Governance and Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), He does not present symptoms although he previously had mild symptoms such as cough and fever, but, for the moment, he does not have any problems and a team from that State portfolio is monitoring him.
The Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, explained that the first omicron case It corresponds to an Ecuadorian, an engineer by profession, who left Ecuador in mid-November to carry out Agrocalidad investigations in South Africa.
In that country, according to Agrocalidad, that expert went to carry out a research for prevention of Fusarium oxysporum, which is a fungus that attacks plantains and bananas, but it does not belong to that entity but rather it accompanied in this task.
Garzón added that since it was known that he would return to Ecuador from a country with restricted access, the directors of Agrocalidad asked that they allow him and two other people to return, so it was planned to be directly to obligatory preventive isolation, 15 days in a hotel.
He explained that from South Africa to Ecuador stopovers should be made in Paris and Panama, where they had to present negative PCR tests, in addition to a complete vaccination card; On the Panama-Quito flight, he indicated, one of them began to present symptoms.
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The official, in an appearance in the Assembly, stated that the omicron apparently it is not a very aggressive variant, but Yes highly contagious of coronavirus.
When consulted Ruals on whether there would be new measures, he replied that the announced, last Tuesday, they were made in anticipation of the income of the omicron variant.
“Once we confirm (the variant), we are going to strengthen compliance with the recommendations that were given (…) as well as the vaccine is essential, it is essential to maintain biosecurity measures: the mask, the distancing, the capacity and we all have to be convinced that we must avoid crowds, closed places, avoid large meetings during the Christmas festivities, especially in public places … ”, he said at a vaccination event in Quito.
The measures announced by the MSP and by the national Emergency Operations Committee (COE) are:
–50% capacity in convention centers (dinners, corporate lunches), reception rooms, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, tolerance centers with the obligation to present a certificate or vaccination card with two doses for those over 12 years of age, in addition to strict compliance with biosafety protocols.
–75% capacity in markets and supermarkets with mandatory strict compliance with biosafety protocols.
–75% capacity in shopping centers, religious temples, entrepreneurship fairs with a mandatory dose vaccination certificate or card for people over 12 years of age and strict compliance with biosafety measures.
–event ban such as concerts, children’s shows, processions, novenas in public spaces, festivals of the old year, burning of old years, popular festivals, festivals, popular dances, neighborhood events.
-75% off capacity in beaches and spas and hours from 06:00 to 18:00.
-Ban on sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages and of moderation in public spaces.
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Ruales added that also with the support Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD), municipalities, Police Intendants, it will be avoided that there is a health impact of the population.
According to the official, this Thursday will be analyzed technical and legal criteria to go from a governmental exhortation to the necessary application of the measures by, especially, the local authorities.
A Juan Zapata, president of the national COE, he was asked if new requirements could be established for entering the country by air, but he discarded it, as he argued that asking for the two requirements of a vaccination certificate and a negative PCR test is hard and only the closure would come, which would not be advisable.
Alex Rojas, executive director of the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities (AME)He commented that they are working on a guideline because local governments have autonomy, in order to deliver it to the national COE, so that they work in a coordinated manner based on the autonomy of each municipality and the reality of each territory.
“We don’t have any other patients, no other person with symptoms nor with warning signs at this time, ”said Ruales, about the other people, 149, who were traveling on the plane with the first person carrying the omicron virus, who are being monitored through epidemiological fences.
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