City buses reduce their hours; Volcanic ash clouds are closely monitored; There’s a waiting list for ICU beds; Rural women featured in photo exhibit

Miércoles, 21/7/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –

Muestra fotográfica de mujeres rurales se inaugura hoy (Photographic exhibition of rural women opens today) – A project by the Red de Turismo Comunitario del Austro “Pakariñan” to strengthen the leadership of rural women in 14 communities in the south of Ecuador including various zones in Azuay has prepared a photo exhibit. Omar Hidalgo photographed women in their work places with the goal of making their labor visible. The exhibit opened hoy at the Salón del Pueblo Efraín Jara Idrovo (Sucre y Benigno Malo) a las 11:00 and will run to el 4/5 with hours from 9-13:00 and 13:30-16:00 from lunes a viernes and from 9-13:00 los sábados.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Plan de vacunación masiva en Gualaceo, Paute y Girón (Mass vaccination plan in Gualaceo, Paute and Girón) – Over 2,000 seniors over 65 who had registered on line with the plan de vacunación were given their shots in Paute and Gualaceo ayer y hoy. Another mass vaccination will be in Girón on el viernes. The second doses will be administered in 21 days.

Plan en Cuenca (you don’t really need me to translate that, do you?) – The MSP continued to vaccinate seniors in Cuenca who had appointments. 1,920 shots were given at the Coliseo Jefferson Pérez and the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS). In Cañar and Azogues adultos mayores with appointments got their first doses. The MSP arranged for seniors over 90 and people over 18 who are 50% or more disabled to get shots without needing an appointment. If you fall into one of those groups, go to a vaccination location after 15:00.

ICU units in private hospitals in Cuenca are also near capacity. (El Mercurio)

UCI al 100% en los hospitales y clínicas (ICU at 100% in hospitals and clinics) – At least 25 people are on the waiting list for an ICU bed at the “José Carrasco Arteaga” Hospital (IESS) with more patients coming into the emergency room. On lunes, the 35 ICU beds at the “Vicente Corral Moscoso” regional hospital were full as were the 28 in the IESS hospital, the 8 in the “Homero Castanier” hospital in Azogues, and 6 of the 7 at the Hospital General in Macas. As of ayer, they were all full. On lunes, there were 2 beds at the clínica Latino, and 1 each at Santa Inés, the hospital del Río, and at Monte Sinaí. As of ayer, they were also full. The MSP is enlarging areas to install 10 more beds at the “Vicente Corral Moscoso” hospital, and 4 more at the “Homero Castanier” in Azogues. A doctor and researcher reported that there has been a 27% increase in cases in Azuay with 75 new cases per day and one death every 48 hours.

Defensora exige lista de vacunados (Defender demands list of vaccinated) – The defensora del Pueblo in Azuay, Verónica Aguirre announced that the list of people who received vaccinations in Phase 0 should have been delivered to her office by 8/4, but this has not been done. If authorities continue to disregard this judicial order, other measures can be taken. Disobeying a judicial order is a crime that can be punished with 1-3 years in prison. Aguirre wondered why is there fear of making the information transparent. <Maybe they’ve just been too swamped with getting shots into people’s arms to do one more piece of *#$@)** paperwork. Or maybe someone has something to hide?>

Insisten en una reubicación de los prostíbulos (They insist on a relocation of brothels) – Residents of sectors near the zona de tolerancia (tolerance zone) are insisting that the brothels in the Cayambe barrio be relocated. They are asking authorities to find a new location but not by simply moving the problems to another neighborhood. Residents fear that no one is listening to their requests.

Horarios de buses urbanos (Urban bus schedules) – The Cámara de Transporte de Cuenca (CTC) announced new schedules for the next 30 days for the 475 urban buses in Cuenca. At night the buses will start their last trips for the day between 19:30 y 19:45 to arrive at their final destinations around 20:30. The buses can only operate at 75% capacity, or with 68 passengers. <I wonder how many gringos are going to be counting heads while they’re on the bus to make sure the drivers are in compliance.>

Comercio bilateral, un acuerdo común de Lasso y Duque (Bilateral trade, a common agreement between Lasso and Duque) – Pres. elect Lasso’s first trip abroad was to Colombia to meet with Pres. Iván Duque, with talks centering on bilateral trade and a joint effort against drug trafficking. Both presidents insisted on the need for Ecuador to join the Alianza del Pacifico which is composed of Chile, Colombia, México y Perú. Duque is president pro tem and wants to see Ecuador as a full member in 2021.

“Cuidado con el aislamiento” (“Beware of isolation”) – Mauricio Gándara, an international relations expert warned that Pres. elect Lasso should not fall into extremism along with Iván Duque against the Socialist leaning governments of S. America. Gándara listed the probable victory of Lula da Silva in Brasil, Alberto y Cristina Fernández in Argentina, Maduro in Venezuela, a return to a socialist president in Bolivia, and a high probability of an extreme leftist government in Perú as governments that Ecuador should improve relations with. Lasso’s meeting with Duque could send a negative message in this respect. Lasso should also refrain from getting involved in Colombia’s internal conflicts since the violence could cross the border.

Monitorean una nube de ceniza expulsada por el volcán Sangay (Ash cloud expelled by the Sangay volcano being monitored) – Ayer, the Instituto Geofísico de la Politécnica Nacional, with the GOES-16 satellite, detected a new ash cloud from the Sangay volcano. <They could probably have gotten the same information by calling a local police station.> This cloud is traveling west and southwest and could cause a light ash fall in Chimborazo, Cañar and Azuay provinces. Last lunes, Sangay expelled a cloud of gases and ash towards the northeast which caused damage to crops and cattle in Riobamba and Guamote in Chimborazo. Sangay is the volcano farthest south in Ecuador, on the Cordillera Real in the Amazonian region of Morona Santiago. It is one of the most active in the country with constant eruptive activity since 1628.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne