Ecuador’s confirmed coronavirus cases more than doubled to a total of 22,719 after the government released a batch of delayed test results, the country’s interior minister has said.

According to a Reuters report, the pandemic in recent weeks has overwhelmed health officials in Guayaquil on the Pacific coast, Ecuador’s largest city and epicentre of its coronavirus outbreak.

Interior Minister Maria Paulo Romo said the jump was due to a large batch of tests being released after an increase in testing capacity, rather than any significant change in the situation on the ground.