The construction and installation of the Molecular Biology Laboratory of the province of Las Tunas is in its last phase, an effort that will allow this territory to have a center for the processing of COVID-19 tests and other researches in record time.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The Cuban News Agency (ACN) arrived at the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology to check the progress of the civil works, which just over a month ago was 50 percent complete, and are already immersed in the setting up of the electric network and of the first group of equipment that will be needed for its entry into operation.
Viviana Gámez Gámez, the center's main specialist, said that a first group of electromedical professionals arrived in the province this week to work on the installation and certification of high-tech equipment.
The technicians who will work in the healthcare unit have already been selected, who received training in the province of Holguín, and will exercise their knowledge in Clinical Laboratory, Microbiology, and other profiles to promote biomolecular studies in this territory, Gámez Gámez said.
The young expert also explained that it is expected to start with the processing of 500 PCR tests (Polymerase Chain Reaction) for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the COVID-19 pathogen; while Las Tunas, despite remaining among the provinces with a lower incidence of the disease, is currently facing a more complex epidemiological scenario.
After the second process of technological certification, carried out by the Pedro Kourí Institute, in Havana, this eastern Cuban territory will be ready to respond to the urgent needs imposed by the confrontation with COVID-19, and will also promote the development of research and specialties such as Oncology.
JOBABO: TWO NEW PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19
Jobabo.- Two new patients from this municipality were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Friday, adding up to seven cases in the last two weeks, all indigenous; while there is an accumulate of 11, taking into account the four from abroad previously registered.
They are a woman living in the rural settlement of Macagua 8 and a citizen of Las Margaritas. Their direct contacts were isolated to carry out the studies and the corresponding follow-up, and thus avoid a greater chain of contacts.
Elio Cobo, Deputy Director of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology in Jobabo, explained that all registered autochthonous cases have their source of infection outside the municipality, so it is not considered that there is a local transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
The autochthonous patients diagnosed so far are located in the Las 40 neighborhood, the rural settlements of Las Yolandas, Las Margaritas, Macagua, Ramírez; and a more recent one in the city center, the one that poses the highest epidemiological risk due to the demographic conditions. In all cases, the focus control has been carried out with the pertinent investigations and studies, according to the health protocol.
The case from Las 40 closed its study because all its contacts tested negative, the specialist clarified; however, the people involved are kept under observation to rule out possible risks.
