Help us keep OnCuba alive The SARS-CoV-2 virus caused two deaths and left 25 new contagions in Cuba in the last hours, according to Dr. Francisco Durán in his daily appearance before the press. The new victims were: an 84-year-old woman from Havana, who was diagnosed in her family doctor’s office; and another 85-year-old woman, resident in the Ciego de Ávila municipality of Majagua. The evolution of both is in the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). With the new records, according to the national director of epidemiology, the fatality rate on the island is 2.37%; meanwhile, the incidence rates increase from the regions where the deaths were reported: to 19.11 per 100,000 inhabitants, in Havana, and to 13.04 in Ciego de Ávila. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1303323401486991360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1303323401486991360%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-la-habana-y-ciego-de-avila-suman-dos-nuevas-muertes-por-coronavirus%2F The new contagions correspond to Cubans; 22 had some contact with confirmed cases, in two the source of infection is not specified and one acquired the disease abroad. Of the 25, 13 were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. 10 men, 15 women, and the provinces from where they were reported are as follows: Havana, 12 cases; Ciego de Ávila, seven; Matanzas, four; Artemisa and Mayabeque, one each. By age group,...

The Pan American and World Health organizations (PAHO/WHO), through their representative in Cuba, recognized the island’s work in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuban media reported. Dr. José Moya, who represents both international organizations in Havana, described the work carried out in Cuba to contain and prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as “effective,” despite the outbreak experienced in the country in recent weeks, the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency highlighted. In the specialist’s opinion, the success of Cuba’s strategy against COVID-19 lies in the fact that “it has been based on the strengths of its national health system, such as the national primary healthcare network,” which, he said, “has made it possible to rapidly identify cases, as well as their follow-up and isolation by epidemiology teams.” In statements to the official newspaper Granma, Dr. Moya highlighted the measures taken in the country to achieve “the greatest possible social distancing,” including the timely suspension of the school year―now resumed in most Cuban provinces―, the paralyzation of urban and interprovincial transportation and the temporary closure of commercial flights, which, he said, “considerably reduced population mobility.” In addition, he praised as a “novel strategy” the work of the family doctor...

Cuba registered a considerable increase in the import of chicken from the United States last July, according to Cuban economist Pedro Monreal on his Twitter account, taking data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 136% increase in value, and 132% in tons of the product compared to the previous month, are values ​​that refer to the figures from the beginning of this year, when an average of 15,000 tons of the product entered the island. Currently, the United States is the largest supplier of chicken to Cuba, while Brazil remains in second place as a supplier, a country that also increased its export values ​​for the month of July. “We will have to wait for the Brazilian data for August to be published in a few days,” Monreal highlighted in his tweet. The specialist from UNESCO’s Social and Humanistic Sciences Program adds that the price per kilogram of U.S. chicken also increased by one cent in July compared to the previous month (USD 0.82 vs. USD 0.81 in June), although it remains below the maximum level reached in February, when USD 0.96 per kilogram was registered, before the expansion of COVID-19. Data from the last 20 years indicate...

With the support of Cuban specialists, the Venezuelan health authorities inaugurated this Saturday a new molecular biology laboratory that will allow analyzing around a thousand daily tests to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a crucial contribution amid the rise in positive cases in the South American nation. With almost 10,000 active and more than a thousand positive cases in recent days, Venezuela is experiencing a tense situation in the fight against coronavirus, so this new center will contribute to increasing diagnoses and stopping contagions, Telesur reported. The laboratory, located in the facilities of the José Gregorio Hernández National Center for Medical Genetics, will count on the contribution in various areas by Cuban health cooperators, who make up the island’s medical brigades in that country. https://twitter.com/Cubacoopera_Ve3/status/1302445793257943041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1302445793257943041%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fmano-cubana-para-detectar-casos-de-covid-19-en-venezuela%2F The new center includes the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research, the Rafael Rangel National Institute of Hygiene, the Molecular Virology Laboratory and the Virus Biology Laboratory, as part of the network enabled in Venezuela for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. Venezuelan Minister of Science and Technology Gabriela Jiménez, Minister of Health Carlos Alvarado, the head of the office of attention to the Cuban Social Missions, Julio César García, as well as the island’s ambassador, Dagoberto Rodríguez, were...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The death toll from the SARS-CoV-2 virus has reached 102 in Cuba, after the death this Sunday in Ciego de Ávila of a 54-year-old man, according to the report Dr. Francisco Durán gave today in his daily appearance before the press. The medical evolution of the deceased is collected in the report of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Meanwhile, the new contagions detected after performing 7,164 tests amounted to 43. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1302964450908155904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1302964450908155904%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fun-avileno-de-54-anos-la-victima-mas-reciente-del-coronavirus-en-cuba%2F Of them, 42 correspond to Cubans and one to the only foreigner detected this time, also responsible for the “imported” case of this day that has gone to the records of Havana, where he resides. The number of men exceeded that of women (27-16), 32 people were contacts of confirmed cases, in 10 the cause of the infection was not specified, and 22 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. The territories affected by COVID-19 were: Havana, with 17 cases; Ciego de Ávila, with 16; Artemisa with six; and Pinar del Río, with four. By age groups, the main contagions are between the ages of 20 to 39 years, with 15 cases; and between 40 and 59, with 11. Under 20, 10 individuals...

The Ministry of Public Health reported 11 new cases of coronavirus this Sunday, thus the total number of contagions amounts to 4,309. The authorities also confirmed the death of one person and 20 discharges.

83 patients were discharged yesterday. There were no deaths. 23 people remained in intensive care.

In the second part of this series, OnCuba continues its journey through several Cuban provinces, with shared realities and different contexts in the face of COVID-19. What’s it like to live today in Havana and Ciego de Ávila?

Help us keep OnCuba alive Yesterday there were no deaths from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “The light is starting to be seen,” said Dr. Francisco Durán regarding this data, before announcing that, after 5,855 tests carried out, the number of new contagions had dropped to 52; 24 were imported and 28 are local. Five provinces reported autochthonous cases: Havana, Ciego de Ávila, Matanzas, Artemisa and Pinar del Río. “A great dispersion,” said Durán, as the imported cases involve 13 territories, related in today’s report. All are Cuban: 23 had contact with confirmed cases, in five the source of infection is not specified and, as noted, 24 had the source of infection abroad, a group of patients that has now risen to 413 in Cuba since the pandemic began. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1301885064331038721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301885064331038721%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcoronavirus-en-cuba-52-contagios-de-ellos-24-importados%2F 14 men, 38 women and 37 of the total were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. By age group, the most affected continue being those between 22 and 39 years, with 22 cases, and between 40 and 59, with 19. Seven were under 20 and four were over 60. The director of epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) also highlighted the increase in daily tests carried out with the...

According to the vice president of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT), Guillermo Pavón Pacheco, until September 2, 23 cases of coronavirus had been reported in that body: 19 people who work in the central building of 23 and M, and another four in departments. Pavón said that on August 19 the first positive case was known in the Television Information System, and that this was the origin of one of the two open events in the organization. Until this Wednesday, eleven more cases belonging to the Information System had been reported; five to the second transmission event in Radio Taíno station and three other people (two from the Tele Rebelde work group and one from the Institute’s surveillance team) were contacts of the cases registered in the open events. The vice president also stressed that Radio Taíno was considered a second event and that none of those infected had contact with the people diagnosed in the Information System. This is why, he said, radio stations have been relocated. Radio Rebelde moved to Cadena Habana’s premises, while Radio Reloj to Radio Ciudad. Television programs such as the Mesa Redonda and Al Mediodia were also moved from their headquarters:...

According to a dispatch from the Prensa Latina (PL) news agency, the Jardines del Rey international airport, in Cayo Coco, will receive the first commercial flight that will arrive this Friday in post-COVID-19 Cuba. Upon arrival at the air terminal in the northern keys of Ciego de Ávila, tourists, who come from Montreal, will be examined by medical personnel to detect any respiratory symptoms. They will also be tested in real time PCR and their temperature will be taken. According to the Air Canada Vacations tour operator, tourists will stay at the Memories Caribe, Memories Flamenco and Playa Paraíso hotels, all of the Gaviota hotel group. Memories Flamenco, Cayo Coco. Photo: Loveholidays. The Ministry of Tourism delegate in Ciego de Ávila, Iyolexis Correa, said that the facilities are certified with the condition of More Hygienic and Safe Tourism, granted by the health authorities. Likewise, she stressed that each hotel has a group of hygienic-sanitary and biosafety protocols in order to protect its workers and clients from a possible contagion with the virus. Playa Paraíso, Cayo Coco. Photo: Loveholidays. She added that the centers have the conditions to ensure social distancing, hand disinfection and means to inform tourists about the health...

Executives of the Finlay Vaccine Institute presented this Wednesday the progress of the Cuban COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Soberana 01, during an online meeting with authorities of the Pan American and World Health organizations (PAHO/WHO). The meeting was held at the PAHO/WHO headquarters in Cuba and was attended by experts from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global organization for the development of vaccines, reported the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency. https://twitter.com/CarlosFidelDOEI/status/1301211777947111425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301211777947111425%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-expone-su-vacuna-contra-la-covid-19-ante-autoridades-sanitarias-internacionales%2F Soberana 01 was tested at the end of July by the project leaders themselves: Vicente Vérez, director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV), Yuri Valdés and Dagmar García, all of them principal researchers of the vaccine candidate. On August 24, the first phase of clinical trials began with a group of 20 people between 19 and 59 years old and this week it will be applied to another twenty volunteers between 60 and 80 years old. In the second phase, scheduled for September 11, the sample will be expanded to 676 volunteers, including 40 from the first. “The Soberana 01 vaccine candidate is applied in two doses, the first day that we call zero time and then a second dose is given in 28 days,”...

Cuban Television is broadcasting classes for Artistic Education students who could not start the 2019-2020 academic year in their classrooms because they live in places affected by the pandemic. “We continue committed to the preparation of our teachers and students to keep them active even in times of COVID, Artistic Teaching does not stop,” said a post from the National Center for Art Schools (CNEArt). These teleclasses can be seen by all students in the country, although they are essentially for students in Havana and some municipalities in other provinces suffering the incidence of the new coronavirus to a greater extent. This new cycle of television teaching activities was created by CNEArt and the National Art Schools in collaboration with the Faculty of Audiovisual Media of the University of the Arts (ISA) and the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT). The classes are new with respect to the previous ones and their objective is to systematize the contents of the various artistic specialties. They are broadcast from Monday to Saturday on the Telerebelde channel, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Theoretical and practical subjects will be taught, among them Reflection and vision of creativity in dance; Ballet; Exercise routine...

Help us keep OnCuba alive With the two deaths reported today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), the number of deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba has reached one hundred. The victims: an 85-year-old man residing in San Cristóbal municipality, Artemisa, and an 87-year-old woman, from Cotorro, Havana. The involution of both patients during their stay in intensive care due to COVID-19 is explained in the report. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1301527220582846465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301527220582846465%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fun-centenar-de-fallecidos-es-ya-el-saldo-del-coronavirus-en-cuba%2F With this figure, the pandemic’s fatality rate for the island stands at 2.37%, while in the region it is 3.48% and in the world, 3.33%, according to Dr. Francisco Durán in his appearance before the press. The new contagions, meanwhile, rose to 88, of which 87 correspond to Cubans and one to a foreigner, a 44-year-old Mexican resident in the Havana municipality of Playa. All infections were autochthonous. Of today’s total, 77 were contacts of confirmed cases and in 11 individuals the source of infection is not specified. 47 men, 41 women and 63 were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis. The provinces that registered contagions this time were Havana, with 69 cases; followed by Artemisa, with 14, and Ciego de Ávila, with five. By age group, the...

Help us keep OnCuba alive In its first day under new restrictive measures to stop the advance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Havana continues to report most of the new contagions in Cuba, 46 yesterday, to which are added the three deaths of the day. The victims were a 65-year-old man, described as “homeless,” and two women, 65 and 94, both from La Lisa. The data on the medical evolution of the three during their hospitalization are explained in the report published today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). The number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 on the island now stands at 98. The new contagions, meanwhile, totaled 61 throughout the country, after processing 5, 546 tests, of which 4,202 are from the capital. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1301161677170380801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1301161677170380801%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fla-covid-19-suma-tres-muertes-en-cuba-y-los-nuevos-contagios-ascienden-a-61%2F 60 are Cuban and one is a foreigner, a 42-year-old Colombian resident in Plaza de la Revolución; 51 individuals had contact with confirmed cases and in 10 the source of infection is not specified Women predominate over men in today’s report (37-24) and 34 of the total were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. By age group, the most affected group is between 20 and 60 years old: 22 people are grouped between...

The prestigious Marriott hotel chain announced this Monday the closure of its operations in Cuba, after the U.S. administration of Donald Trump refused to renew its license to operate on the island. “We can confirm that starting tomorrow (Tuesday) Marriott will no longer be operating the Four Points by Sheraton in Havana,” Kerstin Sachl, the company’s Director of Communication for Latin America and the Caribbean, told EFE. Although it has been closed for some time due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Four Points was the only hotel stronghold of the United States in Cuba, and an example of the rapprochement carried out in the previous Barack Obama administration (2009-2017) with the Cuban authorities. https://oncubanews.com/cuba-ee-uu/la-compania-estadounidense-marriott-cesara-sus-negocios-en-cuba/ Last June, Marriott had announced the Trump administration’s decision not to renew its license to operate in Cuba, which gave it until August 31 to end its activities. This decision also meant the suspension of any plan that Marriott might have to open new hotels on the island. The U.S. hotel chain also planned to acquire the Hotel Inglaterra, with 83 rooms and located in the central Paseo del Prado, a few steps from the Capitol and the Alicia Alonso Grand Theater, but this operation was...

Cuba allocated only 5% of its investments to agriculture in 2019, economist Pedro Monreal warned this weekend, citing data from the Statistical Yearbook published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI). “The vulnerabilities of Cuba’s economic structure, aggravated by the recent crisis associated with the pandemic, impose an urgent review of investments,” Monreal wrote on his Twitter profile. https://twitter.com/pmmonreal/status/1299639876145623041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1299639876145623041%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-destino-solo-el-5-de-sus-inversiones-a-la-agricultura-en-2019%2F The doctor in Economic Sciences and a specialist in the UNESCO Social and Human Sciences Program said that Cuba, a country with a significant food deficit, cannot afford to dedicate 5% of the investment to agriculture. He drew attention to the “unbalanced structure” in investments reflected in official statistics: “37.3% are concentrated in ‘business services and real estate activity,’ Monreal said, while pointing out investment reductions in agriculture, public health and science and innovation. The disparity is just as notable in terms of territories; according to ONEI data, Havana accounted for almost 6 out of every 10 pesos invested in the country in 2019. Almost 70% of the total investment in Cuba in the year is just concentrated between the Cuban capital and the province of Artemisa. Agriculture has been classified as a strategic sector for the Cuban government,...

Help us keep OnCuba alive August, the month in which a new outbreak of COVID-19 has forced taking severe measures, especially in Havana, closes for Cuba with another death and 33 new contagions from the pandemic. The 95th victim of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Cuba is an 84-year-old man from Havana, resident in Marianao, whose evolution, according to Dr. Francisco Durán, was torpid since his hospitalization on August 15. Details in this regard are in the report issued today by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1300795015241838593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300795015241838593%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-la-covid-19-suma-una-nueva-victima-y-33-son-los-nuevos-contagios%2F All the cases are Cuban; 27 were contacts of confirmed cases and in six the source of infection was not specified. 18 men, 15 women and, of the total, 28 were asymptomatic. Only Havana and Matanzas reported contagions in the last 24 hours, with a territorial dispersion warned by Dr. Durán, who highlighted that 38 municipalities on the island have reported the new coronavirus in the last 15 days. 12 reported cases in today’s report. By age group, the most affected continue being between 20 and 39 years old, with 13 cases until midnight yesterday; and those from 40 to 60, with 12. Three under 20 were reported, and five people were over...

On March 11, 2020, the first cases of the new coronavirus were reported in Cuba. From that moment on, the pandemic started spreading throughout the island and its provinces. Faced with a problem that had already shown its scope in the world, the Cuban authorities started taking measures at the national level, as part of a strategy favorably assessed by the Pan American and World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). The closure of the borders, the mandatory use of the mask and the prohibition of interprovincial travel are three central variables in the epidemiological management of the Cuban strategy to deal with the pandemic. Measures like these were complemented by others at a territorial level, aimed at contextualizing the general threat presented by COVID-19 in the specific conditions of the provinces and municipalities. That is, to organize life in its daily rhythm, crossed by two axes. The first are those structural problems of Cuban society such as inequality and scarcity, exacerbated by the pandemic, which raised certain daily difficulties to the category of public health risk, such as lines to purchase basic need products. The second is the particular characteristics of the territories, the evolution of COVID-19 in them and the authorities’...

Experts from the Cuban Ministries of Public Health, Tourism and Transportation determined that ten airports on the island comply with the biosafety protocols established for arriving and departing flights to and from other countries, thus they can restart their international operations. A “rigorous inspection” evaluated whether these facilities have the conditions to guarantee compliance with the measures established for the prevention, confrontation and control of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, Cubadebate reported this Saturday. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuban-borders-to-continue-closed-until-further-notice/ The experts determined that Cuban airport terminals offer guarantees to maintain physical distancing and hygiene of passengers and workers, in addition to checking the temperature of travelers arriving on the island, indicates the source. The group of specialists verified the visibility of health guidelines in the waiting rooms and the workers’ knowledge of the procedures and measures conceived in the biosafety protocols at Cuban borders. During a long period of minimal activity, Cuban air terminals were subjected to renovation and adaptation processes to meet the sanitary standards required for the detection of COVID-19, according to the source. So far, the Cuban government has not reported a definitive date to restore international travel, although the reopening of tourism, in early August, implied the startup of the international...

Help us keep OnCuba alive The SARS-CoV-2 virus produced 59 new contagions yesterday, detected by Cuban health authorities after conducting more than 5,000 tests, and those infected by the new coronavirus on the island already amount to 4,032. All the cases correspond to Cubans, 47 were related to confirmed patients and in 11 individuals the source of infection is not specified. A 39-year-old man, resident in Madruga (Mayabeque), acquired the disease abroad. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1300428758327922691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300428758327922691%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-supera-los-4000-casos-de-covid-19-tras-los-59-nuevos-contagios-informados-hoy%2F 34 men, 25 women and of the total, 35 were asymptomatic at the time of their diagnosis, according to today’s Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) report. The provinces that registered patients: Havana, Artemisa, Ciego de Ávila, Matanzas; and Mayabeque, with an imported case. By age group, the greatest number of patients are concentrated between 29 and 39 years old, with 25 cases today, and from 40 to 59, with 20. There were five under 20 years old, and nine over 60 . At midnight yesterday, 1,141 people remained hospitalized for clinical-epidemiological surveillance in a day when there were 51 discharges. No new fatalities were reported, so the death toll from the new coronavirus remains at 94 and now the fatality rate stands at 2.33%. 22 people were...

The government of Havana proposed the creation of a card that works as a temporary authorization so that the new movement limitation measures don’t affect people whose identity documents reflect an address other than the place where they currently reside. The most controversial of the new restrictions, established to stop the wave of COVID-19 contagions in the Cuban capital, prohibits people from making purchases in establishments outside their municipality of residence. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/gobierno-de-la-habana-endurece-sanciones-para-frenar-contagios-de-coronavirus/ The authorization document will include the name and surname of the beneficiary, the identity card number and the current municipality of residence, explained the vice president of the Administration Council, Luis Carlos Góngora, during a meeting of the Provincial Defense Council held yesterday. The process to deliver the card will be organized in each municipality, reported the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency, which does not specify the date when the process will begin. The Havana authorities clarified that agricultural markets, fish shops and stores that sell products in freely convertible currency are not included in the established territorial limitation. To reduce the mobility associated with the purchase of high-demand products in CUC in stores of the CIMEX, Caribe and Caracol chains, these purchases are restricted only to...

Help us keep OnCuba alive After the two deaths caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus reported yesterday, the health authorities did not report deaths this Sunday, a day where the new infections totaled 48, after the making 4,591 tests throughout the country. All are Cuban, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP); 47 were contacts of confirmed cases and in one individual the source of infection is not specified; 25 are male and 23 female, and of the total, 28 were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. https://twitter.com/MINSAPCuba/status/1300067849759842304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1300067849759842304%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba%2Fcuba-suma-hoy-48-nuevos-contagios-por-coronavirus%2F The new COVID-19 cases were reported from Havana (39 cases), Artemisa (7), Matanzas (1) and Las Tunas (1). At midnight yesterday, 1,128 people remained hospitalized while active cases had reached 550. Six patients were reported in a critical condition and 14 as seriously ill. Meanwhile, 54 received medical discharge, with which 3,327 patients have recovered. Cuba has processed a total of 392,785 tests in search of the new coronavirus since the pandemic began; 3,973 of them have been positive.

Cuba announced work on a new COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in addition to reporting good results with a new clinical trial that uses rectal ozone therapy in patients confirmed with SARS-CoV-2, reported the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency. Vicente Vérez, director of the Finlay Institute, said progress is being made in the second vaccine project; with the same Soberana 01 antigen, but on a different platform. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuban-soberana-01-vaccine/ “We are finishing the formulation this week and filling next week, it’s a different vaccine,” explained Vérez, and assured that the trial is giving “very interesting responses” in animals. At the meeting of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel with Cuban scientists working on projects against the coronavirus, the director of the Finlay Institute affirmed that they will speed up work on the vaccine to try to begin clinical trials in October. The leading specialist recalled that the study of Soberana 01 began on August 24 and should continue next week with another 20 volunteers aged over 60. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuban-vaccine-against-coronavirus-without-adverse-effects-after-48-hours-of-first-trial-in-humans/ For her part, the director of research, development and innovation of the National Center for Scientific Research, Sarahi Mendoza, referred to a study with ozone therapy in patients with COVID-19. She said that the use of...

Faced with the outbreak of COVID-19 Havana is experiencing, the authorities of the Cuban capital announced a new package of measures that seeks to contain the spread of the disease. Among the restrictions, which will come into effect on September 1, is the prohibition of mobility between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., except for exceptional cases and transportation authorized due to its function. Although the measures applied to stop the increase in positive cases of the new coronavirus have had favorable results, the decrease in active cases is very slow, said Raúl Guinovart, dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computation of the University of Havana. He specified that since the beginning of August the country has been experiencing an outbreak, since on July 24 there were only 39 active cases and the situation was favorable. The numbers, however, changed. On August 7, he said, more than 300 cases had already accumulated again and the country’s authorities took swift action to try to stop the exponential growth. One of them was to decide that Havana return to the phase of Limited Autochthonous Transmission. On August 10, there were a total of 496 cases. That same day public transportation in the...