Cuba has recorded more than 8,850 cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, its highest number since the start of the pandemic

The Cuban Ministry of Health reported 8,853 new cases of coronavirus this Sundays, the highest figure since the health crisis caused by the pandemic erupted in March 2020.

Cuban health authorities said that among the new infections, 8,787 are of community transmission and 16 others from abroad, while the other 50 are of unknown origin.

The highest number of cases recorded in the last 24 hours were recorded in the provinces of Havana, with 1,481 positives, Matanzas, with 1,461, and Guantanamo, with 1,181.

So far, 332,968 accumulated cases have been counted, of which 2,351 remain in people who have failed to overcome the disease. There are also 60,467 others who remain hospitalized, of which 153 are in critical condition.

In the latest part of the Ministry of Health, 80 new deaths are reported, most of them in the province of Ciego de Ávila, in the center of the island. Health authorities have also confirmed 6,147 medical discharges during the last day, so there are already 288,414 patients recovered, or 86.6% of the accumulated total.

More than 3 million Cubans of the 11.2 million who live on the island have received at least one dose of these formulas in clinical trials and intervention studies developed alongside that of health.

The Cuban dictatorship has not purchased vaccines on the international market, nor is it part of the WHO Covax mechanism created to allow low and middle income countries to access them.

Hospital collapse and alarming drug shortage

#SOSCuba and #SOSMatanzas have become a social media trend in recent weeks due to the undeniable crisis Cuba is going through, even when Miguel Díaz-Canel’s regime is doing everything possible to ensure that the Cuban call for help is not heard outside the island.

The trend started in the week before the outbreak of the protests, when The province of Matanzas (east of Havana) was on the brink of health collapse due to the uncontrolled increase in COVID-19 cases, with more than 1,300 per 100,000 inhabitants, a situation made worse by the shortage of medicines, food and hygiene products..

Some people spontaneously coordinated the campaign #SOSMatanzas via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp to collect money, medical equipment, food and other supplies and send them to the affected places. The initiative was later joined by civil society organizations, government and citizens from Cuba, Spain, England, Ecuador, the United States and other countries who organized themselves in solidarity and They demand a humanitarian corridor in the face of the health emergency.

In addition, for donations within the island, the organizers have set up several collection points, such as the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, the Clandestina store, the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue or the Faculty of Economics of the University of Havana. And the Argentine-Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner and the Puerto Rican reggaeton players Ozuna and Rauw Alejandro have finished giving visibility to the collapse that Cuba is going through..

“The situation is only getting worse with the days”, said a few days ago to Infobae neurosurgeon Alexandre pupo, one of the most prominent critics of the island’s healthcare system. “In Cuba, COVID-19 really affects along with other epidemics, such as scabies and famine, which is criminal”, he claimed.

“It’s total chaos. Here everything has collapsed, the health system of the whole country is in full collapse “added the doctor Manuel Guerra, an obstetrician at the Buenaventura Polyclinic in Holguín, also known for his frequent complaints on social networks.

Massive protests

Organizations and activists estimate the number of detainees since the July 11 protests at several hundred, most of whom remain in prison – awaiting charges or not – and others have been released.

In the last days, it has been learned that twelve Cubans arrested during the J-11 protests were tried in summary trials and were sentenced to terms of 10 months to one year in prison, as reported by relatives of the accused.

Today marks 13 days ago Thousands of Cubans will demonstrate in the streets of different towns on the island – the largest in six decades – in protest against shortages of food, medicine and other essentials and long blackouts.

(With information from Europa Press)

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