Students back in class for first time since March 2020; City considers reopening brothels; Damaged water system repaired; Vaccination program advances

Martes, 8/6/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada. –

Otras cosas –

Titular – Vuelve la vida a las aulas (Life comes back to the classrooms) – With happiness among the students and scepticism among the parents, children returned to classes after 15 months of virtual classes. Private schools such as Santa Ana and el Bilingu, and public schools such as the Unidad del Milenio de Victoria del Portete opened their doors under return plans approved by the Ministerio de Educación and the National COE. In just Azuay, Cañar, and Morona Santiago, about 11,901 students returned to classrooms. In 15 days, health and educational authorities will know if this gradual return is a success. <I bet a lot of the kids who didn’t want to go to school before the pandemic are eager to get back to school now.>

Santa Ana was one of the schools that received permission to open on an experimental basis in noviembre 2020, but with the resurgence of the virus, the permission was suspended. The rector, Pablo Crespo, said that during the time it was open, there were no contagions in the school. Now it is reopening with the support of 85% of the parents. In Cuenca 25 institutions received approval from the national COE. Of these 25, 4 are in Molleturo, Chaucha and Victoria del Portete where not all of its 1000 students have internet or reliable internet. Many of its students were not able to attend virtual classes on a regular basis. One parent of 3 children said at first, they did not have internet or cellphones. Sometimes classes were at the same time and there weren’t devices for all the children. She had some fears about bringing them to school, but they couldn’t continue as they had been.

Some private schools in Cuenca reopened to in-person classes on Monday.

Construcción de distribuidor de tráfico entra en licitación (Bidding for construction of traffic distributor starts) – The City of Cuenca has started the contracting process for a new interchange on av. De Las Américas in front of the bomba (gas station – your word for the day, and maybe actually useful if you have a car) of the Sindicato de Choferes del Azuay. The $7,500,000 project should take 12 months and will replace the existing redondel with an underpass and a bridge to improve access to av. del Toril and to relieve congestion <Sounds like take two tablets and breath easier for the next 8 hours.>.

Nero concluye reparación de tubería (Nero completes pipe repair) – There was a water shut off to all subscribers to La Junta Administradora de Agua Potable (JAAP) Proyecto Nero to finish repairs inside the reserve tank in the Icto Cruz sector. Water service should return to normal mañana. The overflow of the río Tarqui damaged the main pipe in the Narancay sector which feeds the two reserve tanks in El Calvario leaving 3,100 people, or 40%, without water. The affected communities were El Calvario, Rumiloma, El Cisne,Gualalcay, Santa Martha, Quillopongo, y Punta Corral.

Bajo estudio las ciclovías emergentes (Emerging (emergency?) bikeways under study) – Because of the pandemic, the City installed emergency ciclovías (bike lanes) that are less than optimal. One of these is along Gran Colombia from the Zona Rosa to the redondel Simón Bolívar. The lane is one-way and located between the tram tracks and two lanes of vehicular traffic, and needs to be studied from a safety perspective since the bike lane is narrower than the standard 1.2 meters and the traffic lanes were also narrowed to accomodate all 3 forms of transportation. As a result, cyclists ride on the sidewalks or the tram right-of-way. Another bike lane is along the Bajada de Todos Santos which is narrow and two-way. On the curve before the redondel José Peralta, there is a risk of collisions between bikes.

Reaperatura de las casas de citas es motivo de análisis (Reopening of brothels is reason for analysis) – Ayer, representatives from various institutions charged with safety, inspected 5 brothels in the tolerance zone for possible authorization to reopen. One of the objectives for the possibility of reopening the brothels is to combate clandestine prostitution which has expanded to different areas of the city and into the streets. The Cayambe barrio president said that brothels that violate biosecurity protocols could be sanctioned and their opening is necessary to reactivate the economy of those locations and other businesses in the barrio. Suggested protocols included reducing the capacity with fewer clients and implementing biosecurity measures such as a disinfecting space. <Like the spray tunnels going into mercados – only with no clothes on? Achachay!>

Avanza vacunación en el Austro (Vaccination advances in the Austro) – To date, 3,757,849 doses of vaccines have been delivered by producers with 1,209,849 from Pfizer, 1,720,000 from Sinovac, and 828.000 from AstroZeneca. MSP data shows from 29/2/2020 to 6/6/2021, Cañar registered 5,681 cases with 134 coronavirus deaths and 15 probable Covid deaths. In Morona Santiago there were 5,775 cases, 58 Covid and 7 probable Covid deaths. In Azuay there were 23,438 cases with 490 Covid and 39 probable Covid deaths.

The MSP is starting the vaccination process for the inhabitants of the Zona Intangible Tagaeri-Taromenane (ZITT) who are in a particularly vulnerable situation from Covid. Vaccination of the Waorani people will start in julio once a protocol is established for bringing logistics and medical personnel and for the movement of the population within the ZITT. According to the Government, Ecuador is the pioneer in the region and world in guaranteeing the health of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.

El presidente viajará a EE.UU para operarse (The president will travel to the US for surgery) – Pres. Lasso will be in the US from el 20-30/6 for surgery to remove a cyst in his lumbar region that causes pain and is why he uses a cane. The surgery will drain the cyst, will not compromise the spinal cord, and is of medium complexity. The problem started in 2013 with a surgery in Spain where epidural anesthesia was badly applied during a surgery on Lasso’s ankle which was fractured in a fall.

Jueves se vacunan mandatorios (Pres. Lasso & VP Borrero to be vaccinated Thursday) – The President and VP will be vaccinated Thursday according to the platform www.lugarvacunacion.cn.gob.ec. Both are eligible since they are over 65. Lasso will get his jab at the U. of Guayaquil, and Borrero will get his at the colegio Sebastián de Benalcázar in the north of Quito. <And Lasso probably needs to be vaccinated before he travels to the US.>

Suspenden pago de planillas hasta resolución de reclamos (Utlity payments are suspended until claims are resolved) – Citizens who feel they received excessive electric bills do not have to pay the bills while their claims are being resolved. The electric company will also not turn off service. An agreement was reached by the authorities of the Consejo de Participación Ciudadana y Control Social (CPCCS), the Corporación Nacional de Electricidad (CNEL EP), and the Defensoría del Pueblo. CNEL EP will conduct a pilot program to verify meter readings in which the citizens’ observations will be taken into account.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne