Hospital discharges outpace admissions; Traffic cop attacked; 27 firefighters are quarantined; Homemade meds vs. the virus; Unsung heroes

Miércoles, 15/4/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

U. of Cuenca – The university is planning projects and bringing services during this pandemic. It has signed an agreement with the Ministerio de Inclusión y Económica y Social (MIES) for 17 health professionals to provide remote medical services. The Engineering and Chemistry departments have a re-engineering project to make ventilators and protective face masks (shields?). It is working on labs to analyze coronavirus samples, researching cercos epidemiológicos (epidemiological containments) and the impacts of social isolation.

Controversy – There is a controversy over an art project in the Hemiciclo de la Rotonda in Guayaquil. The statues of two heros of the independence, Bolívar y San Martín, were covered with face masks. The idea to build awareness about the use of face masks started in Buenos Aires. Some felt it was a waste of face masks.

Alianza Francesa – The Alianza Francesa will start registering students for French classes tomorrow. The virtual classes will start el 4/5. Current students will receive a 20% discount, and new students a 30% discount with an on-line payment system. For info or to register, go to into@afcuenca.org.ecor call 098 338 2421, or contact Miguel Tillero, pedagogical coordinator, at pedagogia@afcuecna.org.ec.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Pide respetar aislamiento (Request to respect isolation) – See Wednesday’s CHL article for more info.

A Cuenca woman disinfects the entry of her house with eucalyptus leaves. (El Mercurio)

Chefs solidarios – Among the héroes (heros – your word for yesterday) during this health emergency are the people who work for EMAC who are keeping the city clean every day, as well as doctors, nurses and paramedics, fire fighters, police, army, and traffic cops. A group of chefs has organized to recognize these heroes. They distributed 700 meals outside the Empresa Municipal de Aseo de Cuenca (EMAC – garbage company) yesterday. One of the chefs, Xavier Contreras (Chico Raúl) is the owner of Cevichería Don Raúl). <Cuenca’s own Chef José Andrés.>

Dismissals – There have been between 150 & 300 untimely dismissals in Azuay according to unions. Nationally, the Ministerio de Trabajo (Ministry of Labor) has received 1,310 complaints for dismissals. In addition there were 1,463 dismissals for caso fortuito o fuerza mayor (by fortuitous event or force majeure) which means a lower settlement payment. Locally, stores, crafts workshops, and small and medium businesses have been the most affected. Use of dismissals for caso fortuito is not clear and can result in labor demands against the businesses who use this reason.

Hospitalizations – The number of patients discharged exceeds the number entering hospitals. Yesterday, the Vicente Corral Moscoso” regional hospital reported that there were 59 coronavirus patients discharged with 25 patients remaining in the hospital. The José Carrasco Arteaga IESS hospital is treating 21 patients for a total of 46 in Azuay. Cases in Azuay and Cuenca increased from 182 to 192, and 162 to 170 respectively between yesterday and today. Since the start of the pandemic, 20 patients have died in the public hospitals in Cuenca. There are 376 people in epidemiological containment, 263 suspected cases, and 2 probable cases. There have been 1060 tests done in the province with 603 cases discarded.

Classes for seniors – There are 30 virtual workshops via the Centro de Atención al Adulto Mayor (CAAM – Senior Care Center) at the Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS) to keep retirees physically and psychologically active. The classes are given through Zoom and WhatsApp. Instructors are in contact with the users both to teach, and moniter the health of their students. Users showing symptoms of anxiety or depression receive calls to calm and stabilize them emotionally. <I guess if you’re part of the IESS system, old, and bored, you’d be eligible for these workshops.>

27 fire fighters in quarantine – A member of the pre-hospitalaria team serving out of Station 3 in La Isla sector (first response paramedics?) was diagnosed positive for coronavirus. 27 of his coworkers are in a 14 day voluntary quarantine. The firefighter was probably contaminated locally since Cuenca is in the 3d phase of contamination which is community transmission. The station was disinfected and sanitized and the institution rejected the possibility that neighbors had been infected.

Traffic cop attacked – Two people were arrested for attacking un Agente Civil de Tránsito (traffic cop) yesterday. The cop approached two people on a moto to verify their documents at av. Unidad Nacional y El Batán. The passenger was not wearing a helmet, and one of the riders hit the cop in the face with his puño (fist – your word for the day – you hear it when you get a blood sample taken). The two then went into a house and were arrested with help from the Policía Nacional. <The people on the moto were Beavis and Butthead.>

Homemade medicines against virus – People are exchanging home remedies for the virus including use of eucalyptus, ginger, and lemon. One remedy is to boil eucalyptus leaves in water and gargle with it 3 times a day. There is an exchange with eucalyptus heading to the coast where there is no eucalyptus, and bananas coming to Cuenca. Another person said breathing eucalyptus vapor clears the airways. Other recipes included drinking 3 liters of water with lemon every day, putting lemon juice and rosemary oil on your head, and gargling with lemon, baking soda and salt.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne