COVID-19 Ecuador Update 10
It has taken me a bit to get this one out! I'm sorry for those who have been waiting for another update. The information has been confusing at times, with the government doing funny things with the numbers...we had at some times the total number of cases was actually lower then the day before! I didn't want to publish any false info, and so have been holding back for the last two weeks. I think I have a hand on what is going on with the numbers, the economy and the social unrest, so here goes!
Total confirmed cases recognized by the government:37,355 Total deaths recognized by the government: 5,229 Recovered Patients 3,560, and 3,946 likely recovered.
It appears that the Ecuadorian government, unlike the other governments, has subtracted the number of deaths, recovered and likely recovered given hospital leave from the total number of cases. This has not been confirmed by the government, but has been brought forward by several officials and reporters, and the numbers then add up, giving another almost 10,000 confirmed cases.
The curve and number of cases in the coastal city of Guayaquil has gone way down, at last, but the numbers are just starting to spike for the capitol city of Quito, and just starting to rise for the jungle provinces. Our province currently has almost 200 cases, and this number seems to be rising by at least ten people a day.
Economically, the problems continue. The government has left to the local governments to decide when to proceed from one 'stage' to another, each which allow a few more areas or types of jobs to start working, but never more than 60% of the working capacity of the buildings. This has put great stress and hardships on families who are now in their third month without work, and more and more people are having to face the decision of disobeying the governments orders in order to go and find some work, or continue to try and make it by with what little they have to eat. Many families are eating two or even only one meal a day, often just plain rice with no garnish or other sustenance whatsoever.
The government has gone about making a number of changes to try and reduce its spending, making cuts wherever possible. On a national/public level, the government has decided to liquidate its one government owned national airline, merge a number of different ministries or areas of the government with different focuses (i.e. there is no longer a set director and cabinet for corporate crimes, this is now divided between the police and fiscal officers), closed several of its embassies, closed a number of tourist attractions, including their only train railway that was a huge national and international attraction and a part of the countries past. On an individual level, minimum wage has been cut, as well as the total number of hours someone can work. This affects all areas, even health and education, which are normally a hands of area for a socialistic country. Cuts have also been made in public funding in these and other areas as well.
Socially, this has caused a lot of unrest and dissatisfaction. The gap in the society between 'classes' has never been so keen, or felt so much as now. Starting today, the workers union, along with university students, teachers and health workers have gone into protests, all be it in a mostly peaceful and pacific manner. People who already struggle to make ends meet, and have had their work put on hold for several months, are now facing even harder times, with the minimum wage going from $400 a month to only $220 (in truth, the hourly wage is still the same. The cut comes from the government regulations where what used to be a one 8 hour shift has now become 2 four hour shifts, so that the companies con continue to work with only a 50% workers capacity.) This still will greatly affect the lower and mid class workers economy and budget. The government has also added in several laws which, although created to help the smaller countries not go bankrupt from having to pay workers and workman's securities while not being able to make a profit, (which has been happening a lot recently, causing thousands and thousands of people to be laid off) these laws also allow them to reduce wages and lay off only certain areas of their companies, things up until now not allowed by the law.
The indigenous communities are as of now not involved in these protests, as their collective leaders decided that they will try and use political measure to bring about a change. The biggest fear is that many people who come from the jungle communities, although healthier as a norm, do not have the necessary immune system to fight the virus, and could easily become infected and die from it, as happened all over Latin America when the Spanish Conquistadors brought different viruses to these soils, wiping out whole villages.
The country is still in a State of Emergency, and still under Curfew and restrictions of basic mobility and meeting rights, although the hours, days of travel, etc all depend on the 'stage' that the local government sets for each zone.
We currently are still under all the same restrictions as before. Many people are afraid and uncertain for their economic future and survival of their families, and placed between a rock and a hard place as far as work versus the possibility of someone contaminating them with the virus.
The picture is a young girl who has to complete homework sent over the internet in order to finish high school, and yet because she lives in a jungle community, and does not have easy access to the internet, has to travel to a specific spot in the jungle where the cell phone towers reach, so as to download her weekly assignments. The young boy travels an hour and a half up the mountain to where he has a cell phone connection to download his weekly schoolwork. He is accompanied by his trusty companion, Lightning McQueen.
This is a perfect example of the division that exists in the country, and the reason why it doesn't matter what decisions are made, about the virus, the economy, etc...someone is always affected negatively.
