As reported today Thursday by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), with the 48 new cases reported, Cuba reaches the figure of 862 infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing the disease known as COVID-19, from which 27 people have already died on the island.
Deaths increased with three deceased yesterday. Likewise, the records show 10 patients in critical condition and six in serious condition.
The most affected provinces in today’s report are Havana with 23 cases (45%) and Villa Clara with 19 cases (39%). Of the Villa Clara infections, 17 belong to an outbreak in the Santa Clara Nursing Home No. 3.
Se confirmaron 48 nuevos casos de 1 386 pruebas realizadas, para un acumulado de 862 casos en #Cuba.
▪ 646 con evolución clínica estable
▪ 10 pacientes en estado crítico
▪ 6 pacientes en estado grave
▪ 27 fallecidos
▪ 171 altas
▪ 2 evacuadoshttps://t.co/YTNy06rRCT pic.twitter.com/TlOcuSyRgG— Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba (@MINSAPCuba) April 16, 2020
The residence by provinces and municipalities of the 48 confirmed cases is:
- Havana: 23 (4 from the municipality of Habana del Este; Cerro, Diez de Octubre and Plaza de la Revolución, 3 each; Marianao, 2; and Playa, Old Havana, San Miguel del Padrón, Cotorro, La Lisa, Regla, Guanabacoa and Centro Habana, 1 each).
- Matanzas: 1 (from Cárdenas municipality).
- Villa Clara: 19 (18 from Santa Clara municipality and one from Placetas).
- Sancti Spíritus: 1 (from La Sierpe municipality).
- Ciego de Ávila: 1 (from the municipality of Florencia).
- Camagüey: 2 (from Camagüey municipality).
- Guantánamo: 1 (from Guantánamo municipality).
The 48 are Cuban; of these, 31 had contact with confirmed or suspected cases and the source of infection is being investigated for 17; 47.9% (23) were asymptomatic; meanwhile, the most affected age groups are: 40 to 60 years old and those over 60 years old, with 16 cases each and a percentage of 33.3% respectively.
There are more women than men in a ratio of 27 (56.2%) and 21 (43.7%), respectively.
The deaths that occurred are the following:
An 84-year-old Cuban resident in Santa Clara. He started with symptoms on the 25th and was admitted to the Manuel Piti Fajardo Military Hospital. His history: ischemic heart disease, hypertension, hypothyroidism and repeated neuropathies. He had been admitted to intensive care for 12 days with mechanical ventilation and severe respiratory distress. According to the information, he was “hemodynamically unstable with episodes of tachycardia and cardiovascular dysfunction, chest X-ray with radiological deterioration and marked bilateral and respiratory interstitial infiltrate.”
Another 58-year-old Cuban from Centro Habana. He had a history of cirrhosis of the liver and chronic lymphangitis. He was referred with decay and anorexia by the family doctor to the Calixto García Hospital for admission for his decompensation. He presented an exacerbation of his liver condition. In the hospital, he developed a respiratory process, which led to his severity. “He was studied for being a case of severe acute respiratory infection, testing positive for COVID-19,” says the note.
The third reported case is that of a 73-year-old woman, resident in Plaza de la Revolución. As antecedents, she had heart failure, diabetes mellitus, as well as chronic renal failure grade IV with hemodialysis treatment, for which she had previously been in the hospital. She had frequent dyspnea and symptoms of congestive heart failure. Due to worsening symptoms, decompensation of her heart failure and pneumonia with pleural effusion are suspected. She was identified with possible severe acute respiratory failure, with aggravation of the clinical picture that led to her death. “Due to being severe ARI cases, she was studied to rule out COVID-19, being positive yesterday,” explains the MINSAP note.
There were two evacuees and 171 discharges (20 in the last 24 hours). Of the total number of patients diagnosed until the cut made at midnight on April 15, 646 had a stable clinical evolution.
It was also reported that 2,629 people were admitted to hospitals for clinical epidemiological surveillance, while another 5,960 were monitored in their homes by the primary health care system.
In the round of questions, Dr. Francisco Durán, director of epidemiology of the MINSAP, said that “in Cuba, of the top ten causes of natural death, nine are chronic non-transmissible diseases and the first is cardiovascular”; the second corresponds to malignant tumors and the third to cerebrovascular diseases.
The country has made 21,837 tests in search of patients with the new coronavirus.
