Ecuador has really low numbers for COVID-19 cases. The government is taking the pandemic really seriously. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
In this photo, you can see people waiting to enter a shopping mall in Quito on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. I had entered the same mall the previous day and had to show my vaccination card to get inside. I’ve heard that this is a new government requirement that just went into effect. Also, the overwhelming majority of people are wearing masks, even outside. I had to get a PCR test showing I’m negative before I could enter the country.
The one thing I found surprising about this photo is that the mall was open on Christmas Day. I thought nearly everything would be closed. I wasn’t surprised to see pharmacies open, but a shopping mall was certainly unexpected.