Municipal council to finalize Covid restrictions today; Cuenca’s numbers improve in past week; Transition at prefectura; Parties ousted from election

Jueves, 17/9/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Urge la transición (The transition is urgent) – Vice-prefect Cecilia Méndez asked Prefect Yaku Pérez to start the transition period before his imminent renunciation so he can participate in the presidential campaign. She also announced that in the past few weeks, there has been an intensification of signing of contracts and agreements, the contents of which are not known.

Cuenca se cuida sola ante el virus (Cuenca takes care of itself against the virus) – There is no ordinance to prevent an increase in coronavirus cases in Cuenca, but its citizens have managed to improve statistics. Crowding, breaking epidemiológical quarantine and alerts about contagions have improved. Traffic and clandestine parties have not. <So more than ever, you need to assume everyone you deal with could be carrying Covid.>

Still to be determined by the city council are reopening rules for bars and nightclubs.

ECU-911 reported that in the last week, emergency medical calls about Covid went from 118 to 95 and confirmed patients breaking quarantine went from 5 to 2. Since the end of the state of emergency, reports of crowds dropped from 35 to 24. Data from the Coordinación Zonal 6 de Salud showed Cuenca is approaching 6,000 positive patients, with a 512 patient increase for the week which is better than the 600 increase the prior week, and 800 increase in the last 2 weeks. Only the numbers of clandestine parties went up, from 97 to 126. Of those unpermitted social reunions, 63 involved consumption of liquor in public spaces and 52 ended in escándalos (scandals or noise and commotion – your word for the day). <An escándalo sounds like something you shouldn’t do in the street because it would frighten the horses.> The health coordinator for Zone 6 reported that hospitalizations went from 163 to 167 in the last 7 days with ICU beds full. 33 deaths were registered.

The ordinance to control coronavirus in Cuenca was approved at 2 a.m. Tuesday. Issues still to be resolved include opening bars, discos and night life centers and the implementation of vehicular restrictions. Mayor Palacios explained his thoughts about changing the pico y placa system to a daily restrictions on the hours cars are allowed to circulate. Vehicles circulating outside of the hours of 5-23:00 from lunes a jueves or from 5-21:00 from viernes a domingo would need a salvoconducto. <That’s easier to deal with than the 3 days a week driving restriction- especially for those retirees who are not only home, but in their jammies by 9:00.> Current salvoconductos and cards for essential private and public entities will be good until 31/10. The council had a final workshop Thursday about the ordinance, and will resolve it definitely el viernes. It’s application will be immediate although there will be a publicity period to inform citizens about the new regulations before fines are imposed.

Ejercicio de movilidad – From 16-22/9/2020, there will be the III Ejercicio de las Supermanzanas (III Exercise of the Superblocks) at the perimeter of the the area bounded by avenidas Don Bosco, De las Américas, Loja e Isabel la Católica.

3 binobios quedan fuera de contienda (3 pairs are out of contention) – the CNE decided to abide by the decision of the Comptroller’s office and remove 4 national movements from the Registro Permanente de Organizaciones Políticas after ascertaining that they qualified using signatures with irregularities. This decision puts the qualifications of 3 presidential pairs at risk: Podemos headed by Paúl Carrasco <If the name is familiar it’s because he was Azuay prefecto before Yaku Pérez.>, Justicia Social with Fabricio Correa, and the candidate for Libertad es Pueblo. The Correísta wng of Alianza País was saved since its alliance with Centro Democrático allows it to stay in the race.

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne