President of Ecuador travels to Miami for a spinal cord operation – Telemundo Miami (51)

QUITO.- The Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lasso, traveled to Miami this Sunday, where he will undergo a surgical operation on the spinal cord, the objective of which is to recover the usual mobility of a leg.

Lasso, accompanied by his wife, María de Lourdes Alcívar, traveled to Miami from the airport in the coastal city of Guayaquil, but before starting his flight he announced to journalists that he would not entrust the head of state to his vice president, Alfredo Borrero.

“I continue to command the position of President of the Republic,” said the president after stating that he will carry out his functions telematically, since that possibility allows technology.

The new leader presents himself as a liberal on economic issues and a conservative on religious and social issues, although he has promised that he will respect those who do not agree with his way of thinking.

Lasso, who took office on May 24 and after expressing greetings to Ecuadorians, who today celebrate Father’s Day, gave some details about the surgical intervention to which he will be subjected.

“I am going to the city of Miami, I am going to undergo a spinal cord operation, it is a moderately invasive operation and I will be in the clinic for three days,” Lasso added.

He also announced that he will enter the clinic next Tuesday and that the operation will take place on Wednesday. “I hope to go out on Thursday or Friday,” and then spend a few days in recovery therapy, in order to regain mobility in the leg, he added.

Lasso, who currently walks assisted by a cane, said that the main task he leaves during his absence is to strengthen the vaccination program against COVID-19, which is in charge of Vice President Borrero and the Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón.

The president expressed his satisfaction that the rate of vaccination in the country has reached 80,000 daily inoculations, a figure that, he said, can improve due to the logistics plan implemented by his government.

In addition, “we are receiving more continuously the vaccines” from the pharmaceutical companies with which Ecuador has made the provision of doses to date, added the head of state.

Lasso called on the population to go for vaccination according to the calendar that has been drawn up in coordination with the National Electoral Council (CNE), an entity that has provided its database.

He said that they have thought about expanding the age range of vaccination, which is currently in a phase for those over 50 years old and in view of the fact that the problems of agglomeration that were registered weeks ago have been solved.

Immunization is an “act of responsibility” with society and, therefore, “to the extent that we achieve a high number of vaccinated, we will enter normality faster,” which will also allow “the economy to recover,” said the ruler.

There are currently 316 vaccination precincts and more than 900 vaccination brigades in the country, which can be expanded if there is a greater demand, Lasso explained.

In addition, he insisted that Ecuador has reached an agreement with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Cansino to receive about six million doses of its vaccine in a single application.

New batches of vaccines from China Sinovac are also expected to arrive in July and August and negotiations are progressing with other pharmaceutical companies, he explained.

He said that he hopes that this week there will be news about the arrival of vaccines from other origins that his country currently supplies.

Ecuador has had a national vaccination plan against COVID-19 since January 21, a period in which it has received 5,017,469 doses from various international pharmaceutical companies.

According to the Government, 2,200,000 doses come from the Chinese Sinovac, 1,427,469 from the American Pfizer and 1,370,000 from the British AstraZeneca.

The Government has offered to immunize nine million people, 60 percent of the population, until the first days of September.