Ecuador's football championship will restart behind closed doors on July 17, the league said on Tuesday, meaning it will join Paraguay in becoming the first South American national league to restart following the coronavirus pandemic.

Teams will be allowed to make five substitutions per match while clubs will face fines of up to $1,200 (1,061.51 euros) if they fail to respect safety measures.

The LigaPro said "the restart will be in the current format that was underway without any changes."

The new start date must still be ratified by the national Emergency Operations Committee, which is handing Ecuador's coronavirus crisis response.

Ecuador, a nation of 17.5 million, is one of the worst affected countries in Latin America from the virus.

It has recorded the fifth largest number of COVID-19 deaths in the region with more than 4,200 but authorities fear another 2,800 fatalities that haven't been recorded as such were also due to the disease.

Paraguay has already announced it will restart its national championship on July 17, while in Brazil the Rio state tournament restarted last week, although two clubs that opposed the restart were allowed to opt out.

Fans of those two clubs -- Fluminense and Botafogo -- protested against the restart alongside fans of the two clubs involved in the first post-lockdown match at Rio's iconic Maracana stadium: Flamengo and Bangu.

Fines ranging from $400 if players fail to bring alcohol sanitizer to wash their hands, to $1,200 (1,061.51 euros) if clubs don't disinfect their facilities will be imposed, Ecuador's LigaPro said.

The league has carried out 1,300 coronavirus tests on players and club staff, with 29 returning positive results.

Meanwhile, South American football's continental federation CONMEBOL announced on Tuesday a new six million dollar aid package for its 10 member associations to help clubs under threat from the pandemic.

It means CONMEBOL has now pledged $85 million to help clubs that have seen their revenues disappear since mid-March when all South American leagues shut down over the virus.