Gato Chila and Mimi Barona fight Covid-19 in Playas and Montañita

After losing his mother, the former Latin champion took up the cause and collected money and food to distribute in his town; Mimi calls on the authorities to help with doctors and more tests


April 24
|EN News
|POR DUKE
Gato Chila is on the battlefield of Covid and its consequences, collecting and distributing food for his Playas where he was born. Photo taken from his Instagram

Ecuador is one of the countries in the world hardest hit by Covid-19, the New York Times reported in an article published Thursday. The biggest crisis was experienced in Guayaquil, where there were so many deaths that there was literally nowhere to put them and they were left in the streets.

Between 100 and 150 kilometers from the largest focus of the pandemic, which is also considered the economic capital of the country, are the main surfing spots Playas (where former Latin and Ecuadorian champion Jonathan Gato Chila is from), Salinas and Montañita (where world top, Pan American silver medalist and multiple Latin champion Mimi Barona is from).

Two weeks ago, Chila's mother died of coronavirus-related causes, according to local newspaper El Telégrafo. She began to suffer from gastritis that caused diabetes and hypertension. She was transferred to a larger hospital in Santa Elena, where she died and the authorities placed her on the list of suspected coronavirus patients.

Chila transformed this pain into motivation to help the community where he was born, and made him one of the best surfers on the continent, and now he collects and distributes food baskets.

"This aid is for those who can no longer sell their maduro con queso, their corviches, their soft drinks or their crafts," Gato told the aforementioned newspaper.

 

To help the cause of Gato, account 2202981989 was opened at Banco Pichincha in the name of Jonathan Zambrano Chila or by writing to ayudasocialplayas2020@gmail.com or to the cell phone +593993918408 or directly in the Playas 2 neighborhood, km 1,5 via El Morro.

On the other hand, 150 kilometers to the north, in the famous Montañita, the pandemic made its presence felt and has already taken five lives in 15 days, according to Mimi Barona in a video posted on her social networks.

"Are  "We are going through difficult times with the pandemic, so I call on the authorities to provide us with the necessary help. Through self-management, tests have been purchased to rule out possible infections, unfortunately yesterday 14 cases were positive," says Barona.

He added: “My people are going through a time of great anguish, and I call on all authorities to provide the necessary help by sending us doctors, more tests if necessary, and I am sure that together we can get through this.”

Initially, the authorities reported more than 11.000 cases, but later corrected the figure to say that there were more than 22.000. In the same vein, they went on to say that there were more than 1.000 deaths, not the 560 that had been initially reported.

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Coronavirus Ecuador