Garbage pickup drops, Two drunks in a tow truck, Campesinos live off the land, Prefect makes bleach, School’s out at the coast

Lunes, 20/4/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Museos Nacionales en línea – You can access the archeological, ethnographic, and artistic collections of 14 national museums in 11 cities at http://www.museos.culturaypatrimonio.gob.ec/redmuseos.

Writing contest – PEN-Ecuador is organizing the first Cuento PEN-Ecuador 2020 contest. The contest is open to Ecuadorian authors living in or outside Ecuador, and authors of any nationality who have lived in Ecuador for at least 2 years. Your unpublished story can be on any topic, written in Spanish <I guess that takes a whole lot of you gringo writers out of the running, but I bet it leaves enough of you who need something to do during Quedate En Casa.>, any length or style. Send the stories to centropenecuador@gmail.com from 15/4 to 31/5 along with your datos (complete name, cédula, city of residence, phone number and email address). There is one $500 cash prize and a selection of the best stories will be included in a book, both digital and physical, published by Editorial La Caída and el Centro PEN/Ecuador.

Otras cosas –

PEN-Ecuador is sponsoring a writing contest.

Titular – Más desechos bilpeligrosos (More hazardous waste) – Mayors and delegates from the 34 municipalities in el Austro (Azuay, Cañar y Morona Santiago provinces) met today. One of the topics was the treatment of hazardous waste coming mainly from hospitals, health centers, clinics and clinical laboratories. The amount of this type of waste has increased by maybe 35-40% according to a hospital waste consultant. Most of the cities in Azuay don’t have special processes that comply with international standards for treating these wastes. The cantons of Nabón, Santa Isabel, Girón, y San Fernando send hospital waste to the Parque Ecológico in Hauscachada in Santa Isabel for special processing. Cuenca is recognized at a national level for complying with international standards. Dora Ordóñez, the manager of EMAC said 1,500 kg of biological hazardous waste is treated in their sterilization plant. EMAC is talking with other municipalities in Azuay to collect and dispose of their waste. She called on citizens not to throw gloves and masks into streets and other public spaces. They should be disposed of in the black garbage bags.

Titular de ayer (Yesterday’s headline) – Menos basura en Cuenca (Less garbage in Cuenca) – According to EMAC EP (Empresa Pública de Aseo de Cuenca – Garbage company) the quantity of garbage collected in abril decreased to a daily average of 424.00 tons. In marzo, 525.72 tons were collected daily; 528.10 in febrero; y 568.51 in enero. Last abril, about 556.01 tons were collected. Put used masks, gloves, alcohol and gel bottles in regular black garbage bags. In homes with a coronavirus patient or someone suspected of having the disease, put that type of garbage in red bags for hazardous waste,The Ministerio de Salud Pública constantly notifies EMAC where virus patients live so they can apply special treatment at the time of collection.

Classes at coast will not resume in mayo – Pres. Moreno announced that classes in the coastal region and Galápagos will not open in schools, and the 2.2 million students will study from home. <I wonder how many of those kids living without A/C under metal roofs have computers or internet.> Students in the Sierra and Amazonía will continue home studies until the end of the academic year on 30/6.

2 drunks at sanitizing station – Two people were sanctioned for breaking the quarantine el noche del sábado. They were speeding in a grua (crane or tow truck) <and must have thought they were auditioning for the next Fast and Furious>. After driving at alta velocidad along Gil Ramírez Dávalos, they turned onto calle Sevilla which is closed between Gil Ramírez Dávalos and España and which is where Fire Station #1 is located. This is the station where ambulances and personnel are decontaminated. They broke the caution tape, ran over traffic cones on their way in, and almost took out the tent used by the employees for disinfecting. The two drunks and tow truck fled onto calle Castellana <one end of the street dead ends into the airport terminal.>where they were intercepted by the Policía Nacional and Agentes Civiles de Tránsito. The truck was taken to the impound lot.

Isolation in rural areas – In the rural areas of the cantón of Cuenca, people still get up early to milk their cows, feed their animals, or care for their crops. One woman and her household are eating off the land, but finding it difficult to get things like rice and sugar since it costs $15 to get into Cuenca. She is a part of a group of 10 families working in textiles which was their primary source of income. Currently, they are not receiving orders except one for 200 masks from INV metals. Since the restrictions on movement, people are depending on neighborhood tiendas, home gardens, and trucks selling food. <I’m sure you’ve seen them in Cuenca as well – mobile produce, milk, and seafood vendors.> Poverty and inequality is another consideration in rural areas where the delivery of food kits is indispensable. For example, out of the 11,000 residents in the Turi parish, 900 have been identified who are in a state of vulnerability. With the support of MIES, the Prefecture, city, and parish government, the first delivery of food kits was made.
Various communities are organizing to help their populations sobrellevar (endure – our word for the day) the isolation. For example, Yo soy Barabón in San Joaquín has a basket of foods for $13 to help people keep selling their products. The parish of Nulti has made a list of stores in the parish who comply with all the bio-security measures to make it easier for residents to shop.

Prefectura making bleach – The Prefectura del Azuay in coordination with the Parish Governments and city is making bleach to use as a disinfectant. This is a big cost savings given the large amounts needed to spray streets, sidewalks, sports courts and more. The province acquired 3 machines for $7,500, each with a capacity to produce 90 litros per day. The machines use electrons to ionize water and salt to produce hipoclorito de sodio (liquid bleach) in a concentration of 12,500 ppm. The facility is producing about 270 liters per day for a cost of about $.07 per liter. The market cost is $1.10. They have produced about 5,000 liters already. An additional benefit is that it avoids using plastic bottles since the fumigation process uses tankers and hoses. <Seems like Yaku Pérez has made a successful transition from activist to executive. Yaku for president.>

Trueque (barter) – The GADs (Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados) of Sígsig and Gualaquiza have started an exchange of products between the cities. Gualaquiza in Morona Santiago sends plátanos, sugar cane, and papayas; and receives cabbage, potatoes, squash and apples from Sígsig in Azuay. The participants in Gualaquiza are all shuar families who produce plantain and subtropical fruits.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne