Cuba has recorded highest number of infections and deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic

Cuba registered this week record number of infections and deaths from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, against a backdrop of “major challenges” economic and health, said Wednesday the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

According to the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) of Cuba, the island recorded this Wednesday 9,323 cases and 68 deaths due to complications derived from the disease covid-19. The total number of infections now stands at 358,378 and the number of deaths has accumulated to 2,560.

PAHO Director Carissa Etienne stressed that infection and death rates are the highest on the Caribbean island since the global health emergency due to the new coronavirus was declared in early 2020. “All age groups are affected: last week, more than 7,000 minors and nearly 400 pregnant women tested positive for covid-19”, he stressed during a press conference.

“The transmission of covid-19 is still very active in Cuba,” said PAHO’s director of health emergencies, Ciro Ugarte, stressing the increase in bed occupancy in medical centers and field hospitals set up in the most affected provinces.

According to Cuban authorities, the increase in infections is due to the Delta variant, highly contagious and circulating in various parts of the country, he added.

PAHO, the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO), expects the number of cases to continue to be high in Cuba in August and he warned of other health problems on the island.

“We know that (…) Cuba faces significant economic challenges. Yes in the health sector, in recent months, there has been a significant reduction in the availability of essential drugs and supplies for covid-19, but also for other diseases across the country “, Ugarte pointed out. “We hope the country can reduce transmission and the number of cases, but the challenges persist,” he added.

Cuba has reported in the past two weeks around 870 cases of covid-19 per 100,000 population, ranking first in Latin America and sixth in the world in number of infections, according to official figures compiled by the agency AFP.

In the week of July 22 to 28, he reported a record 57,524 cases, an increase of 30% over the previous week, and 488 deaths (+ 18.2%).

Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) said on Wednesday that 84,684 people are admitted to hospitals and isolation centers: 43,593 active cases -149 critical and 201 serious-, 37,459 with suspicious symptoms and the rest under epidemiological surveillance. Havana concentrates most of the cases, followed by the western province of Matanzas and eastern Guantanamo.

In high-risk areas, including the capital, a health intervention study of the two most advanced formulas of the five developed by Cuba against the coronavirus is being prepared: Abdala and Sovereign 02. More than 3 million Cubans, out of a population of 11.2 million, have at least one dose of these formulas after clinical trials and intervention studies conducted alongside that of health.

The Caribbean country has not purchased vaccines from the international market, nor is it part of the WHO Covax mechanism established to enable low- and middle-income countries to access them.

With information from AFP

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