Citizens board buses without a mask or misuse those protection devices. Doctors warn of the consequences.
With the passing of the months there is a certain relaxation of biosecurity measures in a part of the citizenry. It is 11:10 am and not all users of the Quitumbe Terrestrial Terminal, Quito, use the mask as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The biosecurity garment covers only the mouth in many cases; in others, that protection is not used.
When boarding a bus from the Transportes Ecuador cooperative, a group of older adults enters the upper floor of the bus. They all wear a mask, but they do not cover their nose.
Then the heads of a couple poke out. She uses the mask correctly; he, on the other hand, carries it in his hand and thus will travel until he reaches his destination, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas.
There are about five minutes to go and the bus controller goes up to the second floor to verify that no suitcase rubs against the ceiling, as happens with a backpack of a young man, who questions the observation of the cooperative employee and invites him to rather check that passengers comply with the biosecurity measures, which are detailed in an image of the entrance door to the bus. The employee downplays it and leaves. EL UNIVERSO requested an interview with the cooperative to find out its position on these events recorded the week of the holiday for the Day of the Dead, but there was no response.
These episodes, which show the little concern of a part of the citizenry, are repeated daily also in the urban transportation service, in shopping venues, nightlife centers, shows and other types of meetings.
Expectation for upcoming holidays
The Christmas and New Year holidays mobilize hundreds of thousands of citizens each year. For example, last year, when access to beaches and other sites was restricted as a measure to reduce COVID-19 infections, it was estimated that in the four days due to the Christmas holiday, some 145,000 people, almost half the number of passengers who departed on those same dates in 2019, the year before the pandemic.
For this 2021, the Guayaquil Terrestrial Terminal Foundation projects that from December 22 to 26, some 215 thousand travelers will depart.
Health experts fear that the intercantonal and interprovincial trips that will be recorded on those days lead to outbreaks of the disease in different areas of the country, as has happened weeks after the independence holidays of Guayaquil and the Day of the Dead.
“A single person who has the delta strain on that bus can infect everyone. Why? Because a person infects four to eight at a time and that can continue to spread in a closed space, depending on the time spent on the bus ”, explains Alberto Campodónico, a doctor specializing in intensive care.
During the trip of more than eight hours, between Quito and Guayaquil, there are two stops that fluctuate between ten and thirty minutes. The rest of the way, passengers share the same cold air from the bus’s cabin. Most keep the mask on their face, despite the discomfort of wearing it for a long time. Some sleep. Others, like the man who embarked with that garment in hand, talks with his partner out loud. Sneeze without worrying about spreading saliva particles in the car interior. That attracts the glances of the people around you. He does not perceive them or, at least, he seems not to.
“Even if you have the bus windows open, if you do not use a mask or if there is no distance, the possibility of contagion is quite high, regardless of having the two doses of vaccines applied or being one of the people behind from getting vaccinated and running a high risk of getting on a transport bus ”, warns Campodónico.
On Wednesday, November 24, the Minister of Public Health, Ximena Garzón, confirmed that there was a slight increase in cases after the holiday at the beginning of that month.
“The positivity of infections rose to 9%. It doubled and when the contagiousness increases, the possibility that there are more infected increases. Those people are going to suffer from the disease. If they did not receive their complete vaccination, they could be aggravated or die, “Garzón said in a discussion. The following day of Minister Garzón’s pronouncement, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 amounted to 525,830.
The risk is real
The increase in confirmed cases after a holiday with respect to the trend before the holiday period is a reality. In the four days prior to the break for the commemoration of the independence of Guayaquil, which lasted from October 8 to 10, the country experienced an increase in infections of up to 250 cases in one day. Meanwhile, after the holiday, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) recorded daily increases of up to 631 cases, as in October 12, although it could be considered a very short time.
However, on October 19, the most recent confirmed infections totaled 356; on October 20, 569; on October 21, 386. On the other hand, on October 24 and 25, the new cases were placed in 26 and 27 registries, in that same order; but a day later the figure rose to 200. On that last day, the MSP authorities counted 515,859 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since last year.
Ecuador, the ninth country in America to identify the omicron variant in its territory
Government controls
Francisco Pérez, national undersecretary of Health Surveillance, of the Ministry of Public Health, reminds the passenger transportation cooperatives that biosecurity measures must be maintained in the activity they carry out.
“The mask is mandatory in public transport. Those who are in charge of compliance with those regulations are the transport companies themselves and also the transit agencies, ”insists the MSP official.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases amounted to 535,414 as of Thursday, December 16. Pérez indicates that as a ministry they agree with free mobility and economic reactivation, but it is recommended that citizens meet with their family circle – with whom they live daily and that they are certain that they comply with biosafety measures- , to avoid crowded places, those that also lack proper ventilation.
“We recommend all of this. And, if we would see that there is a rebound, that the epidemiological situation has worsened, we will inform the authorities, with technical reports, if mobility is necessary or not limited, “explains the Health official.
On December 14, the national Emergency Operations Committee reported a series of measures to try to contain the infections, given a slight increase in cases in the last four weeks. They went from 1,294 weekly cases to 2,918.
National COE demands that the burning of old years be prohibited and restrictions from December 17 to January 3
The measures that the COE requires local governments to apply from this Friday, December 17 to Monday, January 3 are the following:
- Permanent use of masks, social distancing, hand washing.
- A maximum capacity of 50% in convention centers for dinners, corporate lunches, reception rooms, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and the like, tolerance centers, with a mandatory two-dose vaccination certificate and compliance with biosecurity measures.
- 75% capacity in markets, supermarkets, with mandatory biosecurity measures.
- 75% capacity in shopping centers, religious centers, fairs, with presentation of a vaccination certificate with two doses from the age of 12 and compliance with biosecurity measures.
- Allow entry to the beaches with restricted hours, from 06:00 to 18:00.
- Prohibit events such as concerts, children’s passes, processions, novena, festivals of old years or burns, popular parties in public spaces.
- Ban the sale of alcohol in public spaces.
- Encourage vaccination.
- Use the mask properly and always.
- Maintain frequent hand washing.
- Do not stay in closed places with bad ventilation.
- Ask citizens to attend the vaccination points to inoculate themselves against COVID-19. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
