No one is allowed in or out of Chimborazo Province town that suffered four Covid deaths in a day  

The town of El Troje, 12 kilometers from Colta in Chimborazo Province, is under total lockdown following the Covid-19 deaths of four of its 462 residents in a single day. No one is allowed in or out of the town which also reports 14 others seriously ill with the virus.

A man looks out the window in El Troje in Chimborazo Province.

According to the Ministry of Health and the Colta Emergency Operations Committee, the lockdown will remain in place until at least December 20. In addition to the sick and dead, 25 other El Troje residents tested positive for Covid over the weekend. All four fatalities were of residents 66 and older.

“We believe that the outbreak occurred because during the early months of the pandemic the inhabitants of El Troje remained isolated and blocked the entry to their community,” said Cristian Silva, a Colta epidemiologist. “Recently, however, they began to travel to other cities again and had events with crowds of people.”

Under the COE quarantine, all El Troje residents are required to stay indoors at all times expect to buy groceries and medicine. The COE is providing delivery service to those who live more than two kilometers from the town center.