According to a note from the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency, the tour operator TUI (Touristik Union International) will resume its operations in Cuba from October 25 with two weekly flights to Varadero from the United Kingdom. Carmen Casal, tourism counselor in the Cuban embassy in Canada, said that the flights, belonging to the 2020-2021 winter season, will begin on the aforementioned day from Manchester airport and on November 5 from London-Gatwick. According to the note, all the conditions are guaranteed in the popular beach resort, located 145 kilometers from the Cuban capital, to develop safe tourism in the post-pandemic stage under the premise of preserving the health of clients and workers. Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport is ready to carry out all its operations after having established the biosafety protocols to receive visitors. https://youtu.be/5UG3XeSs3Ww Since TUI resumed its activities in mid-June, around a million and a half clients have organized their trips through the German conglomerate, considered the most important in the world in the tourism sector. It is currently the largest group in the tourism sector worldwide, being present throughout the European Union (EU). TUI owns travel agencies, receptive agencies, hotels, airlines, cruise ships and tour...

Help us keep OnCuba alive One deceased and 56 new contagions from SARS-CoV-2 is the balance this virus leaves in Cuba today, according to the explanation offered by Dr. Francisco Durán, back on national television to give an update on the epidemiological situation of the island due to the new coronavirus. Victim number 124 is a 74-year-old woman, resident in the Havana municipality of Marianao, whose evolution is detailed in today’s report by the health authorities. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1317103219168972800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317103219168972800%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fotro-fallecido-en-cuba-por-coronavirus-y-los-nuevos-contagios-se-elevan-a-56%2F Regarding the new infections: all correspond to Cubans, 46 were indigenous cases and 10 were imported. Of the total, 40 were related to confirmed cases, a group in which there has been a change in protocol, according to Dr. Durán, national director of epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP): “Contacts of confirmed and suspected cases are isolated at home.” In three individuals the source of infection is not specified. The ten imported cases, although they do not reveal a local transmission, are registered in the provinces of Guantánamo (three cases), Camagüey (two), Granma (two), the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud (one), Holguín (one) and Santiago de Cuba (one). For their part, Havana, Sancti Spíritus, Pinar del Río and Ciego...

Cuban citizens must pay a fee for each month of extension of their stay abroad approved as of October 12, 2020. This has been communicated by several consulates, through their web pages, social networks and even through audios sent directly to groups of the Cuban community in each country. So far, there is no official statement regarding this charge, which was not announced in the information note released by MINREX on October 9. It only establishes that, due to the measures to combat COVID-19, the extension of the stay abroad is authorized until October 12, 2021, “without losing their status as residents in the national territory,” for “Cuban and foreign citizens with permanent residence in the national territory who had approved extensions of stay or the term of 24 and 12 months was expired, respectively as of March 19, 2020.” Therefore, the news that this authorization is accompanied by the collection of a monthly fee has been received with surprise in many cases and with displeasure, in general. This is confirmed by several people who spoke with OnCuba. Leandro, a resident in Argentina, maintains that in his close circle “no one is happy that the Cuban government begins to collect...

The Russian authorities announced this Wednesday the resumption of flights to Cuba starting next November 1, while Condor, the most popular holiday airline in Germany, reported that it will begin trips to Varadero beach resort as of October 31. The Russian planes will start making two weekly flights to the airports of Cayo Coco and Santa Clara, in the central region of the island, the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency reported to the television channel Telesur. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/economia/turismo/asociacion-de-turoperadores-de-rusia-promueve-el-destino-cuba/ At the end of 2019, Russia had gone from tenth to fourth place in the list of countries issuing tourists to the island, and last January it moved to second place after months of constant growth. Cuban Minister of Tourism Juan Carlos García reported in February that in 2019 the number of visitors from the Eurasian nation grew by 30 percent, according to the ACN. The source also reports that the Condor airline will make three weekly flights―Tuesday, Friday and Saturday―from the cities of Frankfurt and Düsseldorf to Varadero. https://twitter.com/Condor/status/1313379378441719808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313379378441719808%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Feconomia%2Fturismo%2Frusia-y-alemania-anuncian-reinicio-de-vuelos-a-cuba%2F According to Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor, Germans want to feel comfortable on vacation, during travel and at their destination, also in times of pandemic. The official website of the company...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The number of new contagions in Cuba from the SARS-CoV-2 virus rose today to 27, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). All were contacts of confirmed cases and are reported from three provinces: Sancti Spíritus, with the highest number of cases (23, registered in three municipalities); Havana (two cases in two municipalities) and Ciego de Ávila (two cases in the provincial capital). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1316741113554886656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316741113554886656%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-los-27-nuevos-contagios-de-coronavirus-hoy-fueron-contactos-de-casos-confirmados%2F The relationship between both genders is quite balanced (13 female-14 male) and 15 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. There were no new fatalities, a statistic that remains at 123. 25 patients were discharged and seven continued in intensive care, two reported critical and five seriously ill. At midnight yesterday, 2,501 people were hospitalized, a figure slightly lower than the one reported yesterday. According to the MINSAP, during the day almost 8,000 samples (7,775) were studied, with which the country has processed a total of 720,834 tests in search of this disease since the pandemic began.

