• Cuba reports the highest number of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic • Cuba reports 104 pregnant women with COVID-19 • New measures proposed to confront COVID-19 in Havana •
Cuba reports the highest number of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic
Havana, Cuba.- Cuba woke up Friday with the highest number of COVID-19 active cases ever admitted in hospitals, 2 118, and a new record of daily diagnoses with 344 patients.
Cuba currently accumulates 13 823 confirmed cases since the beginning of the epidemic last March.
The National Director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba, Dr. Francisco Durán, said that on Thursday, the island’s molecular biology laboratories processed 12 092 samples to detect Sars-Cov-2, a number that will be increased.
Durán added that 67, 4 % of the new cases were asymptomatic, and 46 were minors under 20 years.
The specialist urged the population to pay special attention to the protection of children.
Of the newly diagnosed cases, 91 were from Havana, 45 from Santiago de Cuba, 36 from Guantánamo, and 34 from Matanzas. The rest of the provinces also reporting numerous cases, completing the 344 reported in the day.
Cuba reports 104 pregnant women with COVID-19
Cuba has reported 104 pregnant women infected with COVID-19 since March 2020, the director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), Dr. Francisco Durán, informed on Friday.
At a press conference, the expert explained that so far, 17 postpartum women tested positive with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and two suffered from the disease while undergoing an ectopic pregnancy, a state in which the fertilized egg implants itself outside the uterus.
He also pointed out that the highest number of cases of pregnant women infected with the new coronavirus were from the provinces of Havana (53 women), Ciego de Ávila (18) and Pinar del Río (12).
He also confirmed that of all 104 COVID-19 positive pregnant women in Cuba, 20 percent were under 20 years of age, and 37 percent were diagnosed with between 14 and 27 weeks of pregnancy.
Regarding whether there is a higher risk of having the disease in those nine months, Dr. Duran explained that the danger of contagion is the same for everyone, but in the case of pregnant women, they do have a greater chance of developing serious forms of the disease.
So far, nine pregnant women in Cuba are active COVID-19 patients.
New measures proposed to confront COVID-19 in Havana
Deconcentrating points of sale of products to avoid crowds and resuming Medical Sciences students' participation in population screening are some of the measures proposed to the Provincial Defense Council (PDC) to control the upsurge of COVID-19 in Havana.
The provisions include reducing public celebrations, restricting activities in bars, private parties, and regulating restaurants' capacities.
Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, provincial director of Public Health, said that this could increase the perception of risk in the population and, consequently, limit the disease's transmission, reported Tribuna de La Habana newspaper.
The official also referred to the need to regulate relatives' and friends' access to José Martí International Airport, where there is still high affluence of people.
The administration of the medicine Nasalferon to travelers and family members will continue as part of the protocol to reach the most vulnerable groups, which began Wednesday in Boyeros and Diez de Octubre municipalities.
Reinaldo García Zapata, vice president of that governing body, said that, in the face of the pandemic, control must take precedence over care for travelers and the perception of danger in homes to comply with health protocols for visitors. (RHC / PL)
