World News | Ecuador Hits New Daily Record of 3,942 Cases of COVID-19

Quito [Ecuador], January 17 (ANI/Xinhua): Ecuador registered a record 3,942 daily cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total to 230,808, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.

The figures are part of an exponential increase in infections that the South American country has registered this month.

The ministry stated that Ecuador reached 9,711 deaths from COVID-19, with 42 new deaths registered in the last 24 hours.

The province of Pichincha, where the capital of Quito is located, continues to lead the country in cases, with a total of 81,102, followed by Guayas with 29,775; Manabi with 16,244; and Azuay with 14,681.

Ecuador has not been able to gain control over the pandemic largely due to citizens ignoring government health recommendations, especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The country is planning to begin its COVID-19 vaccination pilot program next week with the arrival of the first 86,000 doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech. (ANI/Xinhua)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)