Thanks to coordinated efforts between the Atacames Health District, the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Esmeraldas Campus (PUCESE), and the Casitas Emergentes de Bambú (CAEMBA) project, the Atacames – Muisne District recorded a low positivity rate (7.4%) in the results of Covid-19 PCR tests in October. This makes it the district with the fewest positive cases of Covid-19 in Esmeraldas.
This is great news for Atacames and Muisne as there has been coordinated testing efforts in both cantons. The excellent management CAEMBA has shown throughout the pandemic, with the regular delivery of food kits and kits reinforced with proteins and fruits to Covid-19 positives; as well as the construction of the country’s first Covid-19 respiratory care center, along with testing alongside PUCESE and the health district, are the factors that have contributed to this favorable situation.
All of this allowed Atacames to be the only canton to fully open its beaches to the public last August. We also recently conducted the campaign ‘Prevention and Containment of Covid-19 to Ensure Touristic Activity in the Atacames Canton’ during the November holiday, which consisted of rapid and PCR testing for tourist providers and visitors to the canton. This campaign will be repeated during the year-end holiday of 2020.
These positive results come in a canton that receives many visitors, mainly from the Ecuadorian Sierra. We appreciate the efforts of PUCESE and the Atacames – Muisne Health District. We will continue to actively work to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the areas influenced by the CAEMBA project.
