Walking down the streets in Santa Cruz these days you might wonder if you're in a city full of surgeons or dental hygienists. I, at least, have never seen so many masked faces outside of the operating room or the dentist's chair. It's actually kind of an eerie feeling to be shopping in the supermarket, sitting on buses and even being served at restaurants by people whose faces are entirely hidden behind a protective mask--it's just eyes everywhere, independent of noses and mouths, which have been carefully masked behind their newly fashionable precautionary coverings. But perhaps the Cruceños are right to be cautious in light of the increasing cases of Gripe A (Swine Flu) here in Bolivia, and especially in the Department of Santa Cruz.
Worldwide, the number of cases of Gripe A has reached (depending on whose numbers you believe) over 95,000 reported cases and between 430-600+ deaths within the past few months since the outbreak began. Here, in Bolivia, there are over 600 confirmed cases, more than 400 of which are in Santa Cruz. There have been 3 deaths attributed to the epidemic in Bolivia, and the concern is that the ever increasing numbers of infected patients will soon be beyond the capacity of the country's medical services to control, increasing exponentially the number of deaths within the country. On Thursday, July 9, the department of Santa Cruz suspended all public activities for the next 15 days; that includes, concerts, movie theaters, discotheques, ferias, sporting events and even religious services. Of course, students here in Santa Cruz may not be too disapointed with their extra two weeks of vacation... too bad they can't celebrate with a trip to the movies or the discoteca.
For ASCEND in particular, this new turn of events has put a damper on the plans of the fund raising Gala that was to take place on July 21 (just 3 days before the end of the precautionary suspension of public gatherings). The staff here have been working hard to sell tickets and get everything in order for the big day... now it looks like they will have to wait until mid to late August to put on the event. That also means that "business as usual" will also have to be on hold a bit for an extra month since there is a new influx of issues to sort out, including making sure Bolivia's most famous folk music group, Los Kjarkas, will still be able to perform, being the main attraction and all.
For me personally, this is my second run-in with Swine Flu mania, and I have to say, I wonder how many other people's lives are being effected by the economic and social side effects of this pandemic. Just a few months ago I had planned to go to Mexico on Study Abroad through BYU, but because of the Swine Flu we were re-routed to Guatemala. It was by no means a poor substitute in terms of travel, but there were definitely some opportunities missed with the change of plans. And I was lucky. Some trips were canceled completely. And now, here in Santa Cruz, not only are people prohibited from social activities, and even from attending Church services, but, no doubt, many businesses and individuals are experiencing significant financial losses due to this two week suspension. (Not to mention the great personal loss I feel in not being able to see Harry Potter opening night en español!)
In any case, Gripe A has definitely taken its toll here in Santa Cruz (and elsewhere), and continues to do so. I can only hope that precautions such as those in place here in Santa Cruz will be successful in halting the rapid spread of the flu and preventing fatalities. Time will tell. But for now, I think I'll buy some hand sanitizer and a good movie to watch at home. The surgeon's mask-- I'll leave those for someone else.
No comments:
Post a Comment