89% of pediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Cuba are already on clinical or clinical-epidemiological discharge, thanks to their very favorable evolution, said Dr. Francisco Durán, director of epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health, this Tuesday. The island’s health authorities have reported 390 pediatric patients (under 18 years) with the coronavirus since the COVID-19 epidemic began, of which 347 have already been completely cured of the disease, reported Prensa Latina news agency. Durán said during his press conference that those under 20 and those between this age and up to 39 years are the two most representative groups among those confirmed with the virus in Cuba in the last two months. The island is going through an unfavorable situation due to the high number of active patients: 549, as well as the appearance of outbreaks and transmission events in the provinces of Havana, Artemisa, Pinar del Río and Matanzas, the source indicated. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/morning-finds-cuba-without-a-storm-and-with-27-new-covid-19-cases/ Cuba said goodbye to Tropical Storm Laura this Tuesday and woke up with 27 new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus after having processed 4,536 samples throughout the island, despite the weather conditions, according to Durán. Of the new patients diagnosed with the virus, 26 were Cuban...

This Tuesday Cuba started throughout its territory the phase of recovery and evaluation of the damages caused by Tropical Storm Laura, which between Sunday and Monday crossed the island from one tip to the other without leaving victims but did damage electrical networks, state entities, homes and crops. Initial predictions estimated that the cyclone would cross the entire country in half and pass over Havana in a route that would have caused havoc, but finally the trajectory changed and the center of the storm moved to the waters of the south coast until its exit through the westernmost tip of Cuba. With the entire island in the “recovery phase,” the fourth and last of the stages established by the Cuban Civil Defense in the face of a meteorological event, President Miguel Díaz-Canel asked that work on the restoration be carried out “as quickly as possible” to prevent the damages from being added to pending repairs from previous storms and hurricanes. The most widespread damage was that suffered by the electrical system. Hundreds of thousands of Cuban homes were without electricity this Tuesday, with a special incidence in the province of Pinar del Río, where 95% of homes had problems with...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Although the new contagions by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba fell to 15, yesterday was marked by the death of an 80-year-old woman resident in 10 de Octubre municipality, in Havana. According to Dr. Francisco Durán, the 92nd victim of the pandemic on the island was admitted asymptomatic due to being related to a confirmed case and was diagnosed when she was in intensive care, where she spent more than 15 days. The rest of the details are in today’s report. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1298614232766992385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1298614232766992385%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-otro-fallecido-por-covid-19-y-los-nuevos-contagios-descienden-a-15%2F Of the new contagions, 14 are Cuban and one is a foreigner, a 31-year-old French resident in Old Havana; 13 were related to confirmed cases and the source of infection could not be specified in one individual. Men predominate over women (8-7) and 11 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. The cases were reported from Havana (11 cases in five municipalities), Artemisa (three in two municipalities) and Villa Clara (one in Manicaragua). By age group, those affected are between 20 and 40 years, with six cases; 41 to 60, with five; and over 60, with three. Only one of the newly diagnosed had not turned 20. 57 patients were discharged yesterday, while...

This Monday Cuba began in Havana the clinical trials in humans of its first vaccine project against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the first two phases of which will last until the beginning of November and will involve 676 volunteers. The trials of the formula, developed by scientists from the state-run Finlay Vaccine Institute and called Soberana 01, were authorized after its registration on August 13 in the registry of the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CEDMEC). The Cuban vaccine successfully passed the animal experimentation stage between May and August and is the first vaccine candidate from a Latin American country approved for clinical trials, according to the director of the Finlay Institute, Vicente Vérez. In the initial stage, the vaccine will be administered at the National Toxicology Center (CENATOX) to 20 volunteers between 19 and 59 years old and a week later to another 20 people between 60 and 80 years old, those responsible for administering the vaccine explained. Dr. Carlos Alberto González, head of the CENATOX Clinical Trials Unit, explained to Cubadebate that, when chosen as the clinical trials unit, his institution is “responsible for ensuring good clinical practices, in such a way that the...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba said goodbye to Tropical Storm Laura this Tuesday and morning found it with 27 new contagions from the SARS-CoV-2 virus after having processed 4,536 samples throughout the island, despite the weather conditions, as Dr. Francisco Durán said this morning. 26 are Cuban and one is a temporary foreign resident. Of this total, 24, including the foreigner (a two-year-old French resident in Playa), were contacts of confirmed cases; in two the source of contagion is not specified. 11 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1298247279858655238?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1298247279858655238%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-amanece-sin-tormenta-y-con-27-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19%2F The age groups where the affectations are concentrated: from 40 to 59 years, 10 cases; from 20 to 39, nine; under 20, six; and two over 60. The provinces that reported contagions, according to the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), were: Havana (11 cases), Matanzas (8), Artemisa (6), Pinar del Río (1) and Villa Clara (one). 23 people were discharged this Monday and 3,102 have already recovered from the disease in Cuba. In contrast, the health status of three patients was reported as critical, and that of 14 was serious. At midnight yesterday, 1,138 people were still hospitalized for clinical-epidemiological surveillance. In search of...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Contagions by the SARS-CoV-2 virus dropped to 35 in the last 24 hours in Cuba, according to the daily report of Dr. Francisco Durán, who has highlighted the health status of two people, reported as critical, while 19 were seriously ill; one of the highest figures, according to the records since the pandemic reached the island last March. 1,171 patients were hospitalized for clinical-epidemiological studies in a day where the assets returned to 545 thanks to the 35 discharges also reported in today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). As for the contagions, all are Cuban and 15 of them were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. Women predominate over men (20-15). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1297889734392520704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1297889734392520704%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-35-nuevos-contagios-y-21-personas-en-terapia-intensiva%2F 32 were contacts of confirmed cases, in two the cause of contagion was not identified and one acquired COVID-19 abroad, this data added to the statistics of Mayabeque, Bejucal, place of residence of the patient. The remaining cases were identified in Havana (32 patients in ten municipalities) and Pinar del Río (2 in La Palma). By age group, the most affected were those from 20 to 39 years old, with 16 cases, followed by 40 to 59 and more than...

Havana reported the highest number of cases, followed by Artemisa, Pinar del Río and Matanzas. The health status of 20 patients was reported as critical or serious.

In the last day, only two provinces reported cases: Havana, with 30, and Artemisa, with five, although the dispersion of those infected in the Cuban capital continues to be worrying.

Help us keep OnCuba alive The long-awaited, but not yet materialized, monetary unification is a “necessary condition, although not sufficient, to reorder and update the national economy,” said experts from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC). In an analysis on the subject published this Thursday in the official newspaper Granma, the specialists referred to “the imperatives” of eliminating the dual currency existing on the island since the 1990s, at a time when the island is going through “a crisis aggravated by impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global productive system and the tightening of the United States blockade against Cuba.” After making a retrospective of the measures implemented for almost three decades to establish and regulate the monetary and exchange duality and the conditions for its intended dismantling, the experts addressed the underlying problems of the current scenario that, in their opinion, “must be solved urgently.” Ian Pedro Carbonell, specialist at the BCC’s General Department for Economic Policies, explained how the current duality “generates distortions in the business sector and in the way the population interacts with it,” while producing an “internal gulf between the retail price and wholesale price.” “One of the problems that requires more attention is...

Help us keep OnCuba alive According to the JR daily, a Molecular Biology Laboratory with a capacity for 1,000 daily real-time PCR tests will soon conclude its civil construction in the areas of the Provincial Hygiene and Epidemiology Center (CPHE) of Matanzas. Dr. Fernando Acebo Figueroa, director of the CPHE, emphasized that these laboratories are extremely expensive, with state-of-the-art technologies and that, he said, “they will provide services to the population and tourism, because we would have to give the result to foreign vacationers in 24 hours.” He afiirmed that the technical staff had been trained at the Pedro Kourí Institute. With this laboratory, the province will achieve total independence from the rest of the country and will be able to plan the tests in places where there were positive cases, as well as hotels and work centers. Gabriel Torres, communicator from the Sancof Non-Agricultural Cooperative, the one in charge of construction, explained that it is a structural modification of an area of ​​the CPHE, in which the quality of the finish of each work object predominates. Since the pandemic began, the province of Matanzas has had 211 positive cases. The last one was confirmed this Wednesday after 57 days...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The effects of COVID-19 are determined today on the island by the death of a 67-year-old woman from Havana, bringing the number of deaths from the new coronavirus to 89. The most recent victim of SARS-CoV-2 in Cuba resided in Arroyo Naranjo and her health’s rapid involution is summarized in the report issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Check Post The number of new contagions, on the other hand, fell to 17: 12 correspond to Cubans and five to foreigners: four Venezuelan travelers and a 32-year-old French resident in the Havana municipality of Playa. Of the total, 11 were contacts of confirmed cases, in 4 individuals the source of infection is abroad and in two it is not specified; 10 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, 12 are between 20 and 39 years old; three are under 20 and two are between 40 and 50. Women predominate over men (10-7). The location by municipalities of the 13 autochthonous cases is as follows: Artemisa (5 cases distributed in Mariel, Caimito, Alquízar and San Cristóbal), Havana (5 cases in Playa and Arroyo Naranjo), Matanzas (1 case in Cárdenas) and Las Tunas...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban COVID-19 vaccine project, named Soberana 01, was already tested on July 28 on doctors Vicente Vérez, director of the Finlay Institute of Vaccines (IFV), Yuri Valdés and Dagmar García, all of them principal investigators of the vaccine candidate. After the test, the island’s three scientists have developed “a high immune response,” which will be confirmed after the second dose is applied in the next few days, as explained by Dr. Vérez quoted by the official Cubadebate website. With Soberana 01, Cuba took an Olympic leap to enter the select and reduced group of countries that have specific vaccine candidates against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In fact, the Cuban project is the first in Latin America and already has the authorization of the Cuban regulatory authority on these issues: the Center for State Control of Quality of Medicines (CEDMED). https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-to-start-clinical-trials-of-its-own-vaccine-against-new-coronavirus/ The phase of clinical trials with the vaccine, identified by the acronym FINLAY-FR-1, will begin next Monday, and will be supplied to a group of 20 persons aged between 19 and 59 years old. A week later, the trial will be applied to another twenty volunteers between 60 and 80 years old. In the second...

Help us keep OnCuba alive In a day in which the “indicators are not good,” according to Dr. Francisco Durán, 83 has been the number of new COVID-19 patients in Cuba. It is the second highest number of cases for one day, only surpassed on August 11, when 93 contagions were reported. All those diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus the previous day are Cuban; 51 had some contact with confirmed cases and in 17 individuals the source of infection is not specified; 15 acquired the new coronavirus abroad; 46 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1296434746684317697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1296434746684317697%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fnuevos-contagios-de-covid-19-se-elevan-a-83-en-cuba%2F The affected regions were Havana, with 62 cases, followed by Villa Clara with five; Artemisa, four; Pinar del Río and Santiago de Cuba, three each; Holguín, two; Mayabeque, Las Tunas, Granma and Guantánamo, one each. By age group, the ones with the highest number of contagions are between 21 and 40 years old, with 30 cases, and between 41 and 60, with 28; 12 people over 60 and four under 20 also tested positive for the virus. Active cases totaled 581, hospitalizations exceeded 1,300 and 31 patients were discharged. Yesterday 5,116 tests were carried out in Cuba in search of the new coronavirus.

Help us keep OnCuba alive In the face of the outbreak of coronavirus in Havana, the authorities of the Cuban capital decided to resume the disinfection of streets and other public spaces, which had already been carried out in previous moments of the pandemic. The measure started being applied this Tuesday and includes the disinfection of streets, sidewalks, portals and perimeter fences “with the aim of minimizing the microbial load of these surfaces that today constitute a source of contagion of COVID-19,” says Tribuna de La Havana. The action, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Health, the Armed Forces, the Police and the Community Services Enterprise, began in the municipality of La Lisa, one of the most affected currently in the city, and will extend to other areas with sources of transmission of the disease, in territories such as Habana del Este, Marianao, Playa and Plaza. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/havana-a-setback/ Rosandra Mulé, head of the Department of Environmental Hygiene of the Provincial Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology, explained that the product applied is a three percent chlorinated solution, “very effective in inactivating viruses on surfaces.” According to the specialist, disinfection is carried out at dusk “when there is no incidence of the sun...

Help us keep OnCuba alive COVID-19 left 74 new infections on the island yesterday, when 4,990 samples were analyzed throughout the territory, according to today’s report by the health authorities. They are all Cuban; 63 were contacts of confirmed cases and in 11 individuals the source of infection was not specified. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1296089064312049665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1296089064312049665%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcasi-5000-pruebas-en-cuba-arrojan-74-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19%2F Men predominate over women (45-29) and 59 were asymptomatic. The geographical distribution is as follows: Pinar del Río (22 cases in the municipality of La Palma); Artemisa (five cases; three from Mariel while San Antonio de los Baños and San Cristóbal presented one each); and Havana (47 cases: 12 from Arroyo Naranjo; Playa and Plaza de La Revolución with 6 cases each; La Lisa and Habana del Este with five; 10 de Octubre and Boyeros, with three each; Centro Habana and Marianao with two cases each and Old Havana, Guanabacoa and San Miguel del Padrón, with one each). The 69 discharges brought the number of recovered to 2,863. Four patients are reported in critical condition and seven in serious condition. At midnight on August 18, 1,297 people were hospitalized for clinical epidemiological surveillance; of them, 37 were under surveillance, 731 were suspects and the number of confirmed reached...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba will begin clinical trials of its own vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus next week, which will last until early 2021, the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials reported this Tuesday. Developed by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, the drug, named SOBERANA 01, will be applied in two doses injected intramuscularly, according to the report published yesterday, which did not specify more details about the nature of the vaccine. The clinical trials, which will involve 676 people between the ages of 19 and 80, will be divided into two stages, the first of which will begin next Monday 24. https://twitter.com/FinlayInstituto/status/1295706472379228161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1295706472379228161%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-comenzara-ensayos-clinicos-de-su-propia-vacuna-contra-el-nuevo-coronavirus%2F The Finlay center has set the completion of the study for January 11, 2021, and the results would be available on February 1 to be published on the 15th of the same month. The nearly five-month study will be “randomized, controlled, adaptable, double-blind and multicenter” and the general objective is aimed at “evaluating the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity” of the drug candidate to be the Cuban autochthonous COVID-19 vaccine. More specifically, in clinical trials the safety profile, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of SOBERANA 01 will be evaluated, to finally compare the immune response to the drug with...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Julio Trigo Clinical-Surgical Hospital, in Havana, will be turned into a COVID-19 isolation and care center, given the outbreak of the disease the Cuban capital is experiencing. Due to its reconversion because of the pandemic, the patients of the Julio Trigo Clinical-Surgical Hospital will be evacuated to other hospital institutions, as reported this Tuesday at the daily meeting of the Provincial Defense Council, Tribuna de La Habana reported. The hospital, located in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, will thus join other facilities that are already used or will start being used for the hospitalization and treatment of patients and those suspected of suffering from COVID-19. Among these are the Eduardo García Delgado pedagogical school, the Enrique José Varona Pedagogical University and the University of the Arts, which have undergone constructive actions to function as isolation centers, according to what was said at the meeting. The island’s capital is currently experiencing a rebound in infections with the new coronavirus, which reaffirms it as the epicenter of the epidemic in the country. Faced with this situation, the Cuban government decided to return to the epidemic phase and start applying a plan of measures in accordance...

Help us keep OnCuba alive 102 people received a medical discharge in Cuba during the last day and there are already 2,794 recovered from the new coronavirus, according to Dr. Francisco Durán said today during his daily appearance. During the day, the disease produced a balance of 44 new infections, after conducting 4,294 tests throughout the country and in a growing number of laboratories. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1295716583579570176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1295716583579570176%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-102-personas-recibieron-el-alta-y-ya-son-2794-recuperados%2F All the infections correspond to Cubans; 40 were related to confirmed cases, in four persons the source of infection was not specified, and there were no cases with a foreign source of infection. Men slightly predominate over women (23 to 21) and 22 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. The age groups most affected were: 21 to 40-year-olds, with 20 cases, followed by people from 41 to 60 years old, with 14. There were three people under 20 reported, and seven adults over 60. Regarding the regions from which the diagnoses were made: Havana reported 36 infections; Artemisa, six; while Villa Clara and Las Tunas reported one each. Until midnight yesterday, 1,186 patients remained admitted to hospitals for study. Cuba accumulates a total of 336,333 samples analyzed since March, of which 3,408 have been...

Help us keep OnCuba alive More than 62,000 Cuban tourists stayed in Varadero hotels during the first twelve days of August, confirmed the Island's Ministry of Tourism (Mintur) this Sunday. On average, about 5,180 vacationers visit the 15 currently-operating facilities in Cuba's most important resort on a daily basis, explained the Mintur delegate of Matanzas, Ivis Fernández (reported the Prensa Latina agency). https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/economy/tourism-in-cuba/more-than-half-a-million-cubans-book-in-hotels-after-start-of-post-covid-de-escalation/ During a working visit of Manuel Marrero, Cuban Prime Minister, to the tourist center, Fernández highlighted that 9,000 workers in the sector have been trained in biosafety measures to avoid infections of the new coronavirus among visitors and employees. Marrero evaluated the investments made in what will be Varadero’s Boulevard, and in the general rehabilitation of the Plaza América Convention Center, according to the source. "We expect that the process of tourism recovery will begin in the next high season. We hope we can hold a great International Tourism Fair in Varadero next May", said the Prime Minister. He added that they look forward to tour-operators’ good participation at the international level in the next edition of the main tourist exchange in Cuba, "and that we can offer all these new products in a completely renovated Varadero,...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuban-American teacher Carlos Lazo, a veteran sergeant of the Iraq war, completed the bicycle journey that took him, along with his children and nephews, to the White House. The trip began on July 11th as a bicycle expedition to draw attention to the economic sanctions reinforced by the Trump administration against Cuba, despite the health crisis of COVID-19. Lazo, virtually accompanied by other Cuban-Americans, Americans and Cubans from all over the world, left the city of Seattle on the Pacific coast and traveled 3,000 miles (more than 5,000 kilometers) to Washington D.C., carrying a message of peace between Cuba and the United States, endorsed by thousands of signatures from a change.org petition. Lazo, his two sons, and two nephews pedaled the equivalent of five times the distance that separates Havana from Santiago de Cuba. They took turns of 30 and 40 miles each (sometimes more) on a journey that lasted 25 days. Check Video Here The first week of Professor Carlos Lazo's bicycle trip through the United States was full of meetings, brotherhood, and good energy. Lazo, his nephews, and sons met with some elected officials from Montana, including Senator Dick Barrett and Representatives Willis...

Help us keep OnCuba alive A 23-ton batch of sanitary supplies from the Chinese city of Shanghai arrived this Sunday to the José Martí International Airport in Cuba. Rapid tests, real-time molecular biology tests (PCR), and other necessary supplies to fight SARS-CoV-2 make up the cargo that arrived on board the sixth and last charter flight of the Cuban airline from that city, according to Xinhua. "China has become the world's main provider of medicines and supplies to face the pandemic", said Lázaro Hernández, captain of the aircraft, to the local press. The donation also includes masks, protective gear, diagnostic kits, and sample transport devices. With this, they reach 180 tons arrived through 30 commercial air shipments and six direct charter flights from Shanghai, according to the Cuban ambassador in China, Carlos Miguel Pereira.

Help us keep OnCuba alive On the thirteenth day without deaths, 48 people were diagnosed yesterday with the Sars-CoV-2 virus in Cuba, according to the information offered by the health authorities, which highlights the number of discharges: 72. The new positive cases are Cubans. 39 of them, were related to confirmed cases, and in nine people, the source of infection is not specified - Dr. Francisco Durán warned during his daily appearance -. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1295367789960671232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1295367789960671232%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-72-pacientes-recibieron-el-alta-en-una-jornada-con-48-nuevos-contagios%2F The number of infected men and women was the same this time: 24. 17 of them were asymptomatic at the time of the diagnosis. The provinces that reported infections this Monday were Havana (43 cases), Artemisa (2), Pinar del Río (2), and Villa Clara (1). The most affected groups, by age, are: between 21 and 40 years old (20 affected); followed by those who classify between 41 and 60, (with 15 infected). Eight of the positives do not exceed 20 years old, and five exceed 60 years old. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/havana-a-setback/ By August 16th midnight, 1,377 patients remained admitted to hospitals for clinical epidemiological surveillance: 746 were suspects, and 582 were confirmed to be positive. With the 4,350 tests performed yesterday, Cuba accumulates 332,039 analyzed samples since the...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba reported 24 new cases of COVID-19 and 52 patient discharges, rising the number of recovered patients to 2,620; informed this Sunday by Dr. Francisco Durán, director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap). 22 of the people diagnosed with the virus yesterday reside in Havana, while one of the cases is related to the transmission event found in Mariel, in the province of Artemisa, and the other in Cárdenas, Matanzas, in which the source of infection is not specified. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1294988239250522112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1294988239250522112%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporto-24-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-y-52-altas-medicas%2F "In Cuba, to date, we have had 49 events of local transmission of the virus, of which 11 remain open", said Durán in his daily conference on the epidemiological situation caused by the new coronavirus in Cuba. The total number of patients since the pandemic began rose to 3,316, counting the patients diagnosed on Saturday. 606, 601 with stable clinical evolution, three critically ill and two seriously ill patients remain admitted in hospitals. No deceases were reported. The total of deaths remains at 88, according to the Minsap report. Here you can read the most updated data and how the coronavirus curve evolves in Cuba.

Since last July 20th, Cuba has 72 new stores in which products can be purchased in freely convertible currency (MLC), taking the United States dollar (USD) as a reference in their prices. According to the official information, published a few days before the opening of these stores, 57 of the new establishments distributed throughout the island would offer food and cleaning products, and the other 15, hardware products. This would be distributed as follows: 14 in Havana and the rest throughout the country, at a rate of at least two stores per province. When announcing the news, the directors of Cimex and Caribe state chains (companies in charge of providing the new service in MLC) explained that these stores would sell medium and high-end items, referring to products with a higher quality standard to those of the stores in Cuban pesos (CUP) and convertible pesos (CUC) - the two currencies used in the country since the dual currency came into force -. This means that the offers of the dollar stores should not affect the other establishments. In addition, they confirmed that the payment for those commercial entities would be through magnetic cards associated with bank accounts in foreign currencies...

The Minister of Education, Ena Elsa Velázquez, said this Friday on the Mesa Redonda television program that the school year will resume in all the country's provinces on September 1st, with the exception of Havana, given its current epidemiological situation. She reported that managers and workers are returning to educational institutions in a first phase to prepare them for the restart of the 2019-2020 school year, after the period of forced confinement. In the second phase, teaching activities will be resumed and evaluations will be carried out to end this school year, which will run until October 31. Two days later the 2020-2021 academic year will begin. In the case of Higher Education, students and teachers will also return to class in 22 universities on September 1st (in the second phase) and from then on, adjustments will be made for the closure of subjects, changes of careers and finals, extraordinary and end-of-year exams. The minister insisted on the need to comply with and maximize measures to avoid infections. Among them, she pointed out the staggering recess hours, not doing the usual morning conglomerated meetings at the school, not accepting workers and students with respiratory symptoms, not allowing school access to...