Ecuador has announced drastic measures to keep its floundering economy afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic, including scrapping seven state-owned companies, liquidating the national flag carrier and closing embassies around the world.
The Andean nation has recorded more than 34,000 coronavirus cases. Its number of deaths, at nearly 3,000, is by far the worst per capita in Latin America. In a televised address, President Lenín Moreno said Ecuador was suffering a crisis worse than “all the wars and natural disasters put together that the country has suffered throughout its history”.