Cuba: One month after first Covid-19 cases

The first cases of the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 in Cuba were diagnosed a month ago. They were three Italian tourists, and the number of patients now exceeds 500.

After the first carriers of the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Cuba, measures were taken gradually to minimize the spread of the pandemic in correspondence with the epidemiological situation, not only in this country, but also in the world.

One of those Italians died on March 18 of complications associated with the disease and other pathologies.

On March 28, the first Cuban patient, 52, a resident in Villa Clara province, died. He had returned from Spain on March 15.

The first patient discharged from hospital after being cured was a 25-year-old man from Villa Clara province. He was in turn the first Cuban who was diagnosed with the virus on March 16. The young man is the husband of a Bolivian citizen who had returned from Italy.

The first local contagion in Cuba was reported on March 27 in Matanzas province, by contacts of one of the cases diagnosed on March 21. He was an entertainer at a hotel in Varadero, whose source of contagion was a group of Italian tourists.

On April 7, the Ministry of Public Health announced the limited indigenous transmission of coronavirus in the country, a few positive cases in small areas that have not been linked to foreigners or Cuban travelers from abroad.

As part of the national protocol, new measures are already being implemented in Cuba, including isolation in some areas, capacities in laboratories are expanded, as well as the availability of beds in hospitals and particularly in intensive care units.

Cuban top authorities insist on social isolation as a way to curb the coronavirus pandemic and they have called to comply with the measures with order and discipline.