Photo: Cortesía.
May 26. Ajijic. The Ribera de Chapala is no longer free of coronaviruses. federal authorities confirmed one case each in Chapala and Jocotepec Tuesday, May 26.
Chapala has an active case and five suspected cases awaiting results. . The confirmed case is a man between 70 and 75 years old who was placed under observation on May 24.Federal authorities report ed today that his test confirmed coronavirus.
The Federal Government’s General Epidemiology Directorate confirmed the first case of Covid-19 in Jocotepec today in a man between 60 and 64 years old with obesity problems. He was registered as infected on May 5 after being hospitalized. He is reported to have recovered, so at this time there are no active cases in Jocotepec. (translated by Patrick O’Heffernan)
Starting on the 21st, the President announced the tightening of the containment strategy. In the photo, the President of Jocotepec, José Miguel Gómez (center), with municipal government officials.
Miguel Cerna.- Citing a lack of compliance, Jocotepec Municipal President José Miguel Gómez López announced a tightening of the government’s strategy for the containment of the coronavirus.
As of May 21, the Municipal Government will closely monitor compliance with sanitary provisions, including detaining people who ignore them and put the population at risk. This strategy will be implemented by the municipal corporation of Public Security in conjunction with the National Guard, Civil Protection, Paramedics and other officials to ensure that people do what they have to do.
Gómez López stated that “I am going to start proceeding to arrest those groups that are meeting without responsibility and putting the population at risk. I have tried to be very flexible in all aspects, I would allow them (the shops) to work with a curtain in half, with slats and many activities were done in a way that people understood and I tried to take many actions within the criteria so as not to hurt the economy and not hurt people in their ordinary life. «
Locations where large numbers of people have been gathering, such as the Libramiento and the vicinity of the boardwalk, will be closely monitored for violators… Find the full story in this week’s issue.
A few nuns did not care that the Chapala boardwalk will be closed to the public; they decided to take a walk.
Manuel Jacobo (Chapala, Jal).- As of the first week of May, the municipality of Chapala had registered no cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus, despite the fact that 42 cases have already been counted in the other municipalities of Health Region IV. According to the authorities, the containment of the pandemic has been achieved thanks to the health check roadblocks (filters) placed at the territorial limits of the municipality. Mayor Moisés Alejandro Anaya Aguilar estimates that 3,200 motorists were prevented from entering the municipality of Chapala during the long Labor Day weekend and Cinco de Mayo celebration of the Battle of Puebla.
As of May 6, 2020, official data showed that the municipality of Chapala has registered no positive cases of Covid-19, while 16 suspected cases tested negative and there were six suspected cases whose results have not yet been reported. This is due, officials feel, to strong enforcement of sanitary measures. During the last week of April alone, four businesses were closed in the municipality for repeated offenses against sanitary measures, 54 non-essential businesses were closed and 23 non-municipality merchants were removed.
Continuing the sanitation measures, the municipality suspended the festivities for the commemoration of the Battle of Puebla, May 5, although the ban on the sale of alcohol products was lifted and the people of Chapa are now able to buy beer and tequila in the authorized stores.
With regard to the state of Jalisco, there are 17 municipalities that have registered positive cases of Covid-19, and 37 deaths had been recorded as of May 5. The totals for deaths, by county, are: Guadalajara (9), Zapopan (4), Tomatlán (2), El Grullo (1), Tonalá (2), Acatic (1), Puerto Vallarta (6), Tequila (1), Tecolotlán (1) , Tlajomulco (2), Ocotlán (2), Colotlán (1), La Barca (1), Zapotlán del Rey (1), San Julián (1), Tlaquepaque (1) and El Salto (1). (translated by Patrick O’Heffernan)
copyright by Ricarda Ecker _ A table-store in the streets of San Antonio.
When people back home in Austria think about Mexico, they see a very clear picture: in Mexico everyone is part of a cartel and a killer. You can buy drugs at every corner. Everyone is wearing sombrero hats and ponchos and the countryside is just a desert with lots of cacti. So, when I told my mum that I will go to this country full of killers, she was sure that I won’t come back alive.
But already after a few days in Mexico I knew, that I won’t get killed by the boss of a cartel, nobody wanted to sell me drugs and I was a little sad that no Mexican man wears a sombrero hat. But I was not so sure if I would survive this trip.
The reason for that, is the fact that I mostly use the public bus system. In Austria going by bus is very easy – I had never realized that before. We have a plan at every bus station that tells us exactly when the bus will arrive, which bus with which number goes which direction. The bus stops just at the clearly marked stations. A monitor and a voice let you know which station comes next. You can buy a ticket at a ticket machine in the bus or via an app. This app is also able to plan your trip from where you are, to where you want to go. It tells you where to change busses or trains, how long you have time for that, if the bus is late and which way you have to walk when you exit the bus.
So, when I tried to make my first trip from San Antonio to Chapala, I was clearly lost. I found something like a bus station and waved at the next bus that came along the street. The driver stopped and I entered the bus. Because of my lack of Spanish, I just mumbled Chapala and gave the driver some money. I had no idea what he said back. Gladly I found an empty seat and sat next to a woman with a baby on her lap. The whole time I wasn’t sure if I was in the right bus and I had no idea where I should leave the bus. Scared that I would go too far, I left the bus together with a few other people, where I thought the landscape had changed into a city. Out on the streets I checked with Google Maps where I was. I still had to walk for half an hour along the way, the bus would have gone, until I was, where I wanted to be. On my way home, I was so glad that I remembered at least what the landscape looked like where I wanted to exit the bus.
Another seemingly usual thing that surprised me about Mexico are the small shops and stores everywhere. On every corner and in each garage, you can find people selling, fixing or producing something. If people don’t have a garage, they put a small table in the front of their house or open a window to sell sweets and snacks, or they walk around the streets and sell vegetables out of a pushcart. You can’t find anything like that in Austria. There are only many supermarkets and big shops, hardly none of them is still a family business and all of them are closed on Sundays.
Another issue that caught my attention, is the lack of safety when people in Mexico ride a motorcycle or go by car. In Austria everyone wears a helmet when riding motorcycles. In cars, you find just as many people, as there are safety belts. Kids up to twelve years old wear ride in special seats. There are four different kind of seats, depending on the size of the children. In Mexico it seems normal that there are up to ten people in a small car, people ride in the back of pickups, babies lie on the passenger seat without any safety belt and on motorcycles hardly nobody wears a helmet.
There are many differences between the two cultures, but all in all, I have to say, there are far more similarities. People want the same things, women are almost equal to men in both countries, food is a very important issue and the traditional music sounds in Mexico almost the same as it does in Austria. Historically seen, have Austria and Mexico very much in common and I am glad that I have encountered some similarities during my stay.
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