COVID-19 cases and outbreaks have decreased notably in Havana in recent days, according to official reports from the island’s health authorities. At the close of this Tuesday, the Cuban capital reported only one new imported case: a traveler from the United States, who arrived in the country on October 22 through Santiago de Cuba, according to Tribuna de La Habana. The media points out that due to this there was a new outbreak in the municipality of Cotorro, where the case was detected. Now, the city of Havana has five outbreaks of the disease, three in the municipality of Centro Habana, one in Regla and the aforementioned Cotorro, while on Tuesday another three were closed in the city, as reported this Wednesday in a meeting of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP). In this same meeting, it was announced that currently in Havana there are only 52 hospitalized patients, of them 48 suspects and four positives, none of which are reported as critical or serious. The contacts of the sick and suspects are monitored in their homes by primary health care, in accordance with the provisions of the new plan to deal with COVID-19 in Cuba. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/havana-scenes-from-a-particular-de-escalation/ The current scenario marks...

Help us keep OnCuba alive SARS-CoV-2 virus infections decreased in Cuba this Wednesday. This time, the number of new positive cases reached 39, of which eight acquired the virus abroad, according to today’s report from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Of the total, 31 correspond to Cubans and eight to Venezuelans who are carriers of the virus upon arrival on the island and whose data is based on the records of Matanzas, a province that reported nine infections, of which eight were these cases with a source of infection abroad. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1321815772549783552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321815772549783552%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-39-nuevos-contagios-31-autoctonos-y-ocho-importados%2F The rest of the provinces that report new COVID-19 patients were Pinar del Río, with 32 cases in three municipalities, and a worse situation in Consolación del Sur; Sancti Spíritus, with four cases in the provincial capital and Ciego de Ávila, with three cases in the Ciro Redondo municipality. Of the total of cases, 30 were contacts of confirmed cases and the source of infection is not specified in only one individual. Male patients predominated over female patients (23-16) and, of this group, 25 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. There were no new deaths, 3,733 patients were hospitalized for surveillance and only five people remained in...

Help us keep OnCuba alive After a day in which contagions reached the highest peak in October, health authorities today reported 49 new positive cases in Cuba of the SARS-CoV-2 virus after having processed 8,201 samples in search of the disease. Of the total, 47 correspond to Cubans and two foreigners, both citizens of the United Kingdom residing in Cárdenas, Matanzas. In addition to these, a Cuban resident in Campechuela, Granma, and another from the Havana municipality, Cotorro, were the four cases of the day with a source of infection abroad. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1321462085310681093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321462085310681093%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-49-nuevos-casos-cuatro-de-ellos-importados-65-altas-en-el-dia%2F Of the rest, 43 were contacts of confirmed cases and in two individuals the source of infection is not specified. Patients of the female gender predominate over the male (10-39); and, of the total, 40 were asymptomatic. The territories that reported autochthonous cases were Pinar del Río (22 cases in six municipalities), Artemisa (one in Caimito), Sancti Spíritus (two in Cabaiguán) and Ciego de Ávila (20 in the provincial capital). At midnight yesterday, 3,928 patients were hospitalized. There were three patients in intensive care and they were reported in critical condition. There were no deaths on the day, and the number of fatalities from COVID-19 on the island...

Cuba confirmed that the 407 Western Union payment points in the country will close due to the sanctions recently announced by the Donald Trump administration, which prohibit the sending of remittances from the United States to the island through official channels. The financial services firm Fincimex denounced in a statement that remittances to Cuba “will be totally interrupted” by closing the Western Union offices, when the ban on sending money to the island through companies controlled by the Cuban Armed Forces comes into force on November 26. https://twitter.com/cimex_cuba/status/1321191683095187462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321191683095187462%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fwestern-union-cerrara-407-sucursales-en-cuba%2F Foreign companies that want to operate in Cuba must have a state counterpart. Western Union has monopolized the cash reception service on the island since 2016 through a partnership with Fincimex, linked to the military conglomerate GAESA. “The responsibility for the interruption of the remittance service between the two countries falls on the U.S. government,” said the Cuban state financier, after ensuring that the closure of Western Union will harm “the Cuban people and their families in the U.S.” The interruption of the flow of dollars via Western Union occurs at a particularly delicate moment: the balance of payments crisis in Cuba is today more serious than ever and the State is...

The Cuban Council of State approved a new Decree Law that establishes a new social security regime for workers in the Basic Units of Cooperative Production (UBPC), which will demand greater productivity from these entities and less dependence on the state budget. The deputy director of the National Institute of Social Security (INASS), Haydeé Franco, explained that the financing for this special regime will be made by the shared contribution of the cooperative member and the cooperative unit, according to Cubadebate. “Cooperative members are going to contribute 6% of the contribution base selected by them and it is up to the cooperative to contribute 14%, which determines a total contribution of 20%,” said Franco. The selection of the contribution base must be approved by the general assembly of the UBPC and will be in correspondence with the advances, profits and other income received by the cooperative member, she specified. https://twitter.com/MTSS_CUBA/status/1321097117117677570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321097117117677570%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fnuevo-regimen-de-seguridad-social-para-cooperativistas-cubanos-con-menos-dependencia-estatal%2F Decree Law No. 5 of 2020 establishes that in order to guarantee the social security of workers it is mandatory to join the special regime, for which the cooperative will designate a person who must register its members in the National Registry of Social Security and in the Taxpayers of...

The Cuban Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine candidate will soon begin its clinical trials in humans, after its approval by the island’s regulatory body. The Finlay Vaccine Institute, the scientific entity in charge of its preparation, announced this Tuesday that the vaccine received approval from the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) for the start of phase I clinical trials. “We are pleased to inform you that @CecmedCuba has approved the phase I clinical trial of the #Soberana02 vaccine candidate, based on a conjugate vaccine platform with a history in @FinlayInstituto. A know-how distinguishes us in the field of #preventive vaccines,“ the institution published on Twitter, although without specifying a possible date for the start of the tests. https://twitter.com/FinlayInstituto/status/1321122890775957504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321122890775957504%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fvacuna-cubana-soberana-02-contra-la-covid-19-recibe-aprobacion-para-ensayos-clinicos%2F Days ago, Dr. Vicente Vérez, general director of the Finlay Institute, had advanced the imminent approval of this vaccine candidate, the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency recalled, which explains that this vaccine, like Soberana 01, already in human trials, is a molecular or subunit product. However, following the specialist’s explanations, the agency clarifies that Soberana 02 is “the only conjugate vaccine in the project against the pandemic,” although it is not the first of its kind...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The new infections from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba rose to 83, according to the report issued today by the health authorities, in which it is said that the largest number of patients corresponds to the province of Pinar del Río, with 54 cases in six municipalities, and a worse situation in the provincial capital and the municipality of Sandino. The other territories in reporting patients were Artemisa (4 cases in Caimito), Havana (5 cases in two municipalities, including the imported ones), Sancti Spíritus (11 cases in four municipalities) and Ciego de Ávila (9 cases in two municipalities). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1321102480449638408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1321102480449638408%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-cuba-registra-83-nuevos-contagios-la-cifra-mas-alta-de-octubre%2F All the infections correspond to Cubans and, of the total, 81 were autochthonous, the same number of people were in contact with confirmed cases. Two had the source of infection abroad. Male patients predominated (57-26) and, of all of them, 52 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. At midnight this Monday, 3,858 people were hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance. Five people were reported in intensive care: one in critical condition and four in serious condition. On this day there were 22 discharges and no new deaths from the disease were reported, thus this figure remains...

The Cuba 1 team began with two wins and one draw in the chess tournament of the Online World University Championship of Sports of the Mind being held until October 30 with the participation of more than 30 countries. That team is headed by national monarch Carlos Daniel Albornoz. It is the best placed in America after beating Chile 1 4-0, Honduras 3-1 and closing the day with a two-way tie against Poland 2. Individually, Albornoz and Jorge Roberto Elías stood out with three wins each. Abel López, Rachel Palmero and Laritza Alfonso contributed one each in two presentations. Augusto Césa Campo lost in his only game. With these results, the Cuban team accumulated five of six possible points. Poland 1, Malaysia 1, Serbia, Belarus and China 1 were ranked one through five. Cuba 2 is in 33rd position with a win, a draw and a defeat, for a total of three units. Jorge Marcos Gómez and Leancy Fernández have the best individual results with two points each. Marlon Javier La Villa completed 1.5 and Karla July Fernández one. Melissa Rodriguez was scoreless in two matches. The contest, organized by the International Federation of University Sports (FISU), will have nine...

Some 240 tourists from the United Kingdom arrived in Varadero yesterday, after arriving in Cuba through the Juan Gualberto Gómez airport in Matanzas. The travelers, from the British city of Manchester, are staying at the Royalton and Iberostar Varadero hotels, both of the Cubanacán chain; as well as at the Playa Vista Azul, owned by the Gaviota group, according to Prensa Latina. https://twitter.com/PresidenciaCuba/status/1320516046797918211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320516046797918211%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fllegan-a-varadero-primeros-turistas-internacionales-tras-siete-meses-de-pausa-por-coronavirus%2F Dunesky González, director of the Gaviota Tours subsidiary in Varadero, described as “very important” the resumed commercial operation with the United Kingdom and with the Anglo-German tourist group TUI. “The British market in Varadero had an inflection in the last two years, and now it is recovering. On November 5, another TUI flight from London will be incorporated, which would increase them to two weekly frequencies, with 680 seats,” he highlighted. The representative of Gaviota also added that it is the takeoff of the European market and one of the TUI’s largest. Likewise, he stressed that the hotels are very well prepared, as well as the tour operators and the Ministry of Tourism, as the leading entity. The director of the Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology (CPHEM) of Matanzas, Fernando Acebo, explained that epidemiological hygienic conditions...

With the 31 discharges reported today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), 6,029 people have recovered from the SARS CoV-2 virus in Cuba during a day in which there were 29 new infections. All correspond to Cubans: 25 were contacts of confirmed cases, in two individuals the source of infection is not specified and two contracted the disease abroad. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1320729333204422661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320729333204422661%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fmas-de-seis-mil-personas-se-han-recuperado-de-la-covid-19-en-cuba%2F The imported cases directly affect the provinces of Las Tunas and Sancti Spíritus, although the latter territory also reported three autochthonous cases from two municipalities. In addition, cases were also reported by the territories of Pinar del Río (11 in two municipalities), Artemisa (11 in Caimito) and Ciego de Ávila (two in the provincial capital). Male patients predominated (19-10) and, of the total, 15 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. There were no deaths on the day due to COVID-19 and the number of deaths is still 128. At midnight yesterday, 3,623 patients remained hospitalized; five were in intensive care, one reported in critical condition, and four in serious condition. A total of 7,979 samples were studied this Sunday for the detection of new cases.

The Cuban Council of State approved two decree laws, No. 14 on Security and Mortgage and No. 15 on Guarantee Trust, which for now would not have implications for individuals on the island, according to the criteria of experts. The new norms, published in the Gaceta Oficial Extraordinaria No. 58 of the Republic of Cuba, will make possible the use of commercial guarantees to support the granting of external financing related to foreign investment, the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency reported. The actors of these norms will not be individuals, but entities: state enterprises, commercial associations with totally Cuban capital and the different modalities of foreign investment that exist in Cuba. Its main purpose is to provide confidence and security to investors on the return of the financial amount provided in credit to start a business on the island. https://oncubanews.com/en/opinion/columns/counterbalance/foreign-direct-investment-and-organization/ La Gaceta Oficial states that the decree laws aim to “promote the use of the security by individuals and legal entities in the field of their economic relations, extend it to rights, as well as make it possible the shares security and expand the use of the real estate mortgage, as collateral, to other sectors and activities.” For his...

Just a few days before Election Day, Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in what they predict as one of the highest-turnout elections in U.S. history. Although confidence in the polls declined after Hillary Clinton’s defeat four years ago, according to a Cook Political Report, on October 1 Biden would win the election with 290 electoral votes. According to The Economist, on October 6, 2020, Biden would win with 340 electoral votes. https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/450574/   It will only be known for sure after November 3. But how did the states vote in 2016? How many electoral votes does each state contribute? What are electoral votes and how is the president actually elected?  *Caption: Elections in the United States 2016 Winning Party by State Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s cartographic boundary shapefiles, 2016 edition To begin answering these questions, we present the following map with the results of the past elections. In each state you can see which party was the winner and how many electoral votes each state contributes. Swing States o Estados Bisagra: Swing States: The swing states of the presidential elections in the United States are highly contested states. There the electoral polls do not give a clear advantage to any...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 32 new patients confirmed with COVID-19 on the island―four of them foreigners―after studying 7,872 PCR samples in real time this Saturday. The total number of those infected by the new coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic in Cuba rose to 6,566, while the number of deaths from the disease remains at 128. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1320364785402347522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320364785402347522%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporta-32-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-y-ningun-fallecido%2F The cases diagnosed with the disease yesterday belong to the provinces of Pinar del Río (13), Ciego de Ávila (7), Sancti Spíritus (6), Havana (2) and Matanzas, which registers four imported cases, all Venezuelan citizens. Of the new cases, 27 were contacts of previously confirmed patients, four were infected abroad and in one of them the source of infection has not been specified. According to the official MINSAP report, at the end of Saturday 3,853 patients remained hospitalized, of which 438 are active cases, 830 suspected of having contracted the disease and another 2,585 are under epidemiological surveillance. Six patients are in intensive care units: an 86-year-old woman in critical condition and another five in serious condition. Yesterday, 73 people were discharged from hospital after recovering from the disease, indicated the daily report...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 55 new cases of coronavirus at the close of this Friday, 36 of which are autochthonous and 19 imported. Thus, the number of infected on the island rose to 6,534. In addition, no deaths were reported on the day and 26 discharges were registered, so the number of fatalities from COVID-19 on the island remained at 128 and the number of recovered reached 5,927. According to the MINSAP report, 3,771 patients are hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance, of which 798 are suspects, 2,494 are under surveillance and 479 are confirmed cases. Of the active cases, 474 present a stable clinical evolution, while two critically ill and three seriously ill patients are reported. The number of evacuated persons since the beginning of the pandemic remains at two. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1320001825995739136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320001825995739136%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporta-55-nuevos-casos-de-coronavirus-19-de-ellos-importados%2F As for the new cases, 38 are Cubans and 17 foreigners, all from Venezuela, who were detected upon arrival in the western province of Matanzas. Among all the patients, 33 are contacts of confirmed cases, in three it has not been possible to specify the source of infection and 19 arrived from abroad, since the Venezuelans are joined by two...

Chinese companies could invest in the Cuban postal sector, according to what was announced this Friday at a meeting of the Asian country’s ambassador in Havana, Chen Xi, and the president of Correos de Cuba, Carlos Asensio Valerino. At the meeting, officials from both countries assessed “the possibility of executing investment projects by companies from that Asian country to modernize the postal graphics and the postal processing plant of Correos de Cuba,” according to a note from the island’s Ministry of Comunicaciones, which does not mention names of possible interested companies. In addition, during the meeting―which took place in a “fraternal, transparent and mutual cooperation” environment―“the exchange of experiences and good practices in electronic commerce, and the reconciliation of postal exchange between the postal operators of both nations” was also dealt with. According to the note, the Chinese ambassador “thanked Correos de Cuba for the support received for the postal cancellation carried out recently, on the occasion of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relations between Cuba and China.” Precisely in the context of this anniversary, commemorated on September 28, the governments of Cuba and China signed an agreement to acquire steel products for repair, maintenance and...

Cuban translators and interpreters will now be able to work officially as self-employed workers thanks to the entry into force last week of regulations that “extend these activities to private management and guarantee their quality,” the official Granma newspaper confirmed this Thursday. For this reason, the Cuban foreign minister summoned those interested in offering private translation and interpretation services to take annual examinations for their certification in the English, French and Portuguese, Italian, Russian and German languages, the publication said. The general director of the Translators and Interpreters Services (ESTI), Otto Vaillant, quoted by Granma, announced that these evaluations will be carried out next January 1-31. https://twitter.com/CubaMINREX/status/1317084196398137346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317084196398137346%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Ftraductores-e-interpretes-cubanos-podran-certificarse-para-trabajar-por-cuenta-propia%2F “It is the first call for certification exams for translators and interpreters in Cuba, from whose execution a public figure is born, already recognized in other countries, with a signature and stamp of legal value, since the license that until now is granted to self-employed translators is not recognized in the case of official documents. That possibility is now granted by this resolution,” explained Vaillant. The tests are intended to issue three types of certification: one for Translation, another for Interpretation and the third for both activities. In the latter case, the evaluated...

The Haitian airline Sunrise Airways announced the resumption of its commercial connections  with Cuba, after seven months of interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Prensa Latina. If they receive the approval of the Cuban authorities, the airline would begin its flights as of November 1 between Port-au-Prince and Santiago de Cuba on a daily basis; meanwhile, it would cover the route between the Haitian capital and Holguín three times a week, the source indicated. https://twitter.com/SunriseAirways/status/1318893360392900610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1318893360392900610%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Faerolinea-haitiana-anuncia-reanudacion-de-vuelos-a-cuba%2F The airline plans to resume flights to Havana and Camagüey in December. Sunrise Airways announced that it will use 19-seat Jetstream 32-type aircraft in its operations with Cuba. The company began its flights to the island in February 2017, and since then it has maintained stable connections with the Cuban travelers’ market, motivated by the prices of products bought in Haiti and in high demand on the island. According to the source, Sunrise also connects Havana with Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/el-mercado-cubano-de-puerto-principe/ After the pause forced by the complex international epidemiological situation, the company restarted flights on July 3, with the application of new health protocols that have the health of passengers as a priority, its executives said. Haiti has reported...

Help us keep OnCuba alive In a press conference, Dr. Francisco Durán reported this Friday that yesterday the SARS-CoV-2 virus left 58 new infections in Cuba, identified in four territories among which Pinar del Río continues to present the highest number of contagions, 29 this time. In fact, it is the province with the most COVID-19 patients in the last 15 days, according to Durán, who stressed that, due to the 193 cases registered in this period, the incidence rate of the westernmost territory is now 33.06 per 100,000 inhabitants. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1319640655812042753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1319640655812042753%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-pinar-del-rio-con-el-peor-rebrote-de-los-ultimos-quince-dias%2F “Actually, what happens in Pinar del Río is the consequence of the high transmissibility of the disease,” said Durán, who added, “Perhaps there was not enough surveillance in some places to detect it on time.” The other provinces that presented infections this time, and of which details are found in the report, were Artemisa (19 cases in one municipality: Caimito), Sancti Spíritus (seven from two territories, the main municipality and Cabaiguán) and Ciego de Ávila (three in the main municipality). The new contagions correspond to Cubans and all of the cases were autochthonous: 57 were contacts of confirmed cases and only in one individual the source of infection is...

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla affirmed this Thursday that the United States' economic embargo on the island has reached “unprecedented levels” in recent times and has been reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The blockade reaches unprecedented levels and in the last two years it has included actions that classify as unconventional measures, inappropriate for peacetime, and increase our people’s suffering,” said Rodríguez when presenting to the press the annual report on the impact of the U.S. embargo between April 2019 and March 2020. Among those actions, the Cuban foreign minister cited “the possibility of establishing lawsuits under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, the increase in the persecution of Cuba’s financial and commercial transactions; the ban on flights from the U.S. to all Cuban provinces, with the exception of Havana; and the persecution and intimidation of companies that send fuel supplies to Cuba.” According to the foreign minister, in the period of time included in the report, the effects caused by Washington’s policy towards Cuba for the first time exceeded the 5 billion barrier in one year (5.570.3 billion), a figure that, however, does not yet consider the actions of the U.S. government in the context of the pandemic...

The Panamanian airline Copa Airlines will carry out two flights from Havana’s José Martí International Airport to Panama, the first of whichtook off this Wednesday, official Cuban media reported. These flights will take place despite the fact that the Cuban capital’s air terminal has not yet restarted its regular operations, given that the province is still in phase 3 of post-COVID-19 recovery. Upon arrival at its destination, the CM0372 aircraft will connect with airports in Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, the United States, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and Canada, reported Nelson Cabrera, Sales executive of the Panamanian airline, quoted by the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency. https://twitter.com/ServacCuba/status/1318899875610828800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1318899875610828800%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcopa-airlines-realizara-dos-vuelos-la-habana-panama%2F The same plane will repeat the Havana-Panama route on October 29, and will subsequently have connections with terminals in Sao Paulo, Guayaquil, New York, Miami, Mexico City and Santiago de Chile, according to the source. Cabrera explained that the airline’s tickets are for sale in its commercial offices and on digital sites, and advised passengers to check the travel requirements before boarding, especially those related to health and biosecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Panama reopened its borders to international travelers on October 12, but its authorities established strict sanitary measures to enter that country....

