‘Coyotes’ advertise on TikTok to take Cuencanos to the U.S.; Vaccination Q & A; Corpus Christi candy sales moved; More Pfizer and Sinovac doses arrive

Miércoles, 2/6/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –

Venta de dulces de Corpus Christi (Sale of Corpus Christi candy) – The Empresa de Desarrollo Económico (EDEC) will inaugurate the “Fiesta más dulce del mundo” (The sweetest festival in the world) which also coincides with the start of Corpus Christi. 58 candy makers will be working from 10-18:00 in the Centro Municipal Artesanal (General Torres y Presidente Córdova) and the Galería del Portal Artesanal (av. Huayna Cápac y Bolívar). If you would rather buy on-lline, EDEC has a digital catalogue with information about the producers and how to order. <If you haven’t been here since junio, 2019, ask someone who has. The blocks around parque Calderón would normally be full of candy sellers. I’m surprised that there wasn’t the dental equivalent of ambulance chasing lawyers, with odontólogos handing out their cards.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – “Coyotes” en TikTok y otras redes (“Coyotes” on TikTok and other networks) – Coyotes are advertising on social networks to take people to the US illegally via Mexico for $10-12,000 or via the Bahamas for $15-20,000. The ads say something like, “If you have family in Mexico who haven’t crossed the border or if you want to go from Ecuador to the US, we can help you.” Legitimate travel agencies are being affected because some people have confused legal travel to the US with the coyotes’ offers. <This is for you numbers junkies.> Before noviembre, 2020, the Registro Civil in Cuenca was issuing 180 passports a day. Now it’s 600 and expected to increase (for more, click here).

Cuenca’s Civil Registry office has seen a large increase in the number of passport applications.

Many migrants fly from the airport in Latacunga because it’s the easiest route to leave Ecuador on charter flights to Mexico. <Would that also apply to gringos who want to visit friends in Ajijic and Lake Chapala?> In 2020, $1 million in remisas (remissions – your word for the day) were sent to Azuay, Cañar, Loja and Zamora Chinchipe which is 30.94% of total remissions to the country. <That sounds wrong given the next statistic. I’m thinking it’s $1 billion.> $638.55 million of that went to Cuenca, Azogues, and Gualaceo.

Plan de vacunación en marcha favorece a grupos prioritarios (Vaccination plan underway favors priority groups) – The Coordinación Zonal 6 de Salud presented the Plan de Vacunación 9/100 which started el lunes and aims to increase the speed of vaccinations. The zone coordinator, Fausto Idrovo, said that not all polling places will be set up for vaccinations. Cantons, parishes, and communities with a higher prevalence of Covid will be prioritized.

To find the location for your vaccination go to https://lugarvacunacion.cne.gob.ec/ where you can also download the schedule. If the vaccination center is not convenient to your residence or your polling place, you can make a change of residence by going to the CNE offices with your cédula, voting certificate, and a utility bill. Once you have been vaccinated and have been registered on the Plataforma de Registro de Atención en Salud (PRAS), you can get your vaccination certificate at https://sgrda-caa-admision.msp.gob.ec/hcue/paciente/certificadovacuna/public/index. <There was a line break between sgrda and caa so I’m not sure if the dash was for the line break or part of the address.>

If you have had your first dose, these are the locations for the second doses.

The three following questions from citizens regarding vaccines were answered.
Q. When will teachers get their 2nd doses? A. The teachers who got the AstraZeneca vaccines were called for second doses which were not available due to production and acquisition problems. So the 2nd doses will be given 84 days after the 1st.
Q. Will foreigners residing in Ecuador be vaccinated? A. Migrants living in Ecuador are included in the 3d phase of vaccinations from 15/6 to 30/7. A web site will be set up where you can fill out a form so you can be assigned a Centro de Vacunación according to your residence and risk level. If you are part of a priority group, you can go get vaccinated during weekends. <It might be that those of you who don’t have cedulas could fall into this group. This could be a chance to get the vaccine you want – either Pfizer or Sinovac by showing up at the appropriate center on the weekend and talking your way into a vaccine. Or have your facilitator talk your way in.>
Q. Can I get vaccinated if I have had Covid? The zone coordinator says that you can get vaccinated 3 weeks after you have recuperated.

“Para más cupos faltan recursos” (“There is a lack of resources for more spaces”) – In an interview, Alejandro Ribadeneira, the head of Senescyt, said that universities need more autonomy and need to increase the number of spaces without specifying how to reach these goals. The rectors of the U. of Cuenca and the U. Nacional de Educación in Azogues responded that the answer is more money. To enroll more students, more professors are needed and more infrastructure and classrooms.

Calcinado hallan a un hombre que estaba extraviado (Lost man found calcinated) – An 82 year old man who was reported missing el 28/5 was found on a lot in the Balzay Alto sector. Neighbors noticed because of dogs who were sniffing around the body. The cause of death and why the body was calcinated are being investigated. The man had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and had not been walking much.

600,000 vacunas más enviarán farmacéuticas Pfizer y Sinovac (Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Sinovac to send 600,000 more vaccines) – New shipments of vaccines will arrive this month, mostly from Sinovac as Pres. Lasso is trying to accelerate his promised vaccination plan. The country’s plans are stalled mostly from the lack of availability of doses. 107,640 doses from Pfizer arrived ayer with another 500,000 due to arrive between el 14 & 16/6 from Sinovac. Up to el 30/5, Ecuador had administered first doses to 1.56 million people, about 9% of the population, and 662,035 second doses, 3.2% of the population. <I wonder what the percentage of gringos who have been vaccinated is.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne