Coronavirus cases in Ecuador top 10,000, doubling about once a week

Ecuador reported over 10,000 cases of coronavirus on Monday, the fourth-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease ravages the economy of the oil-producing country. The pandemic in recent weeks has overwhelmed sanitary authorities in the largest city of Guayaquil, the center of the Andean nation's outbreak, where corpses remained in homes or for hours on streets.

Ecuador recorded its first coronavirus case on Feb. 29 and took 24 days to reach 1,000 cases. It took seven days for cases to double to 2,000, eight days to double to 4,000 and eight days to double again to 8,000, according to a Reuters tally. The Andean nation has reported a total of 507 deaths, the health ministry said.

In Latin America, only Brazil, Peru and Chile have more cases. President Lenin Moreno has proposed creating a humanitarian assistance fund that would collect 5% of the profits with reported revenue exceeding $1 million in 2018, and would tax workers with monthly salaries of more than $500.

Those measures have been questioned by indigenous people, unions and business leaders.