Help us keep OnCuba alive One deceased and 53 new contagions is the balance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba during the last 24 hours, according to the report from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), which today shows the complicated situation of Pinar del Río, from where most of the cases were reported. The deceased resided in Guane, an 88-year-old man, with whom the number of fatalities from COVID-19 on the island rises to 128. The situation is so complex in Pinar del Río that all its municipalities reported cases this time. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1319283684369838082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1319283684369838082%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-un-fallecido-y-53-nuevos-contagios-la-mayoria-de-pinar-del-rio%2F On the contrary, Ciego de Ávila has managed to reduce the number of infections to only one positive, circumscribed to the provincial capital. The rest of the provinces with reported cases: Havana, four from two municipalities, one of them is the imported case (a French citizen residing in Playa); and Sancti Spíritus, 10 from two municipalities. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/pinar-del-rio-retrocede-a-la-fase-de-transmision-de-la-covid-19-por-rebrote-de-la-enfermedad/ Of the total, 52 were contacts of confirmed cases and one had the source of infection abroad. Male patients predominate again (42-11), and of the total of cases, 43 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. At midnight yesterday, the number of hospitalized patients had risen to 3,263 and...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Four provinces in the western and central regions reported yesterday the 63 new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba, according to today’s report from the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). The majority were diagnosed in Pinar del Río, where the detected cases from five municipalities totaled 41. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1318917522180243456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1318917522180243456%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporta-63-nuevos-casos-de-coronavirus-41-en-pinar-del-rio%2F It is followed by Havana, a territory that has again reported infections (eight, from three municipalities), Ciego de Ávila (eight, from the main municipality) and Sancti Spíritus (six from two municipalities). All the cases correspond to Cubans and were autochthonous, according to the report issued by MINSAP. Again, male patients predominated (42-21) and, of the total, 43 were asymptomatic. At midnight yesterday, 3,300 people remained hospitalized, while five patients, in hospitals in Pinar del Río, Havana and Sancti Spíritus, were still in intensive care: two in critical condition and three in serious condition. Yesterday, 6,719 samples were processed in search of the new coronavirus, according to MINSAP, and only eight people were discharged.

The 4th The Nation and Emigration Conference, initially scheduled for last April and which had to be postponed due to COVID-19, still doesn’t have a defined date for its holding. However, “interest in holding it continues,” Ernesto Soberón, general director of Consular Affairs and Cubans Residing Abroad of the island’s Foreign Ministry, said to OnCuba. “With the level of uncertainty that still exists about the pandemic, with outbreaks in several countries and the complex situation that we had in Cuba in recent months that we are already leaving behind, we will have to wait a little longer to define a date when it’s considered prudent to implement it,” Soberón replied to a question from our media at a press conference held this Monday. According to the diplomat, when it was decided to postpone the event―which seeks to promote a dialogue between the Cuban authorities and the emigration―“there was a significant number of Cubans who had expressed their interest in attending from a diverse number of countries.” For this reason, and taking into account the current scenario, the government of the island is considering it will wait until a time when there’s “normal flights and when everyone who wants to participate...

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) confirmed this Monday that the collection of the extension for Cubans’ stay abroad beyond the 24 months established by law will remain suspended until “normality is achieved in terms of regular flights.” “The key factor will be when we return to normal in terms of regular flights, because ultimately what a Cuban citizen needs to be able to return to the country is a flight,” said Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, general director of Consular Affairs and Cuban Residents Abroad of MINREX, in response to OnCuba during a press conference. The suspension of the collection of the extension, which allows those who have exceeded the time established by the island’s immigration law to maintain residence in Cuba, had been decreed last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its objective then, explained Soberón, was “to guarantee that Cubans who were abroad when flights between Cuba and abroad became difficult due to the pandemic, maintain their permanent residence in Cuba without having to carry out any consular procedures or go to any consulate, since it was a situation that was beyond these citizens’ will.” However, recently the Cuban consulates restored the tariff for each month of extension...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The SARS-CoV-2 virus added 47 new contagions to Cuba during the last 24 hours. None of them were detected in Havana, but in the territories of Pinar del Río and Sancti Spíritus, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Pinar del Río leads the territories by number of new patients; 31 from three municipalities, although most of the cases (26) correspond to the provincial capital. For its part, Sancti Spíritus had 16 cases in three municipalities. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1318561116788805634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1318561116788805634%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-con-47-nuevos-contagios-por-coronavirus-ninguno-en-la-habana%2F Meanwhile, of the seven patients in intensive care until midnight yesterday, two of them remained in Pinar del Río hospitals; five, the cases reported as serious, were from Havana and from Sancti Spíritus. All new cases correspond to Cubans and were autochthonous: 45 are contacts of confirmed cases and in two individuals the source of infection is not specified. 28 individuals were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis and by gender, males predominated (39-8). With the 26 discharges of the day, in which no fatalities were reported from COVID-19, 5,806 people have already recovered from the disease on the island. Until yesterday, 2,959 people were still hospitalized. The number of samples processed...