Catalina Andramuño

Andramuño was born in Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador. She studied medicine at the University of Guayaquil, where she also obtained a master's degree in public health; she made a specialty in health management and administration at the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral.^[2] Between June 2014 and June 2015, she served as District 9 Health Director.

After the resignation of Verónica Espinosa, the President Lenín Moreno appointed Andramuño as the minister in charge on 3 July 2019, then on 18 October, she was officially designated as the Minister of Public Health.^[3]

On 29 February 2020, Andramuño was in charge of reporting the first case of the COVID-19 disease in Ecuador, which was a case imported from Madrid, Spain. That case was a 71-year-old woman arrived in the country on 14 February who later presented disease-related symptoms.^[4] On 21 March, she resigned in the midst of the health emergency.^[5] On the same day, Dr. Juan Carlos Zevallos was appointed as the new Minister of Public Health by executive decree 1018 by President Moreno.^[6]