Ecuadorian Minister of Public Health Catalina Andramuno speaks at a press conference in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on February 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Str)
The patient left Madrid and arrived in Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil without symptoms, but days later suffered from shortness of breath.
QUITO, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian Minister of Public Health Catalina Andramuno on Saturday confirmed the country's first case of COVID-19.
The patient is an Ecuadorian woman in her 70s who arrived from Spain on Feb. 14, the minister told reporters at a press conference.
Ecuador's National Institute of Public Health Research carried out the tests that confirmed the diagnosis.
The patient left Madrid and arrived in Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil without symptoms, but days later suffered from shortness of breath, leading authorities to suspect she had contracted the virus, which could lead to pneumonia.
The woman already had pre-existing medical problems and "is in intensive care" in an isolated unit. ■
