A return to lockdown may be in the future for Baja California Sur (BCS) if the coronavirus cannot be controlled.
Governor Carlos Mendoza Davis said that so far in June there has been a 181% increase in virus cases in the state and an 86% increase in deaths due to the pandemic.
The number of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients and the use of ventilators has also doubled.
The governor warned that if the virus rate continues to increase, the state could go back into lockdown, which was partially lifted on June 15.
The state health laboratory says it is currently processing between 80 and 100 coronavirus tests each day.
Tests are only authorized for symptomatic people meeting specific criteria, and when a patient tests positive, contact tracing is conducted and the person is continually monitored to ensure they self-isolate and that their symptoms do not worsen.
Health authorities have created a geo-referenced map of coronavirus patients in the state, but that will not be made public due to concerns for the safety of the sick, El Sudcaliforniano reports.
As of June 25, BCS had 1,324 recorded confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 69 deaths.
Good coronavirus news
A group of about 15 people in Pescadero, a mainly agricultural community located on the Pacific side of the peninsula between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, is giving back to their community through the Pescadero Food Bank, which was started in 2017 by a small group of expats.
The original group started providing bags of basic staples (flour, pasta, sugar, oil, rice, beans) to families in need. Over time, they eliminated flour and sugar from their bags in order to focus on healthier, higher protein staples such as eggs, tuna, lentils, milk, fresh produce and oatmeal.
One of the families they are helping is a single-parent household consisting of mother Angélica and her five children, who range in age from 5 to 16. They live in an unfinished home with no water or electricity.
This living situation is typical of those served by the food bank, which also helps those with disabilities and chronic illnesses and the elderly.
Since the coronavirus began, most who receive donations have lost all or part of their income and outreach has increased from 50 families to 400 families per month at a cost of US $3,000. The Pescadero Food Bank relies solely on donations, which can be made through their website, and receives no government support or help from other organizations.
And in San José del Cabo, taking a cue from other cities around the globe, one restaurant is providing respite for the entertainment starved by offering a drive-in concert in its parking lot.
Flora Farms, a farm-to-table restaurant located in Las Animas, will serve burgers, fried chicken, pizzas and milkshakes to cars full of guests who will be treated to a concert by local musicians the Shamans this Saturday evening. It will also be live-streamed beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The restaurant, like many in the area, otherwise remains closed for all but takeout as the Los Cabos economy struggles to recover from revenue lost during the shutdown and lack of tourism.
Political pandemonium in La Paz
Supporters of eight state legislators undergoing a political trial for various charges of mismanagement and corruption blocked access to the congressional meeting room and broke a window, which forced deputies to cancel the meeting and flee the building, fearing for their safety.
The hearing, which was set to take place Thursday morning, accuses eight legislators of various political parties of administrative mismanagement, breaching their legislative obligations and jeopardizing the stability of the legislature, among other charges.
Three legislative workers were trapped inside the session room when the pandemonium outside broke out. Two escaped through a window while the third remained inside due to an injured foot, La Jornada reports.
Scallop smuggler’s blues
The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (Conapesca) arrested two people on Sunday at a military checkpoint on the northern outskirts of La Paz after they discovered 100 kilos of scallops in the trunk of a white sedan.
Neither the scallops nor the men escorting them had the proper papers in order to prove that the shellfish were legally harvested, reports BCS Noticias.
The arrest came a day after authorities found a similar sized stash of scallops, also illegal, in a white refrigerated truck containing 100 individual one-kilo bags they suspect were packaged for distribution.
The UFO that wasn’t
A strange object appeared in the skies over La Paz Monday evening, causing hundreds of people to wonder whether the city was being visited by aliens. Photos and videos of the round, shiny orb were circulated on social media and in news reports.
Much speculation about the craft’s origin arose as the news of the sighting went viral, with some commenting that if aliens were considering invading La Paz, they had better respect coronavirus protocol and wear masks.
However, further investigation revealed that the unidentified flying object was a high-altitude balloon, part of Google’s Project Loon which seeks to provide internet access by flying the globes through the stratosphere to help rural areas with their internet connections, BCS Noticias reports.
