17-Year Old Pregnant Woman is Ecuador’s First COVID-19 Case, Report Says

Health officials, announced over the weekend in a report that a member of one of the indigenous Amazon tribes of Ecuador has been found to be the country's first-ever tribesperson to be infected with COVID-19.

The infested individual, as described in a health ministry statement, is a 17-year-old pregnant woman who belongs to the Waorani tribe. The same statement said she began to show symptoms of the virus on May 4.

Following the appearance of the symptoms, the tribeswoman was taken to a hospital in Ecuador's capital, Quito, and placed in isolation.

The federal government of Ecuador worked with the Waorani tribe leaders, the Agence France-Presse said, to check on 40 other individuals the woman had been in contact with, the Miwaguno community.

Also according to the health ministry, 17 citizens were found to have a "history of respiratory systems." Currently, six of them showed symptoms of the virus. Therefore, seven nasopharyngeal swabs in all, and 20 rapid tests were performed.

Meanwhile, the test results, as well as the details on the pregnant woman's health condition, have yet to be announced in public.

Warning about the Impact of COVID-19

Earlier on, the Waorani organizations had already warned the effect of the said infectious disease on their communities could turn disastrous and highly fatal because of its susceptibility to other diseases, the news agency said.

To date, the Miwaguno community comprises of around 140 dwellers. Meanwhile, the Waorani tribe consists of roughly 2,000 members residing within Ecuador's modern provinces such as Pastaza, Orellana, and Napo, all situated in Amazon's far western region.

Residents from these provinces said the Amazon Frontliners, a non-profit organization working with indigenous individuals to fight for their right to live in Amazon, customarily lived "as nomadic hunter-gatherers in small clan settlements."

As for the pandemic, it has reportedly infected more than 35 indigenous tribes in Brazil, affecting a frightful populace known for having a history of being affected by other external illnesses.

APIB SURVEY

A survey on Friday, which the Brazilian Indigenous People's Association (APIB) conducted, indicated 446 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 92 mortalities among the groups with the majority of them based in the Brazilian Amazon.

Specifically in Brazil, the outbreak has developed in recent weeks. As the record shows, the country has had over 240,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 16,000 deaths from the said virus. These numbers are still way behind the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States.

Because of the recent developments of the pandemic, Brazil has committed to help in this worldwide fight against the virus. Acting Health Minister General Eduardo Pazuello said the country is contributing to the international efforts like the Act Accelerator and Solidarity Trial.

Pazuello also indicated that the country is changing its health protocols to fight COVID-19. This confirmation can be perceived as t "go signal" for the "use of chloroquine to treat the virus."

Also according to the acting Health Minister, such a change will take place according to successful experiences and evidence in Brazil, as well as the other places most affected by the pandemic.

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