Ecuador's vice president tests positive for COVID-19

Ecuadorian Vice President Alfredo Borrero announced on Thursday that he tested positive for COVID-19, but reported that he is stable and only suffering from minor symptoms.

"Although we follow all biosecurity measures, this time it was my turn. I will face this disease with confidence knowing I am vaccinated. The pandemic is still among us, let's take care of ourselves and go get vaccinated,” Borrero wrote on Twitter.

Aunque seguimos todas las medidas de bioseguridad, esta vez me tocó a mí. Enfrentaré esta enfermedad con la confianza de estar vacunado. La pandemia sigue entre nosotros, cuidémonos y acudamos a vacunarnos. ¡Gracias por su apoyo! https://t.co/koMqunaVlp

— Alfredo Borrero (@ABorreroVega) January 6, 2022

In a statement, the Office of the Vice-President said that Ecuador’s number-two is experiencing "mild symptoms" and stressed that he is fully vaccinated, including the booster.

Borrero, a doctor by profession, is isolating at home under medical supervision.

Since the holiday season, Ecuador has registered a significant increase of COVID-19 cases and on Wednesday, 2,837 new cases were reported, according to data from the Ministry of Public Health.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 553,201 reported infections in Ecuador and 33,686 coronavirus-related deaths.

So far, Ecuador has administered at least 27,304,608 doses of COVID vaccines and official data suggests that at least 78.6 percent of the country’s population is vaccinated.