Weekly Rewind – Calexico City Council dispute, Yuma schools back to classroom
COVID-19 rates along with what you may have missed
IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Community respect continues to be paid for those lost in the now infamous 25-passenger vehicle accident.
The names and ages of the 13 victims are as follows:
- Carolina Ramirez Perez (32)
- Jesus Gilberto Romero Rojas (19)
- Yesenia Magali Melendrez Cardona (23)
- Raquel Aparicio Martinez (39)
- Maria Isabel Boyzo Patino (34)
- Rosalia Garcia Gonzalez (32)
- Magdalena Elizabeth Lopez Escobar (20)
- Maria Guadalupe Mendez Vargas (49)
- Felix Josefino Medina Rodriguez (53)
- Jose Rogelio Orozco Mendez (51)
- Jairo De Jesus Landin Duenas (23)
- Gumaro Samuel Ramirez Cortez (39)
- Arnulfo Talavera More (42)
A human smuggling investigation is currently underway.
While on the topic of border controversy, a parcel of land sale was approved in a 3-2 vote through Calexico's City Council, with council-members Raul Urena and Gloria Romo strongly opposing the sale.
Councilman Urena said the land sale would allow the Army Corps of Engineers to militarize Calexico's city further. Urena believes the parcel of land facing the border fence on First Street would be used to build a second wall.
Fortunately, Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently available in the Imperial County. The community has been waiting for this single-dose vaccine which offers residents a third option.
While the single-dose shot intrigues many who would prefer to get it over and done with, some are questioning its adequacy.
Compared to the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines' 95% efficacy and higher rate, the newly approved J&J vaccine only has a 72% efficacy.
Setting a standard for Baja California, Mexicali was the first city to receive thousands of COVID-19 vaccines for seniors. More than 27,000 vaccines have been received and 7,000 people are expected to be vaccinated Monday, March 15.
Coronavirus cases in California near 3.6 million, with Imperial County's numbers accounting for not even a percent of the state's total. Yuma County holds a higher accountability at 4.3% of Arizona's 832,743 compiled cases.
Arizona as a whole nearly doubled the amount of doses administered since last week. Just over 2.6% of Arizona's total doses lies within Yuma County, while only 0.29% of California's accumulations are Imperial-County based.
Lastly, the biggest return parents all over the desert southwest have been waiting for, to send their children back to school.
Yuma Union High School District schools are at approximately 50-70% occupancy as some families continue to embrace remote learning.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey recently announced schools must return to the classroom by Monday, March 15. District One's decision came before the governor's order.
Lunch break has been eliminated to avoid large gatherings. Students can instead pick up their pre-packed lunch at the end of the school day, which has been adjusted to 12:30 pm at some of the district's schools and 12:45 pm at others.
Compared to the usual seven hours students were required to spend at school pre-pandemic, the typical school day is now only about five hours.
