{"id":235122,"date":"2021-02-23T13:10:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T18:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=235122"},"modified":"2021-02-23T13:14:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T18:14:12","slug":"coronavirus-quarantines-increase-in-cuba-waiting-for-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/coronavirus\/coronavirus-quarantines-increase-in-cuba-waiting-for-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus quarantines increase in Cuba, waiting for vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuba began mass production of its own <\/span>vaccine<\/span><\/a> against the new <\/span>coronavirus<\/span><\/a>, while dozens of streets in <\/span>Havana<\/span><\/a> and other provinces remain in quarantine and closed to traffic.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of an outbreak that worsened in January and that has multiplied infections on the island, the capital has become one of the epicenters of the new infections, so the authorities decided to close several of the city\u2019s areas and streets, especially in the People\u2019s Council of Los Sitios, in the municipality of Centro Habana, as reported by The Associated Press this Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying curb the epidemic,\u201d Vladimir Matos, a 45-year-old government official, told AP, posted next to one-and-a-half-meter-high metal fences that impede the passage on the corner of Reina and Manrique streets. \u201cWe have a guaranteed organization here. The infected people are not in their homes, they are in (specialized) centers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A bicycle taxi driver waits for customers outside a door where police control access to a neighborhood as a way to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Havana, Cuba, on Monday, February 22, 2021. Photo: AP\/Ramon Espinosa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along with Matos, police officers control passage by means of an identity document so that only residents enter and in general no one leaves. The authorities put up giant tents where bread, eggs and other foods are sold for families to buy. Centro Habana has 152,000 inhabitants, many of them living in dilapidated buildings that have been converted into tenement houses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty well organized,\u201d said neighbor Eduardo Jonhson, a 61-year-old retiree. \u201cI have risk perception, I did the \u2018screening\u2019 (tests)\u2026it\u2019s not fear, it\u2019s precaution. I don\u2019t make visits and when I go out I follow all the measurements.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In other territories of the capital such as Old Havana, Cerro and Arroyo Naranjo, there have also been closures of blocks and buildings, and some streets have yellow ribbons and police control that impede passage.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his television appearance, the island\u2019s director of Epidemiology, Dr. Francisco Dur\u00e1n, indicated that since March 2020 to date there have been 45,361 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and of them 300 deaths\u2014four reported this Monday. In addition, 19,873 people are admitted to specialized centers, of which 4,968 are active cases and the rest are under surveillance or suspects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coronavirus accumulates 300 deaths in Cuba<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n