When assessing Havana’s epidemiological situation, the province’s health officials announced that a population study would soon be implemented that will cover 13% of all the inhabitants of the province and will reach all municipalities.
Emphasis will be placed on vulnerable groups and individuals, who will be tested for antibodies using a blood sample.
The objective is to provide an early and more immediate diagnosis―the results are ready in just over an hour―with cheaper Cuban-produced inputs and with the aim of guaranteeing better management and monitoring of patients, the application of prevention measures and control of expansion and epidemiological surveillance.
According to a note in the newspaper Tribuna de La Habana, the aforementioned was expressed in an regular meeting of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP), in which it was confirmed that the levels of transmission of COVID-19 had decreased in the capital, although it called for avoiding any possible oversight so as not to go back to previous levels of infection.
It was also announced that after processing 3,007 samples, none were positive, for a total of 485,846 tests and 3,440 positive cases, 0.71%, with a cumulative incidence rate of 161.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.
It was reported that on the day no outbreak controls were opened or closed and that five remain active, all with reinforced measures. To avoid outbreaks, they said, the fundamental thing is to maintain strict control and rigorous monitoring of the epidemiological situation.
Efficient and constant surveillance, rigor in screenings, observance and differentiated treatment of vulnerable groups and people, as well as seriousness, rigor and dedication in the process of hospitalization at home of contacts and suspects, were considered essential actions to curb COVID-19.
The president of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP), Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, said that its validation depended “on the commitment of doctors and nurses, of family doctor’s visits; members of the Basic Health Group in each area; polyclinic workers; the mass organizations and the working groups created at the zone and district level; the People’s Power delegate; the cadres and everyone involved in order to comply with the protocols and making sure things are done well.”