Twenty-four days after the first three cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, at the close of yesterday, Thursday, April 2, 269 patients were registered in Cuba, after confirming 36 new cases, said Minister of Public Health Dr. Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Portal Miranda in the Mesa Redonda television program this Friday.<\/p>\n
He specified that the incidence rate of the disease is 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, and that in confirmed cases the male sex prevails\u2015140, 52% of the total\u2014; that 63.2% of the patients are between 25 and 59 years old; and that 19.8% are over 60. Six percent are children under 12. There are nine cases of people over 80.<\/p>\n
To date 22 patients in serious condition have been reported: 8% of confirmed cases. In other countries, he said, this indicator stands at around 20%. In Cuba, only 5% of cases have developed critical conditions.<\/p>\n
He also disclosed that 50% of seriously ill patients are over 60 years old, and that 36.4% are between 40 and 60 years old. Eighty percent are men. In all cases, he said, their serious condition has been linked to pre-existing chronic diseases.<\/p>\n
The latest report records that there are six critically ill and two patients in serious condition, attended by highly experienced staff, he added. All the provinces, except Mayabeque and the Isla de la Juventud Special Municipality, have confirmed cases. According to what he said, until now the most affected territories are Havana (73 cases), Villa Clara (32), Matanzas (23), Ciego de \u00c1vila (23), Pinar del R\u00edo (21), Santiago de Cuba (21), Sancti Sp\u00edritus (16) and Camag\u00fcey (16).<\/p>\n
He stressed that those diagnosed are mostly Cuban (237 vs. 32 foreigners). Of the total of sick Cubans, 102 (43.2%) were infected abroad, mainly in the United States (35), Spain (25) and Mexico (13), in addition to Panama, Guyana, France and other nations. \u201cThose persons came from abroad and developed the disease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n