Digital commerce doubles since 2019; Covid cases continue decline in local hospitals; U.S., Ecuador sign trade deal; 82% of Ecuadorians will take vaccine

Martes, 8/12/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Bazar navideño para reactivar la economía (Christmas bazaar to reactivate the economy) – There will be a Christmas Bazaar in the patios of CIDAP (paseo Tres de Noviembre next to the stairs from parque De La Madre) from el 11-13/12 with hours from 10-18:00. 27 artisans from Pichincha, Cañar and Azuay will be selling leather products, jewelry, plant fiber products, toys, and more. You can also talk to the artisans about how they made their crafts. On its Facebook page, CIDAP also has a sort of a “phone book” for buying crafts from Ecuador.

Muestra de 30 países (Show of 30 countries) – CIDAP also has a show of works from artisans from 30 countries. Hours are from 8-17:00 and the show will run until febrero, 2021.

130 actividades trae la Feria del Libro que se inaugura mañana (130 activities at the Book Fair that opens tomorrow) – The Feria Internacional del Libro de Quito opens tomorrow. Except for the opening event, it will be virtual with 130 activities and 160 speakers who will be in 4 different pavilions. There are spaces for 88 independent, private, public and university publishers. Dozens of writers have also been invited. Go to their webpage, www.filquito2020.com for the schedule and to register for the different activities which will start tomorrow.

More ICU beds open as Covid-19 hospitalizations decline. (El Mercurio)

Danza y música en recital de OSC (Dance and music at OSC recital) – The 3d in person performance of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca will be el jueves y viernes a las 19:00 y sábado a las 18:00 in the Teatro Pumapungo. The Gala de Ballet will combine ballet performed by the dance school Balletti and the Estudio de Ballet Classique with music by the OSC. Seating will be limited to 30% of capacity. Free. <I wonder if there will be any open seats once the theater fills up with families and friends of those dance students.>

Taller en bibliotecas (Workshop in libraries) – The libraries in Chiquintad and Checa will present a reading mediation and recreational workshop based on Christmas stories via Zoom el jueves y viernes. Register via WhatsApp numbers 098 615 5628 / 099 993 0611.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Hay más comercio digital (There is more digital commerce) – According to data from the Cámara Ecuatoriana de Comercio Electrónico (CECE), the number of buyers and digital transactions doubled this year over past years. Leonardo Ottati, president of the CECE, said people who used to buy something maybe once every three months, started buying things weekly when the pandemic started. November was especially busy with El Cyberday receiving more than 350,000 visits with a 40% increase in sales over agosto. On line sales in Ecuador accounted for $1,65 million in 2019 and 2020 will probably close with $2,300 million in electronic commerce.

Menos pacientes de COVID en hospitales (Fewer COVID patients in hospitals) – A slowdown in cases is giving health authorities hope. 24 of the 33 beds for critical Covid patients at the Vicente Corral Moscoso hospital are vacant and intermediate care Covid patients have gone from 80 to 21. 7 ICU beds have been changed to treat patients with other diseases or traffic accident victims. Public hospitals in Cañar and Morona Santiago are also seeing a reduction in patients. There have been 15% fewer cases registered last week than in the week preceeding. New cases last week were at 380 in Cuenca. A serological study showed that 2 out of every 10 Cuencanos has already had Covid leaving 80% of the population as possible victims. Doctors are warning that Covid can increase again due to Christmas and New Year celebrations, and for citizens not to drop their guard.

Vacunas generan expectativa en Cuenca (Vaccines generate expectations in Cuenca) – A survey conducted on social networks found that 81.8% of Cuencanos would get the Covid vaccine. An epidemiologist said that vaccines have been effective against other pandemics even though there is no open information about the vaccines that will be coming into Ecuador. She said that there should be follow/up on people who have been vaccinated to know more about the vaccine’s effects. She mentioned that how long the vaccine lasts is still unclear and recommended paying attention to the vaccinations in Europe which could indicate how it will go in Ecuador.

Acuerdo de Primera Fase se firma hoy (First Phase Agreement signed today) – Ecuador and the US signed an agreement which is the first step to reaching a Commercial Treaty. Those negotiations will last at least 2 years and be finalized by the next administration. The 3 leading presidential candidates, Guillermo Lasso, Andrés Arauz y Yaku Pérez, have all indicated their intention to continue negotiations with the US. <At least the 2nd two would probably be elated that they wouldn’t be negotiating with the current sitting US president who has a history of reneging on agreements.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne