Vans approved for Cuenca-Guayaquil service; Drug dealers pose as prostitutes on city streets; After delay, second Sinovac are doses available again

Martes, 3/8/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada.

Titular –

Cruce de acusaciones (Crossing of accusations) – As expected, the impeachment of ex-Comptroller General Pablo Celi in the National Assembly is a crossing of accusations, attacks, and grievances, especially with the Correista banque. Celi, who is accused of organized crime, said that the questioning against him had the intention of delegitimizing the Comptroller’s reports that led to lawsuits against the Correa administration. When El Mercurio went to press the Asamblea was still debating the impeachment.

Cuenca –

Retoman inoculaciones con las vacunas Sinovac (Inoculations with Sinovac vaccines resume) – Sinovac inoculations were suspended last week when a shipment from China was delayed. Appointments for people who could not get vaccinated last week have been rescheduled. If you were supposed to get vaccinated el jueves, 12/8, go on lunes, 16/8; viernes, 13/8, go on martes 17/8; sábado, 14/8, go on miércoles, 18/8; and domingo 15/8, go on jueves, 19/8. These shots will be given at the coliseo Mayor de Deportes. <i think that’s the Coliseo Jefferson Pérez – at least the picture looks like the inside of that coliseo.> People who are getting the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines can also go to that coliseo. There will be 3 separate lines, one for each brand of vaccine.

Some women posing as prostitutes on Cuenca streets are selling drugs, not sex. (El Mercurio)

The Veeduría por la Vida reported that as of 14/8, 4,727,968 people have been totally vaccinated and 5,230,651 have received one dose. 52.53% of the population is completely vaccinated. In Azuay, 80.50% (522,326 people) have received their first doses and 45.35% (292,115 people) both doses. In the rest of Zone 6, 66.26% of Cañar have 1st doses and 35.75% both doses. In Morona Santiago the figures are 55.72% and 30.66%. Nationally, 14,684,326 doses, including first and second, have been administered.

Campaña médica beneficia a pacientes de escasos recursos (Medical campaign benefits low-income patients) – Two medical organizations, along with the Corporación Médica Monte Sinaí and the Clinica Santa Bárbara, have launched a campaign to provide free breast reconstruction surgeries to women with limited means. The campaign will be from 15-17/8 and the doctors expect to operate on at least 15 patients. This is the 3d year for this campaign which is scheduled to cooincide with the Día Mundial de Lucha contra el cáncer de mama on el 19/8. On the 19th, there will also be free medical consulations to detect breast cancers.

Renunció director Registro Civil (Director of the Civil Registry resigned) – Gullermo Rodríguez, who took over the Coordinación Zonal 6 of the Registro Civil on el 2/7, resigned to take a job with the Agencia de Regulación y Control de las Telecomunicaciones (Arcotel). Rodríguez said that the Registro Civil had the capacity to attend to normal demand, but the large lines were due to backed up procedures. There was also an increased demand from people wanting to migrate to the US for work. He said that before, about 150 passports were issued each day, and that jumped to abouf 800 after extended hours were introduced. The new coordinator, who was named ayer, is Lizbeth Berrezueta who has international degrees in Political Science and Sales Management and Commercial Insurance. Her challenge will be to set up a new appointment system for cédulas and passports.

Busetas legalizadas para ir a Guayaquil (Vans legalized to go to Guayaquil) – The first company legalized in Ecuador to provide interprovincial van transport is Transporte Ejecutivo AustroSur in Cuenca. It will offer hourly trips between Cuenca and Guayaquil every day on vans with a 17 passenger capacity. It will work along with the microbuses of the Alianza de Transportes Interprovincial (ATRAIN). Samuel Coronel, manager of Transporte Ejectutivo AustroSur, said that the service will be direct with no stops between Cuenca and Guayaquil to guarantee passenger safety. <No stopping for the guy with the gun who’s flagging down the buseta in order to rob passengers.>

Esterilización de mascotas (Pet sterilization) – The Municipio de Cuenca and the Comisión de Gestión Ambiental (CGA – Environmental Management Commission) is continuing with a free sterilization campaign for cats and dogs called, “Cuídame, solo tengo a ti” (Take care of me, all I have is you). The campaign is in various parishes in the canton with the last one in the Los Trigales barrios in Hermano Miguel parish. These surgeries are being done under an agreement with the Fundación ARCA. <And a shout out to the tireless and priceless volunteers: Julia, Kim, Liane, Lorraine, Molly, and Pam, and all the dedicated veterinary volunteers.>

Sucesos –

Incendio devasta 60 hectáreas de vegetación (Fire devastates 60 hectares of vegetation) – There was a wildfire that burned at least 60 hectares el último domingo in the Cancan sector of Soldados in Cuenda. It was put out by the Cuerpo de Bomberos (Fire Department) and ETAPA personel. Firefighters ask the citizenry to avoid setting fires. <Small potatoes compared to the huge fires in western Canada and the US, but still serious. If the paramos burn up, where will Cuenca’s water come from?>

Microtráfico bajo fachada de prostitución (Micro-trafficking under the facade of prostitution) – Drug dealing is going on in the streets of Cuenca with zones along av. Huayna Cápac, in the Chola Cuencana sector, and along calles Vega Muñoz, Manuel Vega and Pío Bravo. Residents of those areas say drug dealers camoflage themselves as prostitutes, and stand on the corners. They don’t carry the drugs in their clothing but hide it in doorways. The security cameras installed by the authorities don’t help. <So if you see someone too unattractive to be a prostitute, maybe they’ll sell you some coke or weed.>

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 (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.