Mayor pushes personal responsibility to control Covid spread; Medical students strike over lack of pay; City markets hope to restore sales volume

Miércoles, 16/9/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Mercados buscan recuperar clients (Markets seek to recover clients) – The Municipio has started a campaign called “Tu mercado, baratito y con yapa” to reactivate the mercados. Sales fell noticeably during the health emergency, and venders thought it was because customers were afraid to go to the mercados and because of all the “pop-up” fruit and vegetable stands where they could shop closer to home.

Alcalde confía en autocuidado de la población (Mayor trusts self-care of the population) – Mayor Palacio’s proposal focuses on 2 themes: vehicular mobility and reactivation of economic sectors that still don’t have authorization to reopen. He noted that Cuenca is one of the cities that has conducted the most tests and was the first to develop protocols and pilot projects for reopening businesses.

Vendors in Cuenca’s public markets hope to return to pre-pandemic sales levels. (El Mercurio)

However, the criteria that epidemiologists recommend for reopening are negative in Cuenca. There hasn’t been a reduction in confirmed cases for at least 3 weeks. There was an increase in excess deaths in julio of 48% and 91% in agosto. This statistic is not going down. Positive PCR tests are not lower than 10%, and ICU beds have been full for 5 weeks when the recommendation is for 50% full. <Or empty depending on what kind of water glass viewer you are.>

No a los eventos masivos en Azuay (No to massive events in Azuay) – the Cantonal COEs in Azuay have finalized measures for the first days without the state of emergency. Some share the eliminating vehicular estrictions, prohibiting massive events, and suspending in person classes. There are differences about reopening bars and discos, the hours of aislamiento (isolation – or curfew?), and more.

Médicos postgradistas cuelgan los mandiles (Postgraduate doctors hang up their jackets) – Yesterday morning, postgraduate doctors met at the U. of Cuenca department of medicine, next to the Vicente Corral Moscoso hospital, but did not finish their shifts to protest not getting paid. Their salaries are $1,600/mo. and many of the doctors support families. A strike is worrisome because the 310 postgrad. doctors in the Austro (South) work in preventing, controlling and treating Covid patients.

Descuentos y compras –

ETAFASHION – All shirts and blouses – $19.95.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
___________________

Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.