Ecuador reports 27,464 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,371 deaths

Photo taken on March 17, 2020 shows an empty street in Quito, Ecuador. (Photo by Santiago Armas/Xinhua)

The virus has a high incidence in six of the country's 24 provinces, though the province of Guayas has been hit the hardest, registering 62 percent of cases nationwide and 665 deaths.

QUITO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- In Ecuador, the number of deaths from the novel coronavirus rose to 1,371, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 27,464, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) reported on Saturday.

The MSP specified in its daily report that there was an increase of 308 deaths compared to Friday, as well as 1,128 new cases of contagion.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo stated that 73,929 tests have been administered so far for COVID-19, and that 2,132 patients have recovered from the disease, with 150 patients hospitalized with a reserved prognosis.

The virus has a high incidence in six of the country's 24 provinces, though the province of Guayas has been hit the hardest, registering 62 percent of cases nationwide and 665 deaths.

Guayas is followed in number of cases by the provinces of Manabi, El Oro, and Pichincha.