In keeping with the new Cuban strategy against COVID-19, people suspected of having the disease and contacts of already confirmed cases in Havana will be isolated at home and not in centers established especially for this, as has happened until now. The measure, already in force in most Cuban provinces as part of the so-called “new normal,” will start being applied as of this Wednesday in the Cuban capital, as was announced at a meeting of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP). According to what was previously announced by the Cuban government, the isolation of vulnerable older adults and those who don’t have conditions in their homes, among other exceptions, will continue outside the home. Dr. Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, director of health in Havana, affirmed that “the technical, epidemiological and logistical details have already been defined to take on this new stage, in addition to having coverage of human resources in the communities,” pointed out Tribuna de La Habana. For his part, the governor of the capital, Reinaldo García Zapata, called for “working with profound quality from primary healthcare,” on which a greater weight now falls in the island's health strategy to deal with COVID -19. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/havana-covid-19-and-the-new-normal-i/ To date, family...

Cuba celebrated its election to the United Nations Human Rights Council this Tuesday, a candidacy criticized by activists and opponents of the Cuban government, in what Havana considers a “smear campaign” to “overshadow” the Revolution’s achievements. “Cuba elected to the Human Rights Council by 170 votes, 88% of the members of the UN…. Despite the smear campaign, Cuba’s achievements cannot be overshadowed,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Twitter. The foreign minister also highlighted that the island “is part of 44 of the 61 international human rights instruments, whose compliance it reports to the UN.” https://twitter.com/BrunoRguezP/status/1316079275490017280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316079275490017280%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-celebra-entrada-al-consejo-de-derechos-humanos-pese-a-campana-de-desprestigio%2F This is the fifth time Cuba occupies one of the 8 seats reserved for the Latin American and the Caribbean states in the UN Human Rights Council, where it will remain for three years as of January 1. The island, like the rest of the candidates, with the exception of the Asia and Pacific group, reached the unopposed vote as a result of a pact between the countries of each region, a common practice in this type of election, which is opposed by organizations and activists. Along with Cuba, Bolivia, China, Ivory Coast, France, Gabon, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine, Uzbekistan...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The SARS-CoV-2 virus produced 18 new infections in Cuba during the last 24 hours. According to the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health, all the cases are limited to the territories of Havana and Ciego de Ávila, which barely surpasses the capital’s with two positive cases. The ten infections identified in Ciego de Ávila correspond to the main municipality, while Havana, with eight cases, had reports from five municipalities: Cotorro, Habana del Este, Cerro, Centro Habana and San Miguel del Padrón. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1316379748474515456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316379748474515456%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-la-habana-y-ciego-de-avila-reportan-los-18-nuevos-contagios-de-hoy%2F Of the total number of COVID-19 cases yesterday, 14 were contacts of confirmed cases and in four individuals the source of infection was not specified. Males predominated over females (14-4) and, of the total, 11 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. There is also a slight increase in the number of suspected patients (759), although the number of hospitalized patients decreased to 2,959. During the day, 51 patients were discharged while seven, the majority from Havana, were in intensive care: two in critical condition and five in serious condition. There were no new deaths from the coronavirus and Cuba continues to report 123 deceased. Yesterday, 6,758 samples were studied,...

Interprovincial transportation terminals and stations in Havana will resume operations as of Monday, although airports will not open for now, local newspaper Tribuna de La Habana reported. As part of the measures for phase three of the post-COVID-19 recovery approved in the Cuban capital, urban transportation was reestablished, with limited standing passengers on buses: up to 30 people in articulated vehicles and up to 20 in the rest. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-enters-new-normal-except-for-havana-sancti-spiritus-and-ciego-de-avila/ The Havana Provincial Defense Council announced this Monday that the trains will restart on October 24, with a departure frequency of every four days, according to the source. The secretary of the provincial government, Reynier Palacio, informed this government body that, in the meantime, the transfer of thousands of people who were stranded in Havana due to the coronavirus epidemic will continue. He recalled that the school year will begin on November 2 and that children without family protection who live in special homes for them will remain there and activities will continue outside those institutions, complying with the established hygienic-sanitary measures. The gyms in closed premises are not authorized to offer their services, for now, and the Casas de la Música and party rooms of the cultural centers will remain...

Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) will meet virtually for the first time on October 28, due to the epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19 on the island. Some 225 deputies will meet at the Havana Convention Center, while the rest will do so in their provinces, through videoconference, reported the official Cubadebate website. The secretary of the ANPP and the Council of State, Homero Acosta, explained at a press conference that this unprecedented format represents “a challenge for legislative work,” but will make it possible to comply with the required physical distancing and will avoid these types of forums’ usual concentration of people. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/parlamento-cubano-sesionara-el-28-de-octubre/ Legislative activity will begin on October 26 with a videoconference in which four bills will be presented, Acosta explained. “On the 20th, prior to the debates, the deputies will have all the bills, which will be debated that day via videoconference. This space will serve to clarify possible doubts,” he said. The schedule for the Fifth Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly does not contemplate work in commissions, except that of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, that of International Relations and the Permanent Commission on Economic Affairs, which must present the bills. According to...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba identified 17 new infections due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in three provinces, led by the capital, according to this Tuesday morning’s report by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). The cases correspond to Havana (10 cases in five municipalities), Pinar del Río (six in Guane) and Sancti Spíritus (one case in Yaguajay). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1316016826824888323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316016826824888323%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-17-nuevos-contagios-desde-tres-provincias%2F Of the total, 14 had contact with confirmed cases and in three individuals the source of infection is not specified. Eight correspond to the female gender and 9 to the male. Of the total, seven were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. The number of recovered patients from the disease amounts to 5,602 in Cuba with yesterday’s 28 discharges. There were also no reports of new deaths on the day, and the number of fatalities due to the nuevo coronavirus remains at 123. At the close of midnight yesterday, 3,275 people remained hospitalized for epidemiological clinical surveillance while seven people were still in intensive care in hospitals in Havana, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila: two in critical condition and five in serious condition. Yesterday 6,655 samples were studied, with which the country has processed a total of 706,301 tests...

Professor Carlos Lazo, one of the most active defenders of the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States within the Cuban community in the northern country, launched a petition to Democratic candidate Joe Biden to “repeal the sanctions that weigh on the Cuban people” if he were to win the presidency. In the petition, published on social networks and on the site of his project for both countries, called “Puentes de Amor” (Bridges of Love), Lazo invites everyone who agrees with it to sign the initiative, and conveys the wish to Biden of “Americans, Cubans, and people of various political and religious creeds from around the world” for Washington to “establish compassionate and humane policies towards Cuba.” In substantiating his request, the Seattle-based professor, who has traveled to the island several times with his senior high students in recent years, explains to Obama’s former vice president that “at this very moment, innocent people lack food and medicine in that small and impoverished country.” “Those people, Mr. Biden,” he writes to the Democratic candidate, “are not statistics, but men, women, children and the elderly. They are real human beings. They are our families.” https://www.facebook.com/elprofeylaislabella/posts/1205642683156473 In addition, Lazo tells Biden that, as...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Without daily press conferences, Dr. Durán’s informative methodology were missed. The Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported today that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has left 6,000 contagions since March with the 22 new cases registered in Cuba yesterday. Of the total, 21 of the new cases correspond to Cubans and one to a foreigner, a 44-year-old Canadian resident in the Ciego de Ávila territory of Morón, the only person who acquired the disease abroad, according to today’s report. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1315654381090504704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1315654381090504704%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fen-siete-meses-de-pandemia-cuba-alcanza-la-cifra-de-6000-contagios-por-coronavirus%2F In addition, 20 of the new patients were related to confirmed cases and in one individual the source of infection is not specified. The disease predominated among males over females (13-9), and of the total, 13 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By region, the patients were detected in four territories: Pinar del Río (one case in one municipality), Havana (6 cases in four municipalities), Sancti Spíritus (13 cases in two municipalities), Ciego de Ávila (2 cases in two municipalities, although the Morón case was imported). At midnight on October 11, 3,848 people were remained hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance and no new deaths had been registered. 34 people were discharged and four patients were reported...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 100 discharges and 30 new contagions with the coronavirus at the close of this Saturday, bringing down the number of active cases on the island to 313. Thus, the number of COVID-19 cases detected in the country rose to 5,978, while the number of recovered reached 5,540, 92.7% of the total cases registered to date. Of the 313 active cases, 308 are in a stable clinical condition, while one remains in critical condition and four in serious condition. The death toll remains at 123, after not registering fatalities in recent days, as well as the two patients evacuated since the start of the pandemic. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1315292200658493442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1315292200658493442%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-100-altas-y-30-nuevos-casos-ocho-de-ellos-importados%2F As for the new cases, all correspond to Cuban citizens, 22 of them autochthonous―19 contacts of previously confirmed cases and three with no known source of infection―and eight imported. By provinces, Sancti Spíritus once again led the way with 14, while nine of those detected―among them one who arrived from abroad―reside in Havana. Imported cases were also reported by the provinces of Granma (2), Matanzas, Artemisa, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo (1 each). Of the 30 newly infected, 17 are female...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba is approaching seven months of confrontation with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the number of new contagions dropped to five, in a day when 42 people were discharged, as reported today by Dr. Francisco Durán. With this figure, there are already 5,440 people who have recovered from the disease on the island, 91.5% of the total contagions, according to what is said in the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1314916669026951168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314916669026951168%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-registra-cinco-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-y-42-pacientes-reciben-el-alta%2F Regarding today’s cases, all were autochthonous, all correspond to Cubans and all were contacts of confirmed cases. They were reported by three provinces: Havana (two cases from two municipalities), Sancti Spíritus (two from two municipalities) and Ciego de Ávila (one from the provincial capital). Another peculiarity is that the new contagions belong to the female gender and that only one of them was asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, two were under 20, and three between 40 and 59. During the day, 7,066 samples were processed, for a total of 685,018 in the country since the pandemic began. Of that number, 5,948 have been positive. Active cases fell to 383, and until midnight yesterday 4,775 people remained...

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel this Thursday confirmed the upcoming disappearance of the ration book after the monetary and exchange unification takes place. Created in 1962 and officially established a year later, the book provides all Cubans, regardless of their income, a number of basic need products per month, although they are not enough to guarantee food and hygiene during that period, which is why people must turn to other ways to meet their needs. The announcement came at a time of economic crisis that has led Cuba to apply a “partial dollarization” of its economy (a term that Díaz-Canel himself used for the first time today) with controversial measures such as the opening of supermarkets and shops in which local currencies are not accepted and only foreign currency swift cards are used to pay. Díaz-Canel said that the process of monetary and exchange unification will be accompanied by economic components such as the reform of wages and pensions, which will increase to adjust to the foreseeable inflation, and the elimination of what the government considers “unnecessary subsidies.” He clarified that monetary and exchange unification would not be the magic solution to the economic and financial problems, but that it will...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba added 26 new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as reported in his daily appearance by Dr. Francisco Durán, the most visible face of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) during the pandemic and who stressed that 25 of these cases were local and one of them imported. Of those detected yesterday, whose details are given in the MINSAP report, 24 correspond to Cubans and two to foreigners; one, the person for whom the imported case is registered, a French citizen residing in the Havana municipality of Playa. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1314557579327139840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314557579327139840%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-informa-26-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-uno-de-ellos-importado%2F In short, in addition to the only contagion abroad, 17 were contacts of confirmed cases and in eight the source of infection is not specified, with which there are 43 unidentified in the last 15 days. 17 were asymptomatic. The female gender predominated this time (15-11). The provinces that registered new patients are: Havana (20 cases from 10 municipalities), Sancti Spíritus (four cases from two municipalities) and Pinar del Río (two cases from two municipalities). By age group, the cases are as follows: six under 20 years of age; six between 20 and 39; ten between 40 and 59; and six over 60. At midnight yesterday,...

Notifications, subpoenas, and other judicial procedures may be made digitally “in all judicial instances and jurisdictional matters of the Court System” of Cuba, according to an instruction from the Governing Council of the Supreme People’s Court. The norm, approved last September and published this week in the Gaceta Oficial, authorizes the use of “digital platforms and applications, email and other telematic means to carry out the procedural acts of communication with the parties that must be verified personally, or by identity cards.” Its entry into force is set for next November 1. The decision includes “the notifications of all the resolutions pronounced in the judicial processes under the security conditions that make their effectiveness viable, with the exception of those that, due to their content and nature, are so decided by the court; without prejudice to the obligation that the parties have to remain permanently in contact with the judicial body,” specifies the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency, citing the approved instruction. What is regulated by the Governing Council of the Supreme People’s Court “does not exclude the issuance of the certifications that are requested by the interested parties, with the requirements of the legal regulations to that...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus  dropped yesterday to 19, according to information offered by the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) after 7,132 tests were carried out throughout the island. All correspond to Cubans and all the cases were autochthonous: 18 were related to confirmed cases and only in one individual the source of infection is not specified, according to data also published today by the MINSAP. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1314191547555086337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1314191547555086337%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Farticulos-revista%2Fcuba-reporta-19-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-desde-tres-provincias%2F Only three territories reported cases: Havana (11 infections in four municipalities), Sancti Spíritus (4 in two municipalities) and Ciego de Ávila (4, all in the provincial capital); this province continues to have the highest incidence rate in the country, with 56.51 per 100,000 inhabitants. “They are the most worrying territories due to the levels of transmissibility of the disease,” said Dr. Francisco Durán in his appearance today. There were no deaths on the day; to date the death toll stands at 123, and the fatality rate on the island is 2.07%. Up to midnight yesterday, 4,940 people were hospitalized for surveillance. In intensive care, two patients: one reported as seriously ill and the other as critical, both in Villa Clara. 50 patients were...

Hurricane Delta caused minimal damage in western Cuba, therefore the Civil Defense general staff decided to decree the recovery phase for the special municipality of the Isla de la Juventud Special this Wednesday, and the return to normality in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa. An informative note from the Civil Defense published in the official newspaper Granma affirms that due to its evolution and trajectory, Delta no longer represents a danger to the western Cuban region and asks the people of the aforementioned territories to “comply with the protection measures established in the Plan for the Prevention and Control of the New Coronavirus and the guidelines of the local authorities” during the recovery actions. https://twitter.com/CubaCivil/status/1313864674354573313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313864674354573313%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Foccidente-cubano-vuelve-a-la-normalidad-tras-alarma-por-el-huracan-delta%2F Up to now, damages have only been reported in agriculture―specifically in plantations and seeds ready to face the winter season, which are still being quantified, according to the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency―and in circuits of the electrical system in Isla de la Juventud, where moderate gusts of wind and torrential rains were recorded, according to the local radio station Radio Caribe. The municipal authorities explained that most of the 14 reservoirs in the territory had been pouring since before Delta’s...

The Cuban government has denied recent news about the alleged release of Cuban doctors Assel Herrera and Landy Rodríguez, kidnapped in April 2019 in Kenya by alleged members of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, Cubadebate reported.  “I deny the information that circulated at dawn today on the alleged release of the two kidnapped Cuban doctors, Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodríguez Hernández,” wrote Juan Antonio Fernández, general director of Press, Communication and Image of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), on Twitter. https://twitter.com/JuantonioFdez/status/1313824405986967552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313824405986967552%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fgobierno-cubano-desmiente-supuesta-liberacion-de-los-medicos-secuestrados%2F The Foreign Ministry spokesman assured that enormous efforts are being made to ensure the doctors’ release and safe return to Cuba. The official reaction was made known a few minutes after the news that affirmed that the two doctors had been released in Somalia was known. According to AP, the doctors were released over the weekend after months of negotiations with their captors, said a senior Somali intelligence official, who declined to provide further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to report to the media. According to EFE, which also cites an anonymous source from Somali intelligence, the Cuban doctors were released on the 4th. “They were handed over by...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba is showing a decrease in the new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the 15 cases reported today by the health authorities. It was another day without fatalities. Four provinces reported new patients in the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP): Sancti Spíritus, with 10 infections in three municipalities, leads in the number of cases; followed by Ciego de Ávila (three cases in the provincial capital), Pinar del Río (one case in Sandino) and Havana, which reported only one contagion in the municipality of Regla. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1313829857856552962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313829857856552962%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-cuba-reporta-15-nuevos-casos-la-habana-solo-uno%2F All correspond to Cubans and all of them are autochthonous: 14 people had contact with confirmed cases and in one individual the source of infection is not specified. By age group, three were under 20 years old; three between 20 and 39; six between 40 and 50, and three over 60. The new coronavirus pandemic did not produce deaths, and the total number on the island remains at 123. With the 43 people who were discharged, there are already 5,321 recovered patients. Two people remained in intensive care at hospitals in Havana and Villa Clara. In addition, at midnight this Tuesday, 4,836 patients remained...

More than 26,000 people remain evacuated in western Cuba due to the proximity of the dangerous Hurricane Delta, which is advancing through Caribbean waters towards the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) with a category 4. In Pinar del Río, the country’s westernmost province, some 22,030 people have been evacuated, in Isla de la Juventud another 4,045 and in Artemisa, 696, in most cases they were transferred to the homes of relatives and centers prepared to house them, according to the information that local media offers from social networks. https://twitter.com/cnp_insmet_cuba/status/1313689885669236740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313689885669236740%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-mas-de-26-000-evacuados-en-el-occidente-durante-el-paso-del-huracan-delta%2F The provinces of Pinar del Río, Artemisa and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud are in a cyclonic alarm phase due to the proximity of Delta, whose trajectory forecasts don’t foresee that it will touch Cuban land, although its effects will be felt in the form of rain, wind, swells and coastal flooding. Given the possibility of heavy rains associated with this natural phenomenon, the reservoirs in these areas are kept under “constant observation,” some of which have already begun to pour water as prevention. According to an update issued at 6:00 by the Forecast Center of the Institute of Meteorology, Delta registered a slight weakening and...

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez spoke by phone with his Somalian counterpart, Ahmed Isse Awad, about the two Cuban doctors kidnapped almost a year and six months ago, while working in Kenya. “I had a telephone conversation with Somalian Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmed Isse Awad. I appreciated the support and efforts of his government to guarantee the safe return of our kidnapped doctors,” the island’s minister of foreign affairs published on his Twitter account. Rodríguez also wrote that during the dialogue with his Somalian counterpart, “the will to strengthen bilateral ties between the two governments” was highlighted. https://twitter.com/BrunoRguezP/status/1313141150258212870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313141150258212870%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcancilleres-de-cuba-y-somalia-dialogaron-sobre-medicos-cubanos-secuestrados%2F Surgeon Landy Rodríguez and general medicine specialist Assel Herrera were kidnapped on April 12, 2019, when the car in which they were traveling to the hospital in the border town of Mandera was attacked by alleged members of the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. In the operation, the bodyguard who was traveling with the Cuban doctors was killed. Months later the driver of the car was charged with terrorism for his alleged complicity in the kidnapping of the specialists who, according to reports from the Kenyan security forces, were taken to Somalia. Since then, the island’s highest authorities have maintained frequent telephone contacts with...

The General Staff of the Cuban Civil Defense established the information phase for the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, as well as the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud Special starting at 11:00 this Monday, taking into account the possible trajectory of Tropical Storm Delta. The rest of the provinces of the western region must keep an eye on the evolution of this system and increase hydrometeorological surveillance, the note published by Cubadebate indicated. https://twitter.com/CubaCivil/status/1313135038440116226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313135038440116226%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fdefensa-civil-cubana-decreta-fase-informativa-para-provincias-de-la-region-occidental%2F At noon this Monday, Delta was located about 215 kilometers south of Jamaica, and 425 kilometers southeast of Grand Cayman, according to the Forecast Center of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology. During this Monday morning, the storm continued to intensify so that its maximum sustained winds rose to 75 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts. Its central pressure is 1002 hectoPascal and it is now moving towards the west at a rate of 11 kilometers per hour, the meteorological report specified. According to the possible trajectory that the forecasts describe, its center will pass between the Yucatan Peninsula and the western tip of Cuba on Tuesday night. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/depresion-tropical-numero-veintiseis-amenaza-al-occidente-de-cuba/ The Civil Defense warned that the “organs, state agencies, social institutions and economic entities...