First vaccines arrive, some headed to Cuenca; Alianza Pais breaks with Moreno and Correa; Restaurant shut down; Products of women entrepreneurs offered

Miércoles, 20/1/2020

Hola, Todos –
Actividades –

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Catálogo con productos del Azuay (Catalog with Azuay products) – MIES has published “Nosotras emprendemos,” a digital catalogue for women entrepreneurs who have gotten Crédito de Desarrollo Humano. <Online shopping qualifies as an activity, sí?> Get the catalogue at https://bit.ly/2XEsGTk. The catalogue has the locations and phone numbers of the emprendadoras (entrepreneurs – your word for the day <since there seem to be so many of them in Cuenca>), and prices. Products include crafts, clothing, foood and agricultural products.

Bienal se actualiza con obras nuevas (Biennial is updated with new works) – After a decade without updating, the Centro de Documentación de la Fundación Municipal Bienal de Cuenca has been updated with the acquisition of 134 books about contemporary art and the history of art. You can review these specialty publications at the the centro (Bolívar y Estévez de Toral) from 9:30-12:30 & 14:30-16:30. 43

Otras cosas –

Titular – En lista por camas UCI, ya copadas (On the list for ICU beds, already filled) – The first round of 15,000 vaccines from Pfizer arrived Wednesday in Quito. After entering and clearing customs they will be transferred to a plane to Guayaquil where they will be shipped to Cuenca and Quito overland. The vaccines will be protected by the Armed Forces during this transfer. The vaccines’ transfer to the vaccination centers will be protected by the Policía Nacional. Ultra-cold refrigerators have been installed at the Quito airport to store up to 2 million doses which will serve not only Ecuador but other countries in the region. So far, 94 vaccination centers in 44 cantons have been readied, but by marzo, the Ministerio de Salud expects to have 10,000 ready when mass vaccinations begin. <Let’s hope Pfizer makes those shipments as agreed to.>

The José Carrasco Arteaga IESS hospital and the Vicente Corral Moscoso public hospital are expecting more Covid patients. (El Mercurio)

It has been 2 weeks since ICU beds in Cuenca have been fully occupied <I think this refers to the public hospitals> while patients with respiratory problems are continuing to increase. As of el domingo, there were 7 patients waiting for an ICU bed. Hospital administrators are applying a plan to add ICU beds and the IESS hospital is starting to open areas to install 3 new ICU beds and ventilators this week. As of 18/1, the Vicente Corral Moscoso hospital has 40 Covid patients, 25 in critical condition; and at the José Carrasco Arteaga hospital there are 32 critical patients and 31 in stable condition. From el 13-19/1, there have been 543 positives registered in Cuenca, with 900 in the first 3 weeks of 2021.

La ARCSA clausuró un chifa (ARCSA closed a chifa) – La Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (ARCSA), temporarily closed a chifa (Chinese restaurant) in Cuenca when unhealthy conditions were found after complaints by citizens. The most serious problem was at a drain where food waste had accumulated due to lack of maintenance. When a grease trap was removed, there was not only garbage but accumulated heces de roedor (rodent feces – another word for the day just because it’s so disgusting). <I hope what a health inspector told me is true – that Chinese food is safe to eat because it’s cooked at such high temperatures that bacteria and other bugs can’t survive. I think if I want Chinese food, I’ll be cooking it at home.>

Voto 2021 –

AP se desmarca de Correa y Moreno (AP distances itself from Correa and Moreno) – The “nueva generación” (new generation) of Alianza PAIS (AP), list 35, no pertenecen (does not belong) to the governments of Moreno or Correa. <I wonder if in the 2022 elections if the Republican candidates will also no pertenecen to the government of Trump.> The movement is led by Elizabeth Bermeo who is a parliamentary advisor to the presidential candidate, Ximena Piña. Bermeo is VP of the Central Única de Trabjadores (CUT), an activist for women’s and migrants rights, and district director in Zone 6 of the Ministerio de Educación with a masters in Human Resources Management and Psychology from the U. of Cuenca. Other candidates on the list are Héctor Bravo who has worked for the cities of Cuenca and Camilo Ponce Enríquez and holds a political position in the Tarqui parish; Victoria Quinde who is an early stimulation professional <is that something to do with child development?>; and Rafael Chica and Ana María Chinbo who represent the renewal of the movement.

The list’s proposals will center on changes in legislation in transit, boost youth, and improve justice including the prison system. It will propose a reform of the Ley de Tránsito to assign one cent of gasoline sales to social security and pensions for profesionales del volante (steering wheel professionals – is 3 words for the day too many? I do like this one.) which has the support of the transportistas. It proposes a policy to reduce traffic accidents by promoting professionalism in chauffeurs, and review the reduction of points for professionals. It would reform the Ley de la Juventud for the bachillers (high school graduates) to access university in an equitable manner, especially in the rural sector. Other revisions and reforms would be to the Ley del Artesano, health legislation, higher education, laws for the modernization of the Government, strengthening the Social Seguridad Campesino, citizen safety, and establish processes for rehabilitation of prisoners.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne