Mayors consider relaxing rules; Cuenca status update; ‘Stoplight’ explanation; 478 cars and motorcycles impounded; Election news

Miércoles, 29/4/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –
Digital publications – The Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar has put books and magazines on line at http://repositorio.uasb.edu.ec. The material is in the area of law and society and includes theses and over 1,000 articles in 8 scientific magazines. <I think you’d have to be really, really bored to read someone’s thesis.>

Video editing workshop – Vos Mismo Films is offering a practical workshop on video editing. Go to vosmismofilms@gmail.con or VosMismoFilms on Faceboook if you’re interested.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Alcaldes comienzan a decidir sobre “semáforo” (Mayors begin to decide on “traffic light”) – Wednesday, the 220 mayors in the country will learn the real situation about the advance of COVID-19 in each of the cantons. With this information, mayors will have until Friday to say what color stoplight will apply in their cantons. Points in Cuenca’s favor for lifting the lockdown are that the health system has not collapsed, there has been a reduction in emergency calls, and there are a sufficient number of beds for patients. On the other hand, Azuay is the 4th most disobedient province in observing restrictions and there is lack of real data which moves the city from the red light. Added to that is the resumption of commercial activities in clandestine form.

Police have written 3,042 tickets for violations of driving restrictions.

As of yesterday afternoon (martes), the Ministerio de Salud Pública (MSP- this is an abbreviation for you to memorize. It would save me a lot of typing.) had not released data about the number of cases, the number of patients who have recovered, nor the number of defunciones (deaths – your word for the day.) The numbers of cases is not clear, nor is the method of measuring them. In the last 4 days, the number of cases has been announced as 285, 449, 314 and 426 yesterday. Since the tests already done are not a factor in determining the stoplight color, prefecto Yaku Pérez said that to get an idea of the actual number of cases, at least 10% of the population needs to be tested. In Azuay that would be 85,000 tests and so far only 2,764 have been done.

Following Wednesday’s meeting, the stoplight for all provinces remain red.

Red, yellow, green – For all colors, several requirements apply including the use of masks, distancing of a minimum of 1.5 m., aislamiento obligatorio (mandatory isolation) of vulnerable groups <So seniors living alone can decide if they’d rather starve to death or risk dying of coronavirus.>, and restrictions on meetings, mass gatherings, and outdoor sporting events. National borders will remain closed along with interprovincial transportation and national and international flights.

For the stoplight colors, following are some of the restrictions and allowances based on color:

Red – Sales on line or by telephone
Home deliveries between 7 & 22:00
Work in essential sectors
Taxis from 5-22:00
Driving based on last digit of license plate, no driving on weekends.
Curfew from 14:00-5:00

Yellow – Public and private institutions working at 50%
Urban and interparrochial transport at 30% of capacity
Driving 2 days a week depending on last digit of license plate
Curfew from 18:00 – 5:00
Stores operate at 30% of capacity
Todas las especialidades en consulta externa privada (All specialties in private outpatient practice -or maybe all private professional practices)

Green – Public and private institutions working at 70%
Urban and interparrochial transport at 50% of capacity
Driving according to odd or even license plate number
Curfew from 21:00 – 5:00
Stores operate at 30% of capacity
Todas las especialidades en consulta externa privada (All specialties in private outpatient practice -or maybe all private professional practices)
<Note that I have taken the curfew hours from Del Aislamiento al Distanciamiento Semáforo Mayo which I received from another source and not El Mercurio.>

Sanctions for vehicle violations – From 21/3 to 28/4, there were 3,042 sanctions for non-compliance with vehicular restrictions in Cuenca; and from the 8-28/4, 478 motos and vehicles were impounded. A control in Baños ayer involved several agencies and a drone which were enforcing vehicular restrictions and other regulations. A transit agent said a lot of people were violating the regulations.

Elections – 26 political groups have been qualified in Azuay for the 2021 elections including 24 national organizations and 2 provincial movements. The provincial organizations are Igualdad, led by ex-mayor Marcelo Cabrera, and Participa, founded by ex-prefecto Paúl Carrasco.

Donations – The Ministerio del Ambiente y Agua is continuing to donate wood to prisons in the country where inmates are making coffins for victims of the coronavirus.

Phone service – The Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones and the Sociedad de la Información, according to an agreement, issued guidelines about provision and access to telecommunications services during the health emergency. Operators can not suspend mobile phone or fixed internet services.

Safety zones – The city has painted circles on sidewalks and floors where people enter public locations such as mercados, shopping centers, banks, etc. They are spaced so if you stand in them you will be the appropriate distance from the next person. <I certainly hope none of you who have seen them had any problems figuring out what they were.>

Descuentos y compras –

Banco del Austro – The bank published a 4 page Consolidated and condensed financial report. <I hope no one expects me to go get an MBA so I can read and translate that thing.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne