Churches to reopen but those over 60 won’t be welcome; Purchasing scams investigated at 14 hospitals; Music festival cancelled

Lunes, 11/5/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –
There was no pagina cultural today. <Another victim of Covid?>

Del cuerpo del periodico –

La Fiesta de la Música cancelled – This annual festival which is organized by the Alianza Francesa has been cancelled this year. But there will be a virtual international festival with a tentative date of 21/6. The Alianza Francesa de Cuenca is uniting with all the alianzas francesas in Latin America and the Caribbean for a virtual festival. So far, over 15 countries will participate and there will be a concert by a group from each country on various platforms.

Otras cosas –

Cuenca churches will begin reopening at the end of the month.

Titular – 14 hospitales están bajo la lupa (14 hospitals are under scrutiny) – Overpricing for body bags sold to the los Ceibos IESS hospital in Guayaquil opened a Pandora’s box in the public purchasing system in the IESS and Ministerio de Salud hospitals. Currently, nationally,14 hospitals are being investigated for irregularities in purchasing. The Secretaría Anticorrupción confirmed that a criminal network is operating in Health.

Emergency work on the Yanuncay – Work on the vía Sústag-Soldados water plant started last month after the Yanuncay overflowed, and is about 50% complete. The work is expected to be finished in early junio.

Artesanal liquor seized in Sinincay – The liquor did not have the health seal. <In the photo, one of the containers looks like a repurposed motor oil jug. Given how bootleg aguardiente smells, I doubt residual motor oil would hurt the taste any.>

Emergency purchases in Cuenca – Medical supplies, medicines, food kits, and sanitizing spaces have been the main purchases in Cuenca during the health emergency. The $1.3 million spent will be audited by the Comptroller General of Ecuador. Authorities confirmed that the cost of masks and body bags was higher than the current market price due to the urgency of the need and high demand for the items.

Mercado 10 de Agosto closed – The mercado has been closed until Tuesday for disinfecction after one of the merchants died from Covid-19.

Coronavirus statistics – According to the last report from the MSP, Azuay has 569 positive cases of COVID, of which 493 are in Cuenca. Paute has 23, Gualaceo – 14, Santa Isabel – 10, Sígsig – 7, Girón – 4, Nab{on, Sevilla de Oro y Guachapala – 3 each, El Pan – 2, y Chordeleg -1. <That was also your geography lesson for the day – the cantons of Azuay.> There are 27 patients hospitalized in Cuenca, 14 at the “Vicente Corral Moscoso,” and 13 in the “José Carrasco Arteaga.” Of those patients, 16 are in critical condition. Patients who have died in hospitals in Azuay number 40 with 38 in Cuenca. Another 80 patients have been discharged and 1,973 people have tested negative. The rest of el Austro (the south) has 241 cases in Cañar with 162 of those in El Troncal. Morona Santiago has 44 confirmed cases, 17 in Palora.

Protocols for reopening churches – The Conferencia Episcopal Ecuatoriana announced that churches will be opened progressively in 3 phases corresponding to the stoplight system and in coordination with local authorities. The first phase from red to yellow will start at the end of mayo. Churches will be open to pray; worshipers can enter one at a time, get disinfected at the door, with a time limit of 20 min. and a distancing of 1.5 meters in marked pews. Confessions will be done in a sufficiently large space and priests will be protected with bio-security protocols. The yellow to green phase will incorporate the previous measures and add communion without a mass. Communion will include gloves and hand sanitizer. People older than 60, children under 12, and people with pre-existing illnesses will not be allowed to attend in any of the phases. <Aren’t people over 60 the most numerous church attendees in general?> During these phases, mass will not be celebrated, there will be no large gatherings, and no parish activities such as classes or community meetings.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne