Hospital scam fugitive injured in plane crash; Riot at Turi prison; Looking for hospital space; Covid stats; Economy to take a big hit

Martes, 9/6/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Sinfónica digital – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca created a Sala Digital on YouTube with 13 concerts which have received 12,000 visits. You can still see and hear them on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOoEByWvKgeRjDvrx9RM_g or on the web page of the MInisterio de Cultura y Patrimonio at https://www.culturaypatrimonio.gob.ec/sitios-de-interes-cultural. <I hope I got those right. Proofreading gibberish is harder than proofreading real words.>

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Feria virtual – El Ministerio de Producción, Comercio Exterior, Inversiones y Pesca (MCEIP – The Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries) is arranging the II Feria Virtual Productiva for the whole month of junio. 121 small businesses, craftsmen and others are participating with 433 products at a national level to promote and sell their products.

Otras cosas –

Titular – En avioneta siniestrada iba involucrado en sobreprecios (Participant in overpricing in damaged plane) – 24-year-old businessman Daniel Salcedo who was involved in the sales of body bags overpriced by 1300% to the Los Ceibos Hospital, was in a plane accident in Tumbes, Perú. Authorities had been looking for him since early mayo. The plane, which had its ID numbers altered, belongs to the the daughter of the ex-minister of Energía y Minas under ex-pres. Abdalá Bucaram. Salcedo has ties of friendship, business and politics with the Bucaram family. When the paper went to press it was unknown if more than two of the occupants were involved in the overpricing schemes. The flight plan indicated that the destination was the Isla Puna at the mouth of the Río Guayaquil. <That’s a long way from Perú – to get that lost, you’d have to do it on purpose.>

Health officials are worried about the ICU capacity at Cuenca’s two public hospitals.

Riot at CRS Turi – Inmates at the CRS Turi rioted to demand health services after 15 prisoners tested positive for the coronavirus and one died in hospital. Representatives of the prisoners met with the prison director and said that health protocols are not being applied nor are the blocks being fumigated or disinfected. They also said they need antiseptic alcohol, thermometers and products for fumigation. <I bet there are some prisoners who’d be spiking that alcohol with juice and drinking it. After all, alcohol is alcohol even it kills you.> During the riot, some prisoners got onto the roofs and destroyed structures and a security camera. They also broke windows and beat on doors with blunt objects. <Really makes me wonder just how secure this place is. Especially since another picture shows a crowd of “decenas” (dozens – like tens of dozens?) of prisoners in an open space behind a gate or fence.>

Mercados in Paute – Because of new cases in Paute, the mercado San José de Paute will not reopen until el próximo lunes, and the Regional de 26 de Febrero will be closed for another 2 weeks.

Hospitals – The increase in patients with respiratory complications has public hospitals looking at the private sector for relief. On Tuesday, the regional hospital received 76 suspected cases of coronavirus. As of yesterday afternoon, 13 of the 17 ICU beds were occupied while the IESS hospital had 90% occupancy of their ICU beds.  Luis Mario Tamayo, the medical director at the clínica Santa Inés said that private clinics have the capacity to take critical COVID-19 patients but don’t have the economic resources to assume the massive amounts of attention needed, especially since the Hospital del Río and Santa Inés are still owed millions for past referrals from the public hospitals to private hospitals. Daily cost of treatment for a COVID-19 patient can run from $400-$2500. He also expressed outrage because all the money that has gone into corruption could have been invested in health.

COVID statistics – The number of cases in Azuay has reached 1,090 with 937 in Cuenca since the beginning of the health emergency. 644 patients have recovered and been discharged by their doctors. After Cuenca, there are 43 cases in Camilo Ponce Enríquez, 36 in Paute, 22 in Gualaceo, 14 in Santa Isabel, 12 in Sígsig, one each in Nabón, Girón, and Pucará. The rest of the cantons currently have no cases. In the rest of Zone 6, Cañar has 372 cases, and Morona Santiago has 184.

Economic statistics – Based on macroeconomic data from the Banco Central de Ecuador, the Cámara de Comercio de Quito has projected the loss of 600,000 jobs due to the pandemia. The country’s economy will contract between 7.3 & 9.6% in 2020 and poverty will increase by 4%. IESS has lost more than 195,000 of its affiliates since the state of emergency. The data does not include informal work which counts for more than 50% of the workforce. The minister of Producción and Comercio Exterior projected economic losses of $14 billion.

Corruption – The Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the consulting firm Control Risks published el Indice de Capacidad para Combatir la Corrupción 2020 (CCC – Capacity to Fight Corruption Index) and named Uruguay as the Latin American country with the most capacity to fight corruption and Venezuela as the worst. Out of 10 points, Uruguay received 7.78. The other countries were Chile – 6.57, Costa Rica – 6.43, Brasil – 5.52, Perú – 5.47, Argentina – 5.32, Colombia – 5.18, México – 4.55, Ecuador – 4.19, Panamá – 4.17, Guatemala – 4.04, Paraguay – 3.88, República Dominicana – 3.26, Bolivia – 2.71, and Venezuela – 1.52. <I’m wondering how Brasil got rated so highly.>

More investigations – A group of council members looked at the vehicle maintenance contract for EMOV and asked the Fiscalía (Prosecutor’s Office) to look into it. The contract was cancelled last week after a citizen’s complaint to the Servicio Nacional de Contratación Pública (National Public Procurement Service) that the terms of the contract were too specific. Only one contractor, who has held the contract since 2018, was able to meet the qualifications, and is also related to another councilman by marriage.
The Comptroller’s Office issued work orders to analyze expenses of the provincial mixed business AgroAzuay, also called Agro Kawsay in the current administration. The expenses being analyzed are those related to the province’s COVID-19 response including purchases of disinfectants, ventilators, medical supplies, and food kits for people in vulnerable groups.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne