Paute and Santa Isabel restrict entry, Latest stats, New rules for shopping proposed, Blood type vulnerability, Huawei virus diagnostic system

Lunes, 23/3/2020

Hola, Todos –
Actividades –

De la pagina cultural – Librimundi is planning to have cultural events on line. If you’re interested in participating go to Instagram: @librimundicuenca. <I’m not sure if this participation would be as a provider or consumer of content.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – ¡Sí se puede vencer al coronavirus! #QuédateEnCasa (Yes, you can beat the coronavirus! #Stay at home) This was what was on the front page above the fold.

Red Cross workers in Cuenca. (El Mercurio)

Real titular – Paran traslado de lácteos (Transport of dairy products stopped) – Some 60,000 liters of milk are produced in San Fernando every day with destinations of Cuenca, El Oro, and Guayas. The Comité de Operaciones Emergentes (COE – Emerging Operations Committee) of San Fernando and the Asociación de Productores de Lácteos (Asoprolac – Dairy Producers Association) resolved to suspend transport of dairy products. The last delivery truck out was at 18:00 ayer. The mayor of San Fernando also announced that starting Monday, cars coming into the canton will be disinfected. He said that no one would be allowed to leave the conton except on el viernes when some representatives can leave to stock up on products of primera necesidad (basic needs – your phrase for the day).

Paute is also restricting travel with only people traveling through the canton to enter it, and then they can only use av. Luis Enrique Vásquez, and not go through the center of town. He affirmed the marcados were closed and sales of food kits prices at $10 & $15 would continue.

The mayor of Santa Isabel said that controls on vehicles entering the canton started yesterday at 5:00, and they will need to be disinfected. Their central market will stay closed and has been fumigated.

In Cuenca, Mayor Pedro Palacios said that the mercado El Arenal will be closed on los miércoles y sábados. He reported supplies to markets in Cuenca is normal but that children, pregnant women, and seniors should avoid these locations. Both shoppers and merchants should use masks, gloves and sanitizers.

The president of the Dairy Distributors Association disagreed with San Fernando. He considered their action would create an unjustified shortage of milk with the risk of generating speculation. <Toilet paper hoarders v.s. milk hoarders. So are you headed out to SuperMaxi for milk right now?> He also noted that closing streets in the cantons is prohibited and is a crime. <I think it was considered a crime when the campesinos blocked roads during the paro.>

Expanding isolation (NOT) – The COE Nacional is analyzing a letter from Jorge Yunda, the mayor of Quito which makes 10 suggestions, most of which are already in effect. He said that using masks should be obligatory and movement should be restricted depending on your cedula number. Another official said that the letter implied that non masked people would be arrested, and that it would be very difficult to restrict circulation based on cedula numbers. <<<I think many of you have heard of, maybe actually read, and are panicking over a new set of regulations that allow only one member of a family to get groceries, medicines, fuel and gas according to a weekly schedule depending on your cedula number and run those errands in 2 hours, max; that prohibit members of vulnerable groups (of which tercera edad is one) from entering markets, banks, pharmacies or gas stations; that allow a max. of 15 people at the same time in markets, pharmacies and gas stations; that require use of masks and gloves, and social distancing; and several more regulations. If you read that document more closely, it is from the Asociación de Municipalidades Ecuatorianas and not from the federal government. These are their suggestions. So unbunch your panties and have another glass of wine.>>>

Coronavirus statistics – As on Monday, there are 981 cases in 16 provinces, 699 suspected cases, 1347 people in epidemiological containment, 872 un-cases, and 3 recuperated. The number of cases in the provinces is as follows: Guayas – 769, Pichincha – 65, Los Ríos – 28, Manabí – 27, Azuay – 23,, Bolívar and Chimboroza – 9, Cañar – 5, El Oro – 8, Esmeraldas – 2, Imbabura – 4, Loja – 5, Morona Santiago – 3, Santa Elena – 3, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas – 4, y Sucumbíos – 6. <And a platinum geography star to anyone who can name the missing provinces off the top of their head. Or even say how many provinces that would be.> There are 14 dead, the most recent victims aged 30, 40, 57 and 74.

“Cloud” diagnoses – On 3/22, Huawei installed a COVID-19 auxiliary diagnostic system with artificial intelligence based on the cloud at Los Ciebos hospital, north of Guayaquil. The system was installed earlier in a general hospital south of Quito.

Mining <in the time of coronavirus> – Aurelian Ecuador, an affiliate of Canadian company Lundin Gold, will suspend its operations at the Fruta del Norte gold mine in Zamora Chinchipe. The reason is transport issues to supply the mine which will be demobilizing personnel and contractors and entering a maintenance phase.

IESS payments – BanEcuador announced that pending payments to IESS will be deferred for 90 days, corresponding to abril, mayo y junio for their voluntary affiliates.

Blood type and vulnerability – A study from Wuhan, China showed that people with type A blood are most susceptible to COVID-19 and those with type O the least. In 206 deaths, 85 people or 41.3% had type A and 51 or 25.2% had type O blood. Worldwide, the population is distributed 27.4% – A and 38.7% – O. The distribution for other American countries is: Canada – 36.0 & 39.0, US – 36.7 & 37.4, Argentina – 34.6 & 45.4, Brasil – 34.0 & 36.0, Venezuela – 28.2 & 58.3, México – 26.2 & 59.1, El Salvador – 23.0 & 62.0, Perú – 18.4 & 70.0, and Ecuador, topping out with – 14.0 & 75.0. <Too bad your blood type doesn’t automatically change when you cross the border.>

Descuentos y compras – <Nada since we can’t go shopping anyway.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.