Still no integration plan for tram and buses; Flu season begins; Tram and taxi collide; Drunk man drowns in Rio Yanuncay; Food for zoo animals

Jueves, 18/6/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Del cuerpo del periodico –

Live show – Rocko & Blasty and Tres Dedos will present a live show on YouTube el 19/6 a las 22:00. The show will be at a private salon in YouTube and the cost is $5.00. Admission through www.Buenplan.com.ec.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Frío y el Covid-19 encienden alertas (Cold and the Covid-19 trigger alerts) – The cold ushers in seasonal respiratory illnesses such as colds and flu. These are nothing new to doctors, but they are extremely worried because with the constant increases in coronavirus cases in Cuenca, they do not know if these will interact with each other or cause an increase in the number or seriousness of coronavirus cases. Iván Feicán, manager of the Vicente Corral Moscoso hospital reported than there will be a triage process to separate patients suffering from seasonal colds and flu from those with COVID. The symptoms most closely associated with COVID are a sudden and sustained fever, difficulty breathing <But not because a cop has got his knee on your neck.>, loss of the sense of taste and/or smell, or general malaise.

The number of crank calls to 911 has dropped.

Research into new COVID-19 test – The Universities of Cuenca and Azuay (UDA), and the U. Católica de Cuenca are collaborating on RT-LAMP, a new method of testing which has been tried successfully in Buenos Aires. The samples are still taken with a swab, something happens or is done to the sample, and when heat is applied, a resulting color will indicate if the patient has the virus. It has an effectiveness of 90%, returns results in an hour, and is cheaper. The machine to process PCR tests costs $80,000, but the RT-LAMP processing only needs the reagents, a stove, and a water bath. <If this works, what do you want to bet that there will be test kits on Amazon in the near future?> UDA made a significant investment in these tests and is hoping they will be available to the public within 6 weeks.

Integrating the tranvía and buses – With less than 40 days before the Tranvía starts operating commercially, there is still no agreement to integrate the rail with the bus system. Councilman Cristian Zamora warned of two problems: that passengers will need to pay 2 fares and that there are legal implications given that the Plan de Movilidad y Espacios Públicos de Cuenca established the tranvía needs to be integrated with the buses to avoid competing for passengers.

A study showed that 5 bus lines should be feeder lines for the tranvía. There has been no final decision on this. The only thing that is known is the line 100 from Control Sur to Milchichig will be replaced by the tram. A legal advisor to the CTC said when the Reforma a la Ordenanza que Regula la Operación del Sistema Tranviario de Cuenca (Reform to the Ordinance that Regulates the Operation of the Cuenca Tramway System) was approved, the CTC did not participate. He said the ordinance should not have been passed without CTC input. <If you refuse an invitation to a dinner party, does that entitle you to complain about the food?>

Tram and taxi collide at redondel – A tram car suffered minor damage Thursday morning when a taxi ran a red light at the Simon Bolivar redondel at Av. Las Americas and Gran Colombia. The accident delayed tram service by only a few minutes, officials say, as another unit was put into service. The taxi driver was charged with the accident will be required to pay for repairs to the tram.

San Francisco vendors win legal battle – The 8 food vendors who were evicted from the San Francisco Plaza in noviembre, 2019 will return. The city has 20 days to get the vendors back into the plaza according to a judge’s order.

City donates food to Amaru Zoo – The city donated 3 pick up loads of fruit, vegetables, legumes, meat and more to the zoo via the city’s Dirección de Mercados y Comercio Autónomo (Department of Markets and Autonomous Commerce). Merchants at the different markets in the city are supporting the donations so that there will be one or two deliveries every week. <Are the zoo animals getting the stuff that would normally be thrown out as not fresh enough for people?>

The zoo also has a membership drive called Membresías Virales where the public can buy different levels of membership. The Salvaje costs $40 and gets one person unlimited entry to the zoo for a year. Aventureros costs $60 and is for two people. Go to www.zoobioparqueamaru.com where there is a link to make a donation. You can also volunteer at the zoo.

Improper 911 calls fall – Since the beginning of the pandemic, improper 911 calls increased by 56% but have now fallen by 44%. These calls are still high with 1,350,000 false or improper calls representing 45% of total calls. One false call was from a man who said he was on Remigio Crespo, completely drunk, and wanted a cop to take him home. He threatened the operator with his uncle who is a lawyer and prosecutor. You can be sanctioned with 15-30 day jail sentence for a false call where emergency response is dispatched.

Drowning in Yanuncay – A 30 year old man drowned in the río Yanuncay Wednesday near De Las Américas y Primero de Mayo. Preliminary averiguaciones (inquiries – your word for the day) indicate 3 men who were drinking decided to cross the river and one fell and was dragged downstream. His body was recovered some 200 meters away in the linear park of the los Cantones barrio. <Would they have foregone using the bridge if they hadn’t been drunk?>

Internacional –

Bolivia – Cell phone towers were attacked and destroyed in Yapacaní, in the east. 3 people were arrested for destruction of public property. They said they did it because they were afraid that the towers were spreading COVIC-19 in 5G networks. <Were they from Vilcabamba?>

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne