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OnCuba editorial staff

OnCuba Staff

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Coronavirus in Cuba: 224 new infections, and “there is tension,” says Dr. Durán

Once again, Dr. Francisco Durán is appearing at a press conference every day. The high number of infections by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has forced his daily presence on television. Today he reported 224 new positive cases, a figure much lower than yesterday, although he warns that “there is tension.” “Transmission has spread to territories where there hadn’t been for months. There is tension,” said Durán, who is the national director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Of the total number of cases, which correspond to the closing of Monday, January 4, 123 were autochthonous and 101 imported, an essential element for the situation that the island is experiencing and to which, in the words of the specialist, are added the result of the end of the year festivities, during which not everyone complied with the indicated measures. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1346471841557147649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346471841557147649%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-224-nuevos-contagios-y-hay-tension-dice-el-dr-duran%2F In fact, of the 123 autochthonous cases, the COVID-19 detected in 40 individuals is related to imported cases, while 56.1% were contacts of confirmed cases. In general, of the 224 positive cases identified this Monday, 198 were Cubans and 26 were foreigners. The territories with the highest total infection records are Matanzas (51), Havana (33), Guantánamo (33), Villa Clara...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Coronavirus in Cuba: infections in one day surge to 316

On the third day of the year, the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 361 new infections due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all the provinces of the island and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. Of the total number of cases corresponding to the day of January 3 and reported by the MINSAP this Monday, 127 had a source of infection abroad, 172 were contacts of confirmed cases and in 17 individuals the cause of contagion is not specified. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1346125233468674048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346125233468674048%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-contagios-en-un-dia-se-disparan-a-316%2F The territories where the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases were reported, which include both imported and autochthonous cases, were Havana (76), Matanzas (66), Villa Clara (31), Santiago de Cuba (22) and Camagüey (20). By gender, 148 are female and 168 are male. 66% of the total were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, 21 had not reached the age of 20; 113 are in the range of 20 to 39; 138 from 40 to 59 and 44 exceed 60. Meanwhile, the MINSAP report highlights that 161 people were discharged during the day, with which 10,837 have already recovered. For this diagnosis, 10,024 tests were processed. The country already exceeds a million and a...

Cuba: five issues that marked 2020 (+ video)

The year that ended has been extremely complex, not only for Cuba but for the entire planet. The COVID-19 pandemic affected millions throughout the world―of which more than a million and a half died―and shook the economy, society, culture, and the rest of human activities. But on the island, other events also marked the 2020 news agenda. These are, from OnCuba’s perspective, five of the most relevant issues of what has been experienced in the largest of the Caribbean islands in the last 12 months. 1- COVID-19 Nothing has generated more news and impacted the lives of Cubans this year than the coronavirus pandemic. Since the detection of the first cases on March 11, the country has gone through periods of an increased number of cases, and others of control, with local and national closure and de-escalation measures, which have affected production and services, tourism, transportation and education, among other activities, and have multiplied the queues and troubles on the island. In general, the health strategy applied in Cuba has shown its effectiveness and has allowed the number of infections and fatalities to be kept far from global averages, even in stages of rebound such as the one the country...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Cuba begins 2021 with more than 12,000 coronavirus infections

Cuba exceeded 12,000 infections after the detection of 193 people positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus yesterday. Thus, 2020 closed for the island with 12,056 since the first cases of the new coronavirus were detected in March. Of the total of those identified on December 31, 106 were autochthonous and 87 imported, both with increases in the last week, according to Dr. Francisco Durán in his press conference from the television studios. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1345026039425200128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1345026039425200128%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-inicia-2021-con-mas-de-12000-contagios-por-coronavirus%2F In fact, of the 2,192 infections registered in the final fifteen days of December, 1,166 were imported, mainly from nations such as the United States, Mexico, Russia, India and Spain. In this sense, Durán recalled that due to such increases, next January 10 measures such as the requirement of a negative PCR with 72 hours in advance for travelers arriving in the national territory are coming into force. The provision was announced the previous week and is in correspondence with the statistics for December, the month with the highest number of infections (3,675) since the first cases of this pandemic were reported in Cuba. The number of people with COVID-19 today represents 0.81% of the total samples processed in search of the virus, 1,490,767. Regarding the effects by...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Cuba bids farewell to 2020 with 176 new cases and one death from COVID-19

The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 176 new cases this Thursday and another death from COVID-19. In this way, the island reaches the last day of 2020 with 11,863 confirmed infections and 146 fatalities from the disease. In addition, 122 discharges were given yesterday, with which there are now 10,125 recovered patients, 85.3% of the total cases registered to date. 3,193 people related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were admitted to Cuban hospitals, 631 of them suspects, 982 under surveillance and 1,580 confirmed. Of these, 1,558 have a stable clinical evolution, while 22 are being treated in ICUs: 12 are in critical condition and 10 in serious condition, according to the MINSAP’s most recent report. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1344669021304717313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1344669021304717313%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-despide-el-ano-con-176-nuevos-casos-y-un-fallecido-por-la-covid-19%2F Of the 176 new infections, 91 are contacts of confirmed cases, 80 have their source of infection abroad and in five the source of infection had not been specified. Furthermore, 86 of the patients are female and 90 male, while 77.8% (137) were asymptomatic at the time of detection. By age group, 18 are under 20 years old, 63 are between 20 and 39, 71 between 40 and 59, and 24 are over 60 years old. While by territory, Havana once again led...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

2020: the year of the pandemic

Nothing has marked 2020 more than the COVID-19 pandemic. In the world and also in Cuba. It has been long months of fear and death, of adaptation and effort, of shock and hope. And it still seems a long way from the end of this unexpected and painful story. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has changed existence as we knew it, it has turned an already convulsed and unequal planet upside down, and has forced humanity to pull itself together, to concentrate its efforts in the same direction, to rethink its works and conceptions, to value day by day the immeasurable treasure that health and life constitute. Cuba can boast of its achievements in confronting the pandemic; of the great work of its doctors, scientists, authorities, volunteers; of its successful protocols and health strategies; of its low, contained figures, if compared with those of almost the whole world; of its contributions to other nations to face the disease; but it cannot be satisfied with this. Since March, 11,687 people have been infected on the island and 145 have died from COVID-19.* This is not news to celebrate, although more than 10,000 have already recovered and Cuban medicine and science have avoided more...

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla gives a press conference in Havana. Photo:
Otmaro Rodríguez/Archive.

Cuba could be included in list of countries that sponsor terrorism, Bruno Rodríguez denounces

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced this Wednesday an alleged maneuver by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to include Cuba in the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The island’s foreign minister wrote on his Twitter account that with this move Pompeo seeks to “please the anti-Cuba minority in Florida.” https://twitter.com/BrunoRguezP/status/1344292995802267648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1344292995802267648%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fcuba-podria-ser-incluida-en-lista-de-paises-promotores-del-terrorismo-denuncia-bruno-rodriguez%2F Rodríguez added that “the United States guarantees refuge and impunity to terrorist groups that act against Cuba from its territory.” According to The New York Times, Pompeo has three weeks to decide whether to include the island again on that list, which would limit the possibilities of President-elect Joe Biden to reverse Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions. The proposal to re-designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism came from the State Department’s Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, not from its Counter-Terrorism Office, which would generally be involved in such measures, American officials told the source. The designation of the country on that list―which currently only includes North Korea, Iran and Syria―would trigger a series of immediate sanctions against the Cuban government, the report indicates. Cuba was included in the list of state sponsors of terrorism for the first time in 1982, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez/Archive.

Cuba reports two deaths from COVID-19 and 86 new cases with the disease

Cuba reported two deaths due to COVID-19 and 86 new cases diagnosed with the disease this Tuesday, reported the director of Epidemiology of the island’s Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Francisco Durán, in a morning press conference. Until the close of yesterday, 3,272 patients were hospitalized, 712 of them suspects and 1,529 active cases, the highest number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus hospitalized since the epidemic began in Cuba. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1344324735908388864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1344324735908388864%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporta-dos-muertes-por-covid-19-y-86-nuevos-casos-con-la-enfermedad%2F Durán explained that one of the deceased was a Cuban traveler residing in the United States who arrived on the island on December 8. The two real-time PCR tests that were performed, in accordance with the protocol established for these cases, were negative for COVID-19. On December 13, he was hospitalized with symptoms, four days later the presence of the virus was diagnosed, but he had a torpid evolution of the disease, suffered a respiratory arrest on the 28th and died yesterday. The epidemiologist expert also referred to the death of another Cuban patient, from the Guanabacoa municipality of the capital, who presented symptoms on December 16, two days later he was hospitalized and the test that detects the disease came out positive. As of the 27th, he began...

ETECSA extends offers implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Otmaro
Rodríguez.

ETECSA reports services to be affected at end of year

The state communications monopoly in Cuba announced alterations in various services during the end of the year and beginning of the next, as part of the configuration work in the systems to adapt them to the new rates included in the monetary and exchange rate reorganization. “From six o’clock in the evening on December 30, the electronic payment Trasnfermóvil platform will be disabled,” ETECSA specified on its social networks, where it warned that said application will work again as of January 1 with a new version, expiring the previous ones. The other effects are concentrated in the voice and SMS services of the telephony in the period between five and six in the morning of the first day of 2021. In that same period, wireless connections will not be available in the different Wi-Fi points of the country, as well as domestic traffic through the Nauta Hogar home internet and recharges to any of these services. https://twitter.com/ETECSA_Cuba/status/1343653933785505794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343653933785505794%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fetecsa-informa-afectaciones-de-servicios-en-fin-de-ano%2F On the other hand, communications by pre-paid cards will be deactivated between five and nine in the morning of January 1. Navigation by mobile data packages, land telephony and emergency calls from cell phones to ambulances (104), firefighters (105) and police (106) will...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Coronavirus in Cuba: number of patients in ICUs increases

The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 167 infections of the new coronavirus on Tuesday, so the number of confirmed on the island amounted to 11,601, while 78 medical discharges were reported. Although there were no deaths at the close of Monday, December 28, the number of patients in ICUs continues to increase. The MINSAP report specified that there are 1,573 active cases in the country, one of the highest figures registered in the country since the start of the pandemic last March. This is the result of a run of 13 consecutive days with at least 100 positive cases, with caps on December 23 and 27, when 217 and 229 cases were reported, respectively. Of the 1,573 active cases, 1,559 have a stable clinical evolution, while 14 people are in serious condition and 10 in critical condition, including a 73-year-old Italian citizen who is in a coma, although he is declared as in a stable critical condition. According to the health authorities, a total of 3,207 patients are hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance and there are 634 suspects, while another 1,000 are under surveillance through the primary healthcare system. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1343935116062715906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343935116062715906%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-aumenta-la-cantidad-de-pacientes-en-terapias%2F According to official sources, a 1,448,906 diagnostic tests...

Workers at the Havana airport take the temperature of a female traveler after the restart of
regular operations, suspended for months due to the pandemic. Photo: EFE/Yander
Zamora/Archive.

Coronavirus: Cuba reduces international flights to curb increase in imported cases

As of January 1, the Cuban authorities will reduce the entry of travelers from six nations, all from the Caribbean, Central and North America, with the aim of curbing the increase in imported cases of COVID-19, as reported this Monday by Dr. Francisco Durán García, national director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). The measure, announced at a press conference and published on the MINSAP website, applies to personnel from the United States, Mexico, Panama, Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, from where the highest number of imported cases is registered, 71.5 % of all positive cases detected in recent weeks, mostly corresponding to Cuban citizens. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1343570657154625536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343570657154625536%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-cuba-reduce-vuelos-internacionales-para-frenar-aumento-de-casos-importados%2F To put this provision into practice, Cuban Civil Aeronautics authorities and the airlines involved are readjusting the details and, according to the state newspaper Granma, “as soon as the epidemiological situation allows it, the frequency of flights will be gradually restored.” In addition to reducing the entry of travelers from these nations, a negative PCR test was established as a mandatory requirement for international travelers, to be carried out 72 hours before their trip. This measure will come into force as of January 10, 2021. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/cuba-exigira-pcr-negativo-a-los-viajeros-internacionales-en-2021/ The note adds that,...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Coronavirus: Cuba marks another record with 229 infections in one day

The cases related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba did not decrease in December, which has been breaking all records since the first cases were reported. The last, related to new infections, had been registered on the 23rd, but the 229 positive cases reported today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) exceed this number by twelve patients. To this figure, determined by the 136 imported, is added a new deceased with which there are already 143 fatalities due to the pandemic on the island. It is a 75-year-old Cuban living in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, whose details can be found in the December 27 report. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1343612893569445891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1343612893569445891%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-cuba-marca-otro-record-con-229-contagios-en-una-jornada%2F On this day, 13 625 samples were processed. In addition to those who had the source of contagion abroad, 88 were contacts of confirmed cases and only in five the origin of the disease was not specified. Of the total, 82.5% were asymptomatic. Except for the Isla de la Juventud, all provinces reported COVID-19 patients today, although the territories with the highest numbers are Havana (60 cases), Matanzas (27), Santiago de Cuba (22), Guantánamo (14) and Artemisa (13). https://oncubanews.com/cuba/coronavirus-cuba-reduce-vuelos-internacionales-para-frenar-aumento-de-casos-importados/ There were 19 patients in intensive care: nine reported in...

Who left us in 2020?

This 2020 saw the death of Cuban personalities who marked the lives of their contemporaries in their time. Artists, writers, musicians, teachers, actors, editors and admired athletes left us in the year that is now ending, either inside or outside the island where they were born and raised. To them, our heartfelt remembrance, gratitude and tribute. January Silvia Rodríguez (ballet). Cardinal figure in the teaching of ballet in Cuba, she died in Havana. She dedicated herself to teaching this discipline from an early age. Director of the Alejo Carpentier Provincial Ballet School and teacher at the Alicia Alonso National Ballet School, as well as a dance art teacher at the Higher Institute of Art. She was trained as a teacher under the aegis of maestro Fernando Alonso, founder together with Alicia Alonso of the National Ballet of Cuba. https://oncubanews.com/cultura/danza/fallece-silvia-rodriguez-figura-esencial-en-la-ensenanza-del-ballet-en-cuba/ Serafín “Tato” Quiñones (researcher, essayist, screenwriter, editor and cultural promoter). He passed away in Havana at the age of 77. A true authority in popular religions of African origin, in particular in the knowledge and study of the Abakuá religious-cultural complex, to which he dedicated a good part of his intellectual work, specified–among other titles–in an essential one: Ecorie abakuá: cuatro...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Varadero beach resort takes extreme security measures due to increase in coronavirus cases in Cuba

Varadero beach resort in the province of Matanzas remains without outbreaks or cases of COVID-19, despite the increase in the country of positive cases of the new coronavirus, with a high incidence in travelers from other countries. Ivis Fernández Peña, delegate of the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) in the province, highlighted that this favorable situation is due to joint work by MINTUR and the Ministry of Public Health, which allows greater confidence of the island’s main tourist markets. The increase in air flow confirms these results, the official told the country’s state media, which increases the commitment to quality and biosafety levels for guests visiting the facilities in that territory. https://twitter.com/AgenciaANSA/status/1342913081278652416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1342913081278652416%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fbalneario-de-varadero-extrema-medidas-de-seguridad-ante-incremento-de-casos-de-coronavirus-en-cuba%2F Since the restart of the hotel and recreation facilities in June and until the month of November, the Matanzas province tourist destination has welcomed close to a million visitors, of them more than 69,000 foreigners, in the 21 hotels that reopened with strict sanitary protocols. At Varadero’s Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport, extreme hygienic-sanitary measures are also being taken to maintain the positive pattern in the face of the increase in new cases in the world and especially on the island, registered in recent days. From physical distancing, proper...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Cuba: Ministry of Public Health reports 11,205 confirmed cases of coronavirus

According to the new report of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), until yesterday December 26 in Cuba there were 11,205 patients with COVID-19. 1,350 remain hospitalized, of them 1,332 with a stable clinical evolution. 142 deaths are reported, two evacuated, six were returned to their countries, there were 106 discharges, there is a total of 9,705 recovered patients (86.6%). 18 patients are in intensive care, 9 of them in critical condition and 9 in serious condition. Of the total of yesterday’s cases (167), 70 were contacts of confirmed cases, 89 with a source of infection abroad, and eight without an identified source of infection. Of the 167 cases diagnosed, 86 were female and 81 male. 74.3% (124) of the 167 positive cases were asymptomatic, there is a total of 7,326, which represents 65.4% of those confirmed to date. The 167 cases diagnosed belong to the age groups: under 20 years, 21 (12.6%); from 20 to 39 years, 60 (35.9%); from 40 to 59 years, 69 (41.3%); 60 and over, 17 (10.2%).

Two people walk wearing masks in Havana, as protection against the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Cuba exceeds 11,000 thousand patients infected with COVID-19, with 138 new cases

This December 25, Cuba registered 138 new cases of COVID-19 to exceed 11,000 patients (11,038) since the first infections were detected in March, according to the daily report of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). A total of 12,255 samples were studied during the day and 14 provinces registered positive cases for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with Havana reporting the highest number of patients with 49, followed by Matanzas with 17 and Santiago de Cuba and Mayabeque with 16. So far, 3,019 patients are hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance, 731 are suspects, 998 are under surveillance, and 1,290 are confirmed. On this day, the death of an 80-year-old person, resident in the province of Cienfuegos, was reported, reaching 141 fatalities in the country. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1342875388243021826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1342875388243021826%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-rebasa-los-11-mil-pacientes-infectados-con-covid-19-con-138-nuevos-casos%2F Of the 11,038 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 1,290 remain active, of them 1,275 with a stable clinical evolution and 15 in intensive care (seven in critical condition and eight in serious condition). The MINSAP specifies that two evacuees were reported, six returned to their countries and there were 96 medical discharges, for a total of 9 599 recovered patients. Of the 138 new patients (136 Cubans and two foreigners), 71 had a source of infection abroad, 62...

People queue at a state bakery in Havana. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Coronavirus: Cuba reaches 1,250 active cases and 140 deaths

Cuba reached 1,250 active cases of COVID-19 and 140 deaths from the disease, after 183 new infections and one death were reported at the close of this Thursday. Thus, a total of 10,900 patients have already been detected since March on the island, while those recovered amounted to 9,503, with today’s 125 discharges. A total of 2,943 patients related to COVID-19 are hospitalized, of them 682 suspects and 1,011 under surveillance, in addition to the 1,250 confirmed. Of these, 1,263 present a stable clinical evolution, while six are in critical condition and eight are in serious condition, according to the most recent report from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1342529777308225536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1342529777308225536%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-cuba-llega-a-1-250-casos-activos-y-140-fallecidos%2F As for the 183 new cases, these were detected after studying 12,471 PCR samples. Of these, 173 are Cubans and 10 are foreigners, while 90 have their source of infection outside the country and 93 are autochthonous: 91 contacts of confirmed cases and two with no known source of infection. 65.0% (119) of the 183 positive cases were asymptomatic, while by age groups they were distributed as follows: 13 under 20 years, 55 between 20 to 39 years, 88 between 40 to 59 years and 27 over 60....

Mariel Special Development Zone, Cuba. Photo: OnCuba/Archive.

Two other lawsuits under Helms-Burton Act set sights on port of Mariel

With the last two lawsuits directed against U.S. companies operating with the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), there are 32 active lawsuits in U.S. courts under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act for properties confiscated in Cuba after 1959. According to the United States-Cuba Economic and Trade Council, a private entity that has been keeping track of the lawsuits filed since Title III of the also called Liberty Act was activated in 2019, the defendant companies are now Crowley Maritime Corporation and Seabord Marine, both based in Florida and with revenues of several billion dollars in 2019. The plaintiff in both cases is Odette Blanco de Fernández, a Cuban-American, a member of a family whose properties were expropriated in 1960 by the government that came to power after the triumph of the revolution in 1959. The Blanco Rosell brothers owned Marítima Mariel, San Ramón Sugar Mill and Azucarera Mariel, among other assets. https://oncubanews.com/cuba-ee-uu/corte-desestima-demanda-contra-american-airlines-bajo-ley-helms-burton/ On land seized from that family, and the Carranza-Bernal and Carbonell-González families, the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) was created, a project of the Cuban government to attract foreign investment, noted the United States-Cuba Economic and Trade Council, headed by John S. Kavulich. NOTIFICATIONS BEFORE FILING LAWSUITS...

