The 4,319 health workers in Ciego de Ávila began receiving doses of Nasalferon (nasal version of Interferon alpha 2-b) as a preventive measure to stop the transmission of COVID-19. Given the rapid spread of the coronavirus in that province in the last 15 days, the Cuban government sent a group of experts led by the national director of Science and Technological Innovation of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Ileana Morales, to help control the outbreak, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported. “In the world, along with the elderly, health personnel have been one of the most affected by the pandemic and where high numbers of deaths have been registered,” Morales said, quoted by the source. She stressed that in Cuba it is “our moral obligation” to take all possible actions to protect their lives. https://twitter.com/dpsCiego/status/1306237337932828674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1306237337932828674%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fsuministraran-interferon-nasal-a-todos-los-trabajadores-sanitarios-de-ciego-de-avila%2F Nasalferon―considered one of the leading products of the Cuban biopharmaceutical industry―has demonstrated its effectiveness against the coronavirus, by raising the immune system in the more than 20,000 Cubans who have received it, said Dr. Hugo Nodarse, a researcher at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. “Its preventive effect has a long-term projection. It does not have very big adverse side effects, perhaps some discomfort,...

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, nine border points were activated in Cienfuegos. According to the authorities, no one, only persons strictly authorized, should to be allowed to enter the territory. “When a person comes from provinces where there are such important active events, we have decided to isolate them for fourteen days, whether they have symptoms as suspects, or if they don’t have such symptoms,” Dr. Arelis Crespo García, head of Surveillance of the Provincial Health Department, said to Radio Rebelde radio station. These people are sent from border investigation points to isolation centers, located in various places in the center and south of Cienfuegos. https://youtu.be/fCc17i2ysVU The reinforcement of the measures responds to two positive cases infected in Ciego de Ávila, reported to public opinion on September 11. They were transferred to the Mario Muñoz Monroy Military Hospital in Matanzas. On that date Cienfuegos had been more than 130 days without detected patients. The highest risk suspects are hospitalized in the Doctor Gustavo Aldereguía Hospital. Others in the Pediatric Hospital and the Sports Hotel. Dr. Crespo García said that through international sanitary control, almost a dozen vessels anchored in the Port of Cienfuegos were being monitored, with some 170 asymptomatic...

Help us keep OnCuba alive  Yesterday’s new contagions in Cuba by the SARS-CoV-2 virus totaled 57, according to the daily summary offered by Dr. Francisco Durán in the morning. Ciego de Ávila registered 35 cases, followed by Havana (21) and Sancti Spíritus (1). “Ciego de Ávila, which had not been a province with epidemiological complexity, has been contributing a good number of cases. Today its figure is higher than Havana’s. It also has an important dispersion,” said Durán, who is an epidemiologist and is head of this specialty on a national level. There were no deaths during the day and this information is collected in the most recent report offered by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), 7,745 samples were processed throughout the country. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1306588885535784968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1306588885535784968%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-con-57-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-reportados-ciego-de-avila-suma-35%2F 56 of the cases correspond to Cubans and one to a foreigner residing in the Havana municipality of Regla; 53 were contacts of confirmed cases and in four individuals the source of infection is not specified. 64.9% of the new cases were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, those affected are as follows: 10 cases under 20 years of age; 20 between 20 and 39; 21 between 40 and 59; and three...

Cuba approved a package of tax benefits to encourage exportable productions from both state and private Cuban and foreign enterprises that operate on the island. Resolution 222/2020 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices applies a discount to the tax on profits of state, cooperative and private enterprises, provided they show a percentage increase in sales of products and services for export in relation to the previous year. https://twitter.com/MeisiBWeiss/status/1306083926805540864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1306083926805540864%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fempresas-cubanas-recibiran-beneficios-fiscales-por-aumento-de-exportaciones%2F The regulation will also favor individuals authorized to produce goods or provide services for export, which includes sales to users or concessionaires of the Mariel Special Development Zone, Cubadebate reported. To access the benefits, “exports must be charged within the fiscal year, except for sales made in the months of November and December, and exceptionally in October, in contracts where a payment term of 90 days is agreed,” according to the regulation. Another requirement to access the discount is to reduce or not deteriorate the import coefficient of exported products, with respect to the previous year, in the case of business or cooperative sector entities. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-what-does-the-private-sector-need-to-import-and-export/ Compliance is evaluated on the basis of the financial statements of the business or cooperative sector entities, and the records of income and expenses of individuals,...

Help us keep OnCuba alive With the death of a 71-year-old from Ciego de Ávila due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it was learned this Wednesday that the number of new infections in Cuba barely dropped to 73. 23 of them correspond to foreigners, construction workers, natives of India, reported by the Havana municipality of Regla, whose complication is added to the not less complex context of Havana, which registers 47 new cases in the day. The remaining cases correspond to Cubans: 50, reported from Havana, Ciego de Ávila, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Sancti Spíritus and Matanzas. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1306226964605403137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1306226964605403137%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-un-fallecido-y-73-nuevos-contagios%2F 50 men, 23 women, and of the total, 52 were asymptomatic. 70 were contacts of confirmed cases and in three individuals the source of infection is not specified. There were no imported infections. By age group, the largest amount of patients is registered, as usual, in the groups of 20 to 39 years, with 36 cases this time; followed by those from 40 to 59, with 27. Six patients had not reached 20 and four were over 60. Medical discharges were limited to 15, while 17 people remained in intensive care: five in critical condition and 12 seriously ill. The details of the Ciego de...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba will open a molecular biology laboratory in Cayo Largo del Sur for greater guarantees to foreign vacationers who will stay in hotels in that tourist destination, reported the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency. The director of public health on the Isla de la Juventud, Israel Velázquez, explained that the facility, with the capacity to analyze PCR tests on workers and travelers, will save time to detect people infected with COVID-19 and rule out healthy ones. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/cuba-amplia-red-de-laboratorios-para-detectar-la-covid-19/ The samples are now being processed at the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine (IPK), in Havana. The microbiology and laboratory specialists who will work at the Cayo Largo facility received training in laboratory processes and biosafety protocols for a month, precisely at the IPK. The highest ranking health authority in the special municipality explained that the new laboratory will be in operation next November, so that vacationers can enjoy a safe destination. Cuba will expand its network of molecular biology laboratories with the construction of new facilities in the provinces of Matanzas, Holguín, Ciego de Ávila and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/economia/turismo/turismo-en-cuba-sin-selfies-en-el-malecon/ The geographical layout of the new centers to test those...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Camagüey government decided to adopt new measures to strengthen surveillance and control of COVID-19, including a night curfew, after the appearance of three new confirmed cases of the disease in that Cuban province. The three new cases reside in the main municipality and two of them are workers of a Banco Popular de Ahorro bank located in the center of the city, “which intensifies the alert to the possibility of transmission due to the constant influx of public to the site,” the website of Radio Cadena Agramonte pointed out. The fact that its source of infection has not been determined sets off the alarms of the authorities of the territory. Those infected with the coronavirus in Camagüey, and those transferred from neighboring Ciego de Ávila―which is together with Havana one of the territories most affected by the pandemic―are treated at the Octavio de la Concepción and Amalia Simoni hospitals, which suspended the rest of the emergency services and doctor’s visits, said the provincial deputy director of healthcare, Dr. Lorena Reitor, according to the Adelante newspaper. Three other imported cases from the territory are being treated in Havana, where they were fulfilling the mandatory quarantine...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Yesterday the new infections by SARS-CoV-2 in Cuba amounted to 77, according to Dr. Francisco Durán in his daily appearance, in which he highlighted that the number of medical discharges totaled 79 on the same day. “The 77 are autochthonous,” clarified the epidemiologist. Following he reported that they correspond to the provinces of Ciego de Ávila (33 cases), Havana (31), Sancti Spíritus (7), Camagüey (3), Artemisa (2) and Matanzas (1). All are Cuban, 66 were contacts of confirmed cases and in 11 individuals the source of infection is not specified. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1305855349346492419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1305855349346492419%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_2&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-registra-77-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19-en-una-jornada-con-79-altas%2F Men predominate over women (44-33) and 57 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. “We continue with the screenings, we keep searching; because, due to the levels of transmission that we have had, there must be a significant number of asymptomatic cases that are transmitting,” argued the national director of epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). By age, the most affected groups continue to be those between 20 and 39 years old, with 29 cases this time; and those from 40 to 59, with 30. Over 60 there were 15 and those under 20, three. The analyzed samples reached 7,758 throughout the...

Five children convalescing from COVID-19 presented cardiovascular complications such as myocarditis or alterations in the heart muscle, and pericarditis, an inflammation and irritation of the membrane that surrounds the heart, according to a study carried out on 36 minors in the province of Villa Clara. The leader of the investigation, Lisset Ley, said that the patients studied had no pathological history of chronic diseases, and that those conditions appeared after the viral infection, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported. She explained that early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases can help reverse them, based on therapy and monitoring by specialized teams. The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) indicated that the study of children infected with the coronavirus in the rest of the island would be extended. The research included 36 pediatric patients, including one less than a year old, revealed Dr. Ley, who is a specialist in pediatrics and cardiology. Most of those undergoing the study were over 10 years old, and 20 of them were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Currently, these minors are being treated according to established protocols, said Dr. Lisset Ley, cited by the source. Several health institutions, such as the Pediatric Cardiology Network of Villa Clara,...

Cuban-American Mauricio Claver-Carone, advisor for the Americas to U.S. President Donald Trump and defender of the roll back in relations between Cuba and the U.S., was elected this Saturday as the new president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). On October 1 he will become the first leader of the institution who doesn’t come from Latin America. Claver-Carone, who for two years was the visible face of Trump’s policy towards the Latin American region, took over the reins of the institution in a secret and online vote of the IDB’s Board of Governors, to which he was the only candidate. “This victory is for Latin America and the Caribbean,” said the elected official in a statement sent to the EFE agency shortly after his election, also confirmed by the IDB in a press release. Thus far, Trump’s advisor alluded to the controversy generated by his candidacy, which broke with the tradition of always placing a Latin American at the head of the multilateral institution based in Washington, an unwritten norm that had been fulfilled during the 61 years of the Bank’s history. His election ended three months of debate on the replacement at the IDB, chaired since 2005 by Colombian...

All Canadian tourists who arrived last Friday at Cayo Coco international airport, in central Cuba, tested negative for COVID-19, according to the island’s authorities. The 110 visitors from Canada, who arrived on the second flight to the Cuban destination Jardines del Rey from the northern country in September, underwent a real-time PCR test and none are infected with the new coronavirus, according to the Provincial Defense Council of Ciego de Ávila, the province where the airport is located. In this way, they joined 25 other Canadians who landed in Cayo Coco the previous week, and who were also tested for COVID-19, following the protocols established for the reopening of the Cuban tourism sector. The tourists traveled to Cuba through the Air Canada Vacations tour operator, in charge of restarting tourist operations from the northern country, the main market for visitors to the island before the sector was paralyzed due to the pandemic. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/first-flight-with-canadian-tourists-arrives-today-at-cayo-coco/ During their stay in the Cuban tourist destination, where there is an isolation center for possible contagions with the virus, vacationers are staying in hotels such as Memories Caribe, Memories Flamenco and Playa Paraíso, previously subjected to “a rigorous training protocol of the personnel and reconditioning to...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba maintains a delicate situation due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its territorial dispersion. In the midst of this circumstance, yesterday 42 new infections were detected, spread over seven territories, with the good news that there were no deaths and 110 patients were discharged, with which 4,040 people have recovered. Havana, Ciego de Ávila, Matanzas, Artemisa, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey and Holguín reported new cases of COVID-19, according to the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Ciego de Ávila shows the highest incidence rate, with 37.98 per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Havana and Matanzas. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1305499024305381382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1305499024305381382%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-110-altas-y-42-nuevos-contagios-en-siete-territorios%2F Of the total number of new cases, 41 correspond to Cubans, while a foreigner residing on the island is the cause of the imported contagion, added to the records from Havana. 31 individuals were contacts of confirmed cases and in 10 the source of infection was not specified. Women predominate over men (25-17) and 30 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age, the affected groups are distributed as follows: 4 under 20 years of age; 14, between 20 and 39; 18, between 40 and 59; six are over 60. At midnight yesterday, 1,729 people...

The Cuban government approved the suspension of interprovincial transportation from Monday to September 30 to prevent a further spread of COVID-19 infections on the island. Minister of Transportation Eduardo Rodríguez said this Friday that the measure aims to prevent the mobility of people from one province to another regardless of the phases of the COVID-19 recovery stage in which they are, Cubadebate reported. https://www.facebook.com/EmpresaViajero/posts/631076887801878 An informative note released yesterday by the Viajero enterprise said that “due to the complex epidemiological situation facing the country and following indications from the Ministry of Transportation in consultation with the Temporary Working Group of the Council of Ministers,” the service will be suspended of all Ómnibus Nacionales bus routes as of the 14th. The enterprise guarantees that customers with reservations to travel during the interprovincial transportation suspension period will be entitled to a 100% refund of the value of the ticket. The statement, reproduced in the newspaper Juventud Rebelde, explains that the users affected by the measure will be able to get the refund in the Viajero agencies of the provincial capitals up to 15 days after the date on the ticket. It also clarifies that travelers who don’t reside in any of those...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 31 new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths from the disease at the close of this Saturday, while there were 52 discharges. In this way, the number of infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus amounted to 4,684, that of fatalities remained at 108 and that of recovered patients grew to 3,930, according to the MINSAP report. In addition, there are currently 644 active cases on the island, of which 623 are in a stable clinical condition, six are in critical condition and 15 are in serious condition. The number of evacuees has remained at two since the first weeks of the pandemic. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1305138991151419393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1305138991151419393%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-un-dia-sin-fallecidos-por-la-covid-19-y-31-nuevos-casos-positivos%2F As for the newly infected, 30 are Cubans and one is a foreigner living in Cuba. Of these, 15 are women and 16 men, 18 were asymptomatic at the time of their detection, while 26 are contacts of previously confirmed cases and in five the source of infection has not yet been determined. By age, the most affected group was 20 to 39 years old, with 13 patients, while 10 were between 40 and 59, three were under 20―two of them were pediatric―and five were...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Two people died this Friday, victims of COVID-19 in Cuba, which reported 60 new confirmed cases, in a day in which the record of processed samples was broken: 8,128. The director of epidemiology of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Francisco Durán, detailed in his daily press conference that the total number of deaths due to the coronavirus on the island rose to 108, while the number of patients since the beginning of the pandemic reached 4,653. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1304775082385039360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304775082385039360%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-reporto-dos-muertes-y-60-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19%2F The deceased were a 74-year-old woman, from Ciego de Ávila, and a 91-year-old man, from Havana, the two provinces most affected by the outbreak of coronavirus in the last 15 days, which has caused 13 deaths so far in September. According to official figures, 1,585 people remain hospitalized, of which 665 are active cases, 859 are under suspicion and another 61 are under epidemiological surveillance. Yesterday the number of critically ill patients increased to 6 and seriously ill patients to 15, while 34 recovered patients were discharged. Click here for the most current data and how the coronavirus curve is evolving in Cuba.

Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, for which it is restricting most of its services, the famous Coppelia ice cream parlor in Havana seeks to promote electronic payment of its offers. To do this, and in tune with the strategy for the computerization of society promoted by the Cuban government, the popular Havana facility carried out its first payment test this Thursday through the EnZona electronic platform. As reported by the Ministry of Domestic Trade (MINCIN) through its Twitter account, the payment was made through mobile phones with the QR code. “Today the first test of the payment through the QR code through the platform @ENZONA_BX was carried out in area C of Coppelia. Expect it very soon!” said MINCIN in a tweet this Thursday. https://twitter.com/MincinCuba/status/1304125610067976192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304125610067976192%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fprueban-pago-electronico-en-celebre-heladeria-coppelia-de-la-habana%2F After several months closed due to the pandemic, Coppelia reopened its doors to the public last July with the start of the post-COVID-19 de-escalation in Havana. However, shortly after it had to restrict his services due to the current outbreak of the disease in the Cuban capital. For that reason, it currently only sells take-out ice cream, while its in situ consumption areas are closed. For its electronic sales, the emblematic center...

The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) denied this Thursday the rumors about the “supposed beginning of the monetary unification as of October 1, 2020.” The BCC clarified that this information is not true, and confirmed that when that decision is adopted, it will be communicated to the people in a timely manner through official channels, indicated a statement from the entity published in Cubadebate. https://twitter.com/BancoCentralCub/status/1304066685746458631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304066685746458631%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Feconomia%2Fbanco-central-de-cuba-desmiente-rumor-sobre-unificacion-monetaria-el-1ro-de-octubre%2F The note reiterates that the monetary unification will not affect the cash in the hands of the population, nor the balances of their accounts in banks. In recent weeks, an audio has circulated on social networks, whose reliability is unknown, which reveals the imminent unification of the currencies that are officially circulating in Cuba: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible peso (CUC). The audio announces, among other changes, a possible salary increase for state workers, as well as for the Cuban business system, and anticipates variations in subsidies for the products in the food basket. Rumors about the CUC going out of circulation have increased since the Cuban government started opening stores that sell products in dollars, through debit cards linked to bank accounts in foreign currency. As part of the “Socioeconomic strategy to...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported 42 new contagions with COVID-19 this Friday, bringing the number of confirmed cases on the island to 4,593, while the total number of deaths due to the disease remains at 106. A total of 1,697 patients are hospitalized in Cuba, of them 641 are active cases, 1,000 are suspects and 56 are under epidemiological surveillance, according to the data given by Dr. Francisco Durán, director of epidemiology of the MINSAP, in his daily press conference. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1304418940848869376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304418940848869376%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-suma-42-nuevos-pacientes-de-covid-19%2F Most of the new cases (18) reside in Havana, the epicenter of the pandemic on the island, while the province of Ciego de Ávila reports red numbers: 15. Only one patient was reported infected outside the island, and the rest of the confirmed cases belong to Matanzas, Mayabeque, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spíritus provinces. On Thursday 65 convalescent patients were discharged from hospital, thus Cuba registers 3,844 people recovered from COVID-19 since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The number of reported pediatric patients reached 478, after 3 new cases were reported in yesterday’s report. Of the active cases in Cuba, 6 are in critical condition and another 12 remain seriously ill....

The president of the Havana Provincial Defense Council, Luis Antonio Torres, said “there is no limitation” on the entry of trucks with agricultural products to the capital from other provinces. During an analysis of the situation of shortages currently affecting the capital’s agricultural markets, the Havana authorities affirmed there are no prohibitions at the entry points of the city for those legally transporting food, the local press reported. “In Havana there is no limitation regarding this matter, so the food has to come in,” Torres clarified, and said that the neighboring provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque “must make internal agreements” so that the food arrives on time, despite existing controls at provincial borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19. https://oncubanews.com/en/opinion/columns/counterbalance/of-empty-stands-and-trucks-that-dont-come-in/ The agriculture officials of Artemisa and Mayabeque explained that the control actions to “eradicate illegalities” within the agricultural sector in their provinces have discovered workers who don’t have documents of origin of the merchandise. Likewise, these controls have prevented producers who have not complied with their commitments with state entities from selling in establishments in Havana. Torres clarified that “the farmer who complies with his state agreement, can lease a state vehicle, private or from a cooperative and sell his...

The suspension of the extensive study on one of the COVID-19 vaccines due to an illness in one of the participants shows that no “concessions” will be made on safety in the race to develop it, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NHI) said this Wednesday to Congress. AstraZeneca has put studies of its possible vaccine on hold in the United States and other countries, while investigating whether the illness a British volunteer contracted is a side effect or a coincidence. “This should be reassuring,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told a Senate committee. “When we say that we are going to focus on safety first and that we will not make concessions, this is the first test of how that is being put into practice.” https://oncubanews.com/mundo/astrazeneca-pausa-las-pruebas-de-su-vacuna/ Public health experts are concerned that President Donald Trump will pressure the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a vaccine before its safety and effectiveness is proven, a concern several senators also raised this Wednesday. “When it comes to a COVID-19 vaccine, we cannot allow President Trump to repeat his alarming pattern of putting politics ahead of science and public health,” said Senator Patty Murray, the highest ranking Democrat on...

Help us keep OnCuba alive Cuba once again regrets the death of two people due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, both from the province of Ciego de Ávila, a region with an incidence rate of 27.68 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest since yesterday. It is followed by Havana and Artemisa. They are a 90-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, both residents in the provincial capital of that province located in the center of the island. The evolution since their hospitalization is explained in the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Meanwhile, the new infections rose to 92. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1304051555847593984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304051555847593984%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fsituacion-tensa-cuba-vuelve-a-reportar-dos-muertes-por-coronavirus-y-registra-su-mayor-cifra-de-contagios-autoctonos%2F “It is the highest number we have had so far,” warned Dr. Francisco Durán, because, although on August 9 the reported number was 93, ten of them were imported cases. Of those reported today, 91 correspond to Cubans and one to a foreigner residing on the island: 82 were contacts of confirmed cases, in 9 the source of infection is not specified and only one was infected abroad, an individual who is added to the lists of Santiago de Cuba, where he resides. The rest of the regions from where cases were reported were Havana, with 50 infections; Ciego...

The Spanish company TOT COLOR SA, dedicated to the manufacture of solvent-based paints, will begin its operations “during the month of September” in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), Cuba’s main project to attract foreign capital. The construction of the company’s administrative partner building has already been concluded and “the last details of the preparation for the start-up are being adjusted” now, the ZEDM said on its digital site. The official information affirms that the modern plant of TOT COLOR S.A. “is equipped with a technology that meets world standards” and is “an ecofriendly enterprise, using low volumes of water and energy, in addition to exhibiting optimal efficiency in waste treatment.” Its future productions already have “a high demand from important business clients” on the island, including the Cimex corporation, the state organization Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet), and the Transtur tourism transportation enterprise. In addition, the company plans to extend its offers to other industrial sectors on the island and work “in an economic line to sell to the population.” https://oncubanews.com/cuba/nueva-empresa-espanola-se-instala-en-zona-especial-de-negocios-de-cuba/ TOT COLOR S.A. is a company based in Spain and got its approval as a Mariel user in January 2017, which is why its operations would start more than three years...

According to a note from the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency, from April to August of this year more than 1,140 applications were filed for the delivery of land in usufruct in the province of Camagüey based on new policies of the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) aimed at increasing food production. These requests are included among the 5,496 registered, of which 3,643 were approved by the MINAG delegation in the territory since the application in October 2018 of Decree Law 258, on the possibility of usufructuaries being linked to agricultural enterprises or productive bases. Before, this could only be done by some legal entities. Elizabeth de la Cruz Ramos, specialist from the MINAG Provincial Department of Control, Land and Tractors, explained that available lands and other poorly exploited lands are delivered, although they correspond to a program in development, after conciliation for a certain time with the usufructuaries. At the end of the eighth month of the year, in compliance with Decree Law 258/2018, 116,077 hectares (ha) are under use in Camagüey. More than 20,000 correspond to the applications from April to August, De la Cruz said. Cattle raising in Camagüey. Photo: Radio Camagüey. The main uses, she...

Help us keep OnCuba alive News on the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba is as follows: there were no deaths and the new contagions rose to 82, a figure that was made possible due to the 7,948 tests carried out yesterday in search of the disease, according to the island’s health authorities. By regions, the contagions were reported from Havana, with 39 cases; Ciego de Ávila, 37; Sancti Spíritus, four; and Artemisa and Matanzas, one each. “Ciego de Ávila already has the highest incidence rate in the country,” said Dr. Francisco Durán, who specified that the indicator is already 21.28 per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Havana’s. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1303697019576479745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1303697019576479745%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fnuevos-contagios-por-coronavirus-en-cuba-se-elevan-a-82-ciego-de-avila-se-complica%2F The number of people in intensive care was reduced to 12 and 27 patients were discharged. All cases in today’s report correspond to Cubans; 75 were contacts of confirmed cases and in seven the source of infection is not confirmed. The number of infected men and women was the same (41) and 63 of all patients were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, the most affected this time was those between 40 and 59 years old, with 31 cases, followed by those between 20 and 39, with 25 and those over...

The Havana authorities will impose fines of 2,000 pesos on people who don’t keep physical distance of at least one meter in the lines, said the coordinator of Inspection, Control and Hygiene of the government in the Cuban capital, Orestes Llanes. The critical epidemiological situation evidenced by the increase in positive cases of COVID-19 and its dispersion throughout the city, forces control and prevention actions to be intensified, Llanes told the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency. Since new provisions aimed at limiting the mobility of people and vehicles came into force in Havana on September 1, under Decree 14/2000 of the Council of Ministers, 3,457 fines have been imposed, of which 207 are 3,000 Cuban pesos (CUP) and the rest 2,000 pesos, the source specified. Of the total sanctions, 64 were applied to directors of state facilities for not complying with sanitary measures and 108 to administrators of centers or premises that did not close at the established time. Likewise, 24 people were fined for consuming alcoholic beverages in public places, he added, and another 26 who violated the current 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew in the city. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/havana-and-its-harsh-confinement-due-to-covid-19-outbreaks/ Meanwhile, the police withdrew the registration plates and...