For the third day in a row, Cuba recorded a record of new infections and deaths from COVID-19

Cuba reported on Friday a daily recording of people infected and deceased by COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, at a time when the country is going through its worst epidemic of the disease given the presence of the Beta and Delta variants.

The increase in infections in the country, whose epicenter is the Western Province of Matanzas, comes after health officials announced Thursday that his vaccine Sovereign 02 of two injections, as well as a booster called Soberana More, showed an efficiency of 91.2% after advanced clinical trials against COVID-19.

Francisco Duran, Cuba’s leading epidemiologist, said the number of infected patients rose to 6,422 on Friday, while the number of deaths was 28 for a total of 1,451 deaths in 19 months.

“These are very unfavorable indicators (…) and the province of Matanzas faced with an extremely complex epidemiological situationDurán said during his usual televised press conference.

The nation broke its all-time high for patients diagnosed with the virus for the third day in a row. As of Wednesday and Thursday, it had reported 3,664 cases and 3,819 people with the disease, accumulating 18 and 26 deaths, respectively.

Matanzas is going through the most complex situation, registering the highest number of patients in one day, 3,559, and is on the verge of health collapse despite the fact that the government authorities launched an offensive with a contingent of doctors Yes nurses from other provinces, as well as the supply of equipment such as ventilators and medicines that were lacking.

Rebeca Jiménez, a 46-year-old housewife living in Matanzas, said that “There is great concern about the constant threat of the virus. “

“It’s super complicated here, there was a lot of indiscipline, the non-respect of protocols and also the lack of supplies“, He added.

In addition to Sovereign 02, Cuba has Abdala, another of the most advanced local candidates who showed an efficiency of 92.28%.

The country has five candidate vaccines in the pipeline. Abdala and Soberana 02 should be promptly cleared for emergency use by local regulators and submitted for approval to the World Health Organization.

(With information from Reuters)

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