People at an urban bus stop in Parque de la Fraternidad, in Havana. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez.

Cuba exceeds 200 cases of COVID-19 in one day for first time

Cuba for the first time exceeded the 200 new cases of COVID-19 detected in one day (217), thus registering a new record of infections in one day, the third in a week. In addition, when adding the new infections and the new discharges given this Wednesday (71), the number of active cases is now 1,194, another negative number for the island. Of these, 1,182 present a stable clinical evolution, while 12 are in intensive care: five in critical condition and seven in serious condition. In total, 2,969 patients are hospitalized for COVID-19, and the 1,194 confirmed are joined by 718 suspects and 1,057 under surveillance. The good news is that no deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, with which the fatalities of the disease remain at 139, while those recovered are already 9,378, 87.5% of all cases, according to the report of the island’s Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1342225556360880138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1342225556360880138%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-supera-por-primera-vez-los-200-casos-de-covid-19-en-un-dia%2F The 217 new patients were detected after 13,138 PCR samples were studied on the island. Of these, 102 are contacts of confirmed cases, 101 have their source of infection abroad, and in 14 it has not been possible to specify how they were infected. By sex, 101 are...

Plaza Cadenas at the University of Havana. Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez/Archive.

Cuban students to get higher monthly stipends

Cuban university students will collect higher amounts of money per month for stipends, loans and assistantships, in accordance with Resolution No. 108/20, of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES). Published in the Gaceta Oficial No. 87, the regulation establishes that students in the first and second years of university careers will receive 200 pesos (CUP) per month, 300 those of third and 400 those of fourth and fifth years, as part of the monetary reorganization process that will officially start on January 1st. In the case of students in sixth year of the Medicine specialty, and fifth-year Stomatology and Nursing students, the monthly stipend will be 852 Cuban pesos. That same amount will be paid to students of pedagogical sciences careers who are inserted in the teaching institutions of their respective educational levels for job and research training that is provided for in the study plans, the norm indicates. https://twitter.com/CubaMES/status/1341056989980405761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1341056989980405761%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Festudiantes-cubanos-recibiran-mayores-estipendios-mensuales%2F The payment previewed for student assistants was raised to 100 pesos per month during the first year of service, 140 during the second, 180 the third, and 220 for the fourth and fifth years of assistantship. Meanwhile, for work practices, students in the day course will receive a daily amount...

Photo: Otmaro Rodríguez/Archive.

Total number of positive cases for coronavirus in Cuba rises to 10,500 after a day of 116 infections

The total number of positive cases for the coronavirus in Cuba reached 10,500, after a day of 116 new infections, according to official figures released by the island’s Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). At the close of this Tuesday, 3,007 patients were hospitalized, of which 1,049 are active cases, 786 suspects and another 1,172 are under surveillance, indicated the daily report of the Cuban health authorities. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1341833642881003522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1341833642881003522%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcifra-total-de-positivos-al-coronavirus-en-cuba-asciende-a-10-500-tras-jornada-de-116-contagios%2F In a day without new deaths due to COVID-19, 32 of the patients diagnosed with the coronavirus were contacts of confirmed cases, 80 have a source of infection abroad and it was not possible to determine the source of contagion of 4 of the new cases detected. Of the 1,049 active cases―the highest number registered since the beginning of the epidemic on the island―1,041 (99.3%) present a stable clinical evolution and another eight patients are in intensive care, 6 of them in critical condition and 2 in serious condition. According to the MINSAP report, there were 88 hospital discharges yesterday, with which the number of patients who have recovered from the disease in Cuba amounts to 9,307, which represents 88.6% of total cases. The island is reaching the end of the year with...

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