Policy Scenarios to Promote Inclusive Adaptation to and Recovery from the Covid-19 Crisis in Ecuador

Abstract

Ecuador was already dealing with one of its worst economic crises in decades when the sudden appearance and rapid spread of Covid-19 pushed governments worldwide to shut down their economies to limit contact and suppress transmission. During the first three months of the pandemic, Ecuador was among the countries hardest hit by the spread of the virus.

Even though it was one of the first countries to impose lockdown measures, an analysis of mortality data by The New York Times found that the overall number of deaths in Ecuador between March and October 2020 was 36,800 higher than in the same period in previous years: almost three times higher than the number of deaths officially reported.