Cuenca seeks Sputnik and J&J vaccines despite gov’t restrictions; Inequality in who gets PCR tests; Water source protection plan; Gang bombs police station

Jueves, 11/3/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
More nada.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Pruebas PCR al alcance de pocos (PCR tests within the reach of few) – Getting a PCR Covid test from the public sector is difficult for patients who think they might have Covid. The public hospitals are reserving the tests for hospitalized patients and those with medical complications. Private sector PCR tests cost around $90, which not everyone is able to pay, generating inequality and jealousy among patients. Ecuador is among the Latin American countries with the lowest rate of testing. For example, Chile with a similar population, has given 10 million tests while Ecuador has only given 1,048,000 since the start of the pandemic. This lack of testing means authorities don’t have current information about the expansion of the virus in the country which is a cause of taking inadequate actions to prevent the virus. <We may get to herd immunity and never know it. Meanwhile, keep wearing your mask, maintaining social distancing and washing your hands.>

CNE capacitará a municipios para la prevención de casos (CNE will train municipalities to prevent cases) – The CNE is reinforcing the training that cities received for the elections on 7/2 to prevent infections during the second round. The CNE director in Azuay said that the past elections did not generate infections beyond what was expected. The CNE will address the issue of crowding around the polling places on election day. It will have meetings with the candidates’ representatives on the protocol for campaigning which starts el 16/3. <It’s only the 11th and I’m already seeing Lasso ads on the computer. Do different rules apply to on-line advertising or do different rules apply to Lasso?>

La empresa privada lanza compaña para donar mascarillas (Private company launches compaign to donate masks) – The Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Salud Pública
and chambers of production launched the ‘Hoy por Todos’ (Today for All) campaign to donate masks and supplies to medical personnel in the country. There are drop boxes in shopping centers and chain stores where people can donate Kn-95 masks and nitrile gloves. The campaign is also coordinating the purchase of thousands of disposable surgical gowns to give to public hospitals nationwide.

Pfizer and AstraZeneca say they will only sell vaccines to national governments, not to municipalities. (El Mercurio)

Ordenanza para sellar la consulta (Ordinance to seal the referendum) – The Cabildo por el Agua de Cuenca collective delivered a proposal for an ordinance to the Comisión de Medio Ambiente (Environment Commission) of the Concejo Cantonal de Cuenca yesterday. 80.04% of the voters voted sí to prohibit mining activities in protected zones, specifically in the water recharge areas of the ríos Tomebamba, Tarqui, Yanuncay, Machángara y Norcay which supply water to Cuenca. The Ordenanza que Establece las Áreas de Incidencia Estratégica para el Desarrollo Sostenible y Norma el Uso y Ocupación del Suelo y las Políticas Públicas para Comunidades que Viven en esas Áreas (Ordinance that Establishes the Areas of Strategic Incidence for Sustainable Development and Norms the Use and Occupation of Land and Public Policies for Communities Living in those Areas). There would be 5 strategic areas that would be nuclei for conservation and care which would garantee water formation; they would assure the biological cycle; and they would serve to sustain rural communities living in the areas and bring community services. Construction of enclosures, walls, living spaces, storage and camps would be restricted.

570 comerciantes alistan mudanza (570 merchants ready to move) – Venders at the Mercado Sucre in Azogues are moving to a the new Complejo Comercial Municipal. The old mercado was damaged after the río Burgay flooded the mercado.

Farmacéuticas bloquean intención de municipios (Pharmaceutical companies block the intention of municipalities) – Both Pfizer and AstraZeneca issued statements that their vaccines will only be sold to the national government of Ecuador, blocking the proposals from local governments and businesses to buy directly from the manufacturers. The companies warned against getting vaccines from private sources, saying they should be treated as falsifications and should be reported to health authorities. <Every disaster has its opportunists – not surprising that counterfeit vaccines will be on the internet.>

Rudolfo Farfán, the ministro de Salud, said there is another option in which municipalities could receive accompanying shipments with the Government’s shipments as long as they paid for them. Guayaquil mayor Cynthia Viteri and Cuenca mayor Pedro Palacios want to bring vaccines to their cities and to import other brands such as those from Johnson & Johnson and China and Russia. Viteri has created the #LiberenLasVacunas petition to collect 100,000 signatures to send to the Government.

Alarma tras explosión en la Unidad de Policía (Alarm after explosion in the Police Unit) – Controls carried out in El Triunfo in Guayas to capture a gang which is extorting prison inmates was the trigger for attacks on police and prosecutors’ offices ayer. One officer at the Unidad de Policía Comunitaria (UPC) was injured when he went out to investigate smoke at the same time the device exploded. Gabriel Martínez, the minister of Government said that the criminals will meet a unified response and that we will not be intimidated. Special judicial and intelligence police will investigate and identify the criminals.

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne