The Child Traveler Pass will be carried out with a motorized caravan in Cuenca

Cuenca

The Passenger Child Pass and the traditional Old Years contest will not be held this year with the presence of people on the streets of Cuenca.

The organizers abided by the prohibitions of the National Emergency Operations Committee, in which it was argued that with the agglomeration of people there is a risk of generating new positive cases of COVID-19, due to the circulation of the omicron variant.

Between the Archdiocese and the Municipality of Cuenca, everything was ready to fill the streets with faithful Catholics on December 24. The initial idea was to make the Pass through Huayna Cápac Avenue because it is wide and thus the distance between the Catholic faithful was ensured, then they changed for the narrow and central Bolívar Street to maintain the tradition.

But their plans were put into analysis when last Tuesday the Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, indicated that public events, including passes of the Child, were prohibited.

In addition, according to the Azuay Police Mayor Andrés Vicuña, a letter requesting authorization to carry it out did not arrive at his office.

For this reason, the religious and municipal officials met this Friday to restructure the Child Traveler Pass program and do it with a motorized caravan.

The image of the rising Child Jesus will open the route, escorted by floats adorned by the faithful and previously registered in the Curia. With this, as reported, the biosecurity of the congregation will be guaranteed.

There will be no participants on foot or on horseback, as used to be evidenced until 2019.

The details of the tour will be known next Tuesday, December 21, three days before Christmas Eve.

As for the contest of old years that until before the pandemic summoned hundreds of neighbors and onlookers in different neighborhoods, this was permanently suspended.

The directors of the Amistad Club and the Union of Journalists of Azuay took advantage of the ban and although they already made the call to the neighborhoods, they finally canceled it. (I)