The new COVID-19 variant that was detected in January of this year has caused concern among experts in recent months, becoming a "variant of interest" for the World Health Organization -WHO-.
During the radio show Hecho en California, hosted by Marcos Gutiérrez, Anna Lee Mraz, CEO of Península 360 Press, warned about the new COVID-19 variant "Arcturus" or XBB1.16, which was first identified in India and has so far been detected in at least 29 countries.
One of the characteristics of this strain is that it may be more transmissible because it has an additional mutation in the spike protein. The program mentioned that conjunctivitis is one of the characteristic symptoms of this new variant, in addition to other symptoms already known to the population such as cough, fever, fatigue, sore throat, difficulty breathing, among others.
Lee Mraz also pointed out that at the press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services, where experts met to discuss the new variant, it was recommended that both adults and children get vaccinated against COVID-19 to be protected against the new variants of the disease, which would reduce the risk of contracting Arcturus.
"The vaccine itself can reduce the possibility of it causing us more harm," said host Marcos Gutiérrez, while Lee Mraz recommended that people receive booster shots and follow hygiene measures to avoid transmission of the disease.
Dina Boluarte's government is a "civil-military dictatorship"
Camilo Pérez Bustillo, executive director of the National Guild of Lawyers of the San Francisco Bay Area, announced the presentation—which took place on May 2 at the Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore and Gallery—of the report and photographic exhibition on human rights violations in Peru.
The exhibition #PerúResiste was organized jointly by Global Exchange and Social Focus, in collaboration with Península 360 Press, Rompeviento TV, Periodistas Unidos and the Center for Latin American Socio-Legal Studies —CESJUL—.
He also pointed out that the illegitimate government of Dina Boluarte has established, according to what the inhabitants of Peru say, "a civil-military dictatorship." He also pointed out that the repression carried out by this dictatorship has left "more than 70 dead, hundreds of people arrested, many wounded and 5 places where there has been concentrated repression against indigenous peoples."
Bustillo also denounced that "this repression is being supported, financed and armed by the United States, there is more than 40 million in military aid to the government of Dina Boluarte and the government welcomed this illegitimate government," which has caused the number of Peruvian migrants to increase because they are fleeing.
"The interim government headed by Dina Boluarte is a government that has applied a policy of state terror that has culminated in crimes against humanity. We are talking about the most serious level - according to international law - of massive human rights crimes, extrajudicial killings, massacres," he explained.
Finally, Manuel Ortiz, director of Península 360 Press and co-organizer of the exhibition #PerúResiste said that "there is a lot we can do here," as he pointed out that in Peru people hope that people from abroad will also raise their voices regarding the situation the country is experiencing.
"It seems that the media phenomenon in Peru has died down, but the problem continues. Now it is time to denounce not only this imposed government but also the United States as the promoter of this illegitimate government and as the promoter of a militarization that is advancing throughout Latin America," he concluded.
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