Ecuador's speed of COVID-19 transmission rises

QUITO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's Minister of Public Health Juan Carlos Zevallos reported Monday that in 17 of the country's 24 provinces, the speed of transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has increased, pushing the average positivity rate nationwide slightly higher to 21 percent.

The situation is most concerning in the central highland provinces of Carchi, Canar and Cotopaxi, where the positivity rate has almost doubled to 38 percent, the minister said during a joint press conference with government authorities and the National Emergency Operations Committee, which is managing the COVID-19 crisis.