Ecuador's president has taken a 50 percent pay cut along with top officials and ministers as the coronavirus crisis batters the country's already fragile economy, his office announced Saturday.

The South American country has recorded more than 30,000 COVID-19 infections - trailing behind only Brazil and Peru in the region - and at least 1,654 deaths.

The minimum monthly wage in Ecuador is equivalent to roughly $400. The president's monthly salary is around $5,000.

President Lenin Moreno's press office said the government would "reduce by fifty percent the salaries of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic, the ministers and the vice-ministers".

"The fall in state revenues, a result of the COVID-19 crisis, has had negative effects on the country's economy, which is why it is imperative to reduce the salaries" of leading officials, it added.

The measures - first announced by Moreno on April 12 - came into effect on May 8. Such cuts could lead to a general review of public sector wages as Ecuadorian law states that civil servants cannot be paid more than the president.