Ecuador’s government is preparing an emergency burial ground on land donated by a private cemetery in Guayaquil, the country’s largest city, to address a shortage of burial plots as the novel coronavirus hits the Andean country hard.
As of Tuesday, the country had 3,995 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 220 deaths, with 182 more deaths suspected of being linked to the virus. The outbreak has sparked a shortage of wooden coffins, prompting some people to bury their relatives in cardboard boxes donated by cemeteries.
Large lines of cars carrying coffins waited outside private cemeteries across the city this week, as families waited for hours for a chance to bury their deceased relatives. The outbreak has overwhelmed hospitals and emergency services, with some families keeping dead bodies in their homes for days.
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