Case number rises in Cuenca, Covid-19 tracking website, Roasted cuy delivered, Furniture maker switches to coffins, Landslides close highways

Jueves, 16/3/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Teleteatro – Actress Juana Guarderas will present “Confesiones de una damisela morlaca y virginal en cuarentena” (Confessions of a morlaca and virginal damsel in quarantine) on Zoom este sábado a las 21:30. Juana Guarderas is known for playing “Abrilia,” the morlaca <a Cuencanan of long standing> in “Las Marujas.” The play has 4 acts including a prayer to “San Hipoclorito de Sodio,” a warning about the risks and double meanings when talking in an “analog” era, and worse, in a “digital” era. <Sounds like music to this Luddite’s ears.> To watch, go to www.buenplan.com.ec. Have your screen open by 21:00. Cost: $5.00. <My worry is that by the time I figured out how to pay for this electronically, the show would be over.>

Otras cosas –

Workers clean a landslide on the Cuenca-Guayaquil highway. (El Mercurio)

Titular – Que cobren sólo el 50% (Charge only 50%) – Parents of students at private schools in the Sierra y Amazonia support continuing with virtual classes, however, they are asking educational authorities to reduce tuition for the last 3 months of the school year to 50%. They are also asking that students in the 3d year of high school, be tested only on the material learned before the health emergency when they take the tests for admission to universities. Parents are also asking that the priorities for virtual classes be the fundamentals such as math, natural sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, language and literature, English, and specialized subjects. They do not want to pay for extracurricular classes. <Makes sense since their kids won’t be playing soccer or having swimming classes.>

Solidarity – Various entrepreneurs have stepped up to help in this emergency. “Ayúdame a Ayudar” (Help me to help) started in Cuenca and has delivered 58 acrylic isolation glove boxes to several hospitals to protect medical personnel while they are intubating or removing tubes from patients. Another student and designer has delivered 10,000 face shields to hospitals and health centers as far away as Guayaquil. A group at the U. Católica de Cuenca has also made and distributed face shields. <As entrepreneurial as Ecuadorians are, you know that eventually someone would start making things needed to fight the epidemic.>

Use of face masks – The Concejo Cantonal passed an ordinance requiring the use of face masks. For the general public, people in noncompliance will be fined $100 (25% of the Salario Básico Unificado – SBU). Owners or renters of buiness locations can be fined $200, and representatives and operators of public and commercial transport can be fine 100% of the SBU or $400. You also need use a mask while you are driving or riding in a car. Kids between 12 & 18 will be sanctioned with community service in tasks that do not present a health risk. Second offenses will receive a double penalty.

COVID-19 – The number of cases in Azuay has risen to 208 with 181 in Cuenca. There are 326 cases in Zone 6 with 200 in Azuay, 105 in Cañar, and 21 in Morona Santiago. There are 742 people in epidemological containment in the south. <Which probably still leaves thousands of folks moving around who are infected with the virus but with no symptoms.>

Although VP Otto Sonnenholzer said, “Se están haciendo las cosas bien, me voy satisfecho,”(Things are being done well, I’m leaving satisfied), both he and the manager of the regional hospital said that now is not the time to drop our guard against the virus. <The article has a lot of the statistics of infections, suspected infections, etc. I don’t feel like slogging through them only to provide fuel for on line arguments and insults.>
One good news story is about a baby of 13 months who entered <what’s the term for entering a hospital like “discharge” is for leaving the hospital?> the regional hospital on 7/4 with an acute respiratory infection caused by coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus which affected his nose, throat and lungs. He was discharged yesterday to continue recuperating at home and is in quarantine. <Not that he’s going to be able to break quarantine without someone aiding and abetting.> Some local peculiarities in the distribution of the virus are in El Troncal in Cañar and La Unión y Cayguas in Sevilla de Oro in Azuay. The number of confirmed cases in El Troncal is 54, 84 suspected, and 6 possible deaths which exceeds the number in Azogues, the capital of Cañar. This is probably because of the close ties between El Troncal and Guayaquil. In La Unión y Cayguas, there are 200 people in quarantine after an outbreak of cases with 8 confirmed and 90 suspected in a population of about 600.

Reinventing business – Vitefama, a furniture manufacturer and retailer, has switched production to making economical coffins to send to Guayas. The lock down shut their stores causing a steep drop in income. The company is also making personal protection equipment for people and front line workers outside of hospitals. They have been able to keep their employees working.

Cuyes delivered to your home – With restaurants closed, cuy producers are looking to sell directly to consumers. Members of the Asociación de Productores de Cuyes Nabón Centro (Asoprocuy Nabón) are working with the Minsterio de Agricultura y Ganaderia (MAG) to transport high quality, roasted cuyes with all safety and hygiene measures to your table. <Maybe not YOUR table, but lots of people do like cuy.> You can call 099 682 9073 for a delivery on Wed. Cost: $10, which is a little lower than it would be in a restaurant.

Intrafamily violence down – An ECU report said that between 12/3 and 11/4, at a national level, it received 6,819 calls for violenca against women or other family members. This is down by 37.2% (or 4.028 calls) from the same period last year. The total number of these calls last year was 10,857, 55% of which were received in Quito and Guayaquil.

Road closures <Which should not apply to you unless you’re driving a truck full of tomatoes or tuna.> – The rains have caused slides on the roads in and out of Cuenca. The work to keep the roads open for the transport of food and essential supplies is continual. Yesterday, there were slides at km. 32 of the vía Girón-Pasaje and on the vía antigua Celata-Portete. A rock slide closed the vía Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje at km. 79. <We’ve arrived at the journalistic season of landslide stories as opposed to forest fire stories.>

COVID app – The Covid-19 platform for mobile phones will allow citizens to find out how many cases of the virus are in their province, city and parish <How many of you know the parish you live in?> as well as sites with the largest aglomeración de personas (crowds – your phrase for the day.)

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne