Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

How a city in Ecuador became 'Latin America's Wuhan'

One citizen suspects the government is trying to cover up the extent of its failure to handle the pandemic.

A month ago, Blanca Reyes received the call dreaded by so many.

The hospital gave her the tragic news that her father had died. He had been diagnosed with coronavirus but it still came as a huge shock.

"'What?' I said. 'That can't be right, he was stable. This was the last update you gave me'. And then the person continued: 'No, if you are Blanca Reyes and your father... he died. Please come to the hospital.'"

Compounding her shock and grief in the weeks that have passed since, the hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador, still can't find his body.

Despite multiple phone calls and trips to the hospital, Blanca's been given no answers. A death certificate has been issued but no body to bury.

Blanca speaks with quiet anger and grief about the way she has been treated.



She suspects the government is trying to cover up the extent of its failure to handle the pandemic.

"I have some theories. One is that they didn't tell the families because they didn't want to hand over the bodies in order to hide, at the beginning, the number of COVID-19 deaths."

Authorities admitted to Sky News they have 120 bodies that have not been identified but could not account for bodies simply going missing in the system.

Blanca's story is symptomatic of a complete collapse in the city where she lives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nightmare we have all been dreading happened here.

The government failed the people in their hour of greatest need and the health system was overwhelmed.

It failed so badly that bodies were left to rot on the streets or in people's homes. When Cesar Galvez's father died, local authorities were too busy to take his body. They had to keep it in their home for three days.

"We were helpless... no one to turn to, everything turned hard and even more for the relatives. Imagine having there a dead body and not being able of doing anything. It is tough," said Cesar Galvez.

The city of Guayaquil has been called Latin America's Wuhan, after the Chinese city where the virus started.

It has been among the continent's worst hit.



It's thought as many as 7,000 have died in this one city alone, although official figures, which count only those who tested positive for the virus before dying, are far lower.

They are used to disposing of 50 bodies a day in normal times. As COVID-19 ravaged the city, that number rose to 500.

Poverty, disorganisation, and the failure of officials to anticipate the crisis led to dystopian scenes of bodies being collected from the streets.

Blanca waits for answers and a body to bury. She is in no doubt that the government could and should have done much more.

"The authorities did not act on time, I believe my father got sick because there was no control at all. The airports were not shut down on time.

"They did not even control the temperature of the passengers. This was known since January, first in China then Italy in February. They had two months to get ready and they did not do it."

Her lament will be familiar to so many, far beyond Ecuador.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×