School to reopen in July; Jobs slowly returning; 1,019 of 1,235 local Covid cases have recovered; Inti Raymi online; Man plans and God laughs

Lunes, 22/6/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural y educación –

Fiesta de la Música – This music festival which has been organized by the Alianza de Francesa since 1996, was held over the weekend, virtually. The performances, which were recorded, will be available on YouTube in the coming weeks.

School reopenings – Rural schools in the Coastal-Galápagos region will gradually reopen in the middle of julio. In the region, there are 2,071 schools with fewer than 35 alumnos per class (students – your word for the day because it’s one of those words that sounds like an English word, but has a different meaning.)

Otras cosas –

Titular – Poco a poco aparecen las ofertas de empleo (Little by little, job offers appear) – Artists and artisans are turning to other types of work, and are using social networks to barter and to advertise new businesses. Help wanted ads went from an average of 25 weekly to 12 every 7 days, but still a big improvement over the last two weeks of April when there were no help wanted ads at all. Sites such as multitrabajos.com or computrabajo.com started to see help wanted ads since the beginning of the month.
According to the Cámara de Industrias, Producción y Empleo (CIPEM), some 11,000 Cuencanos lost their jobs. The president of the chamber said that the city’s economy is not going to spring back immediately and the best thing citizens can do is avoid getting sick so here won’t be a need for a new lockdown.

A road washed out by floods in Morona Santiago Province.

La Empresa de Desarollo Económico (EDEC EP – The Economic Development Company) is promoting entrepreneurship as an alternate way to earn money and has reactivated the agro-ecological fairs in the city. On sábado, 26 growers in the rural parishes participated in fairs at El Vergel and Cristo Rey. EDEC EP also has an electronic catalog to promote local businesses and get home delivery of their products.

Covid statistics – Since the start of the health emergency, the health coordinator of Zone 6 (Azuay, Cañar and Morona Santiago provinces) reported there have been 1,235 cases registered in Cuenca with 1,019 patients who have recovered. The 216 active cases are in quarantine. The report also said an average of 27 critical patients have been treated and a total of 174 patients have been released from the two public hospitals. 47 patients have died from coronavirus. 1,414 cases have been registered in the whole province. After Cuenca, the canton with the most active cases currently is Paute with 37.

Inti Raymi online – The “Fiesta del Sol y la Cosecha” (Festival of the Sun and the Harvest) was celebrated in Azuay and Cañar with very few people in attendance. In the Complejo Arqueológico Cojitambo in Azogues, the Parish Junta organized the Festival del Maíz on el sábado with only 30 people including authorities, taitas, mamas and cameramen. Similarly small celebrations were held in Taday, the Narrío hill, and Ingapirca. A small ceremony was held by the Provincial Government of Azuay which concluded with a pampa mesa with social distancing.

Road reclosure – The by-pass that was built 3 weeks ago on the vía Paute-Guarumales-Méndez in the Amaluza parish, Sevilla de Oro canton was washed out again. The force of the water washed sediment and rocks down the gully which destroyed what was left of the pavement and drain system. About 80 meters of road was destroyed. Authorities are waiting for the weather to improve so they can see how bad the situation is and how to restore traffic on a temporary basis. <A demonstration of “Man plans and God (or Madre Tierra) laughs.”>

Río Upano – Due to the continual rains since el viernes, 19/6, the Río Upano overflowed. It has trapped people on islands that have formed and undermined about 100 meters of road on the vía Macas-Puyo which is now closed. It has also put electrical and telecommunications services at risk. Rescue teams have started to help people and communities trapped on the new islands. <Just wait a few months and the mother nature stories will be about fires. Our two seasons – fire or flood.>

Elections – Before the pandemic, the main concern for Ecuadorians was the economic situation. Since so many acts of corruption have come to light, that has changed and according to a poll by Click, 42.3% consider corruption to be the main problem. This has led to the possible field of presidential candidates being led by “no votaría por nadie” (I would not vote for anyone) <Is that the same as none of the above?>. This choice was held by 33.28% of those polled. <And I wonder if one of the choices had been Mickey Mouse or Pepa Pig, if the cartoon character would have gotten the most votes.> The other possible candidates were Jaime Nebot, the only one who has officially declared, with 16.41%; whoever is supported by ex-Pres. Correa with 15.78%; indigenous leader Jaime Vargas with 13.28%; Guillermo Lasso with 12.5%; and VP Otto Sonnenholzner with 8.75%.

Voter registration – The deadline to register to vote was el sábado anterior. This also applied to extranjeros who have lived in the country more than 5 years. The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) received 998 applications from foreigners and approved 842. Since ayer, you can check on the CNE website to see if you are registered.

From Saturday’s paper –

Centro Sur – Due to the wave of claims about high electric bills, the Agencia de Regulación y Control de Electricidad (ARCONEL) issued a resolution asking the electricity distribution companies in the country to lower rates. La Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centro Sur (The Central South Regional Electric Company) will comply.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne