This 2019 photo provided by the Lamilla Family shows Bella Lamilla, a retired school teacher who was Ecuador's first confirmed coronavirus case. Even as Ecuador's coronavirus 'patient zero' agonised in intensive care, strangers began tearing her reputation apart online. Lamilla is an example of how for patients and loved ones, coronavirus can come with stigma and re-victimisation. — Lamilla Family/AP
BOGOTA, Colombia: No one should have known Bella Lamilla’s name.
But within hours of her diagnosis as Ecuador’s first coronavirus case, it was circulating on social media along with photos showing the retired schoolteacher unconscious and intubated in a hospital bed. Her large, close-knit family watched in horror as a dual tragedy began to unfold: While Lamilla fought for her life in intensive care, strangers began tearing apart her reputation online.
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