BUENOS AIRES, January 10. /TASS/. Ecuadoran hospitals will only provide emergency medical care amid the crisis related to the prison riots and ensuing mass unrest, the country’s Health Ministry reported.

"Emergency medical care is guaranteed for everyone around the country. Outpatient consultations in health centers and hospitals are suspended throughout Ecuador, and scheduled surgeries will be postponed," reads the message published on the ministry's page on X (formerly Twitter).

Earlier, Ecuador's Sports Ministry decided to cancel mass events involving athletes due to internal political instability.

The security threat in Ecuador escalated on January 7 after a Los Choneros gang leader, nicknamed Fito, escaped from prison. Afterward, riots broke out in several penitentiaries. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in the country and imposed a curfew on January 8. Authorities confirmed the deaths of 13 people killed as a result of the wave of violence, at least 70 people have been detained.