The Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Manuel Marrero Cruz, stated that this Thursday, August 5th, that Havana is a at higher stage in the confrontation against Covid 19 and therefore the established measures must be rigorously applied and others that will be necessary to implement to prevent it from becoming even more complex with the subsequent increase in the number of patients in hospitals institutions.

The assessment was made during the expanded meeting of the Temporary Working Group (Grupo Temporal de Trabajo (GTT) in Spanish) for the prevention and control of the epidemic in the capital, headed by Luis Antonio Torrez Iríbar, First Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Reinaldo García Zapata, governor of Havana and attended by the authorities of the 15 GTT in Havana’s municipalities and a representation of the Council of Ministers.

Marrero referred to the interventions of the experts who confirmed a high incidence of the Delta variant, with a high contagious capacity for which the application of sanitary protocols should be maximized by taking advantage of the acquired experiences in Matanzas, some of which are already being applied in the capital.

The head of the government praised the organization and persistence of the work being carried out in the capital and positively valued the sanitary measures plan that began to be implemented this week in the Primary Health Care and in hospitals.

He also recognized that in the capital, the epidemiological battle is more difficult because it is unfeasible to apply a group of provisions that have been applied in other provinces with a positive outcome, therefore, it is mandatory to maximize compliance with what is already established, with the incorporation of other regulations that are feasible.

This battle can be won and in a relatively short period of time, for which the governmental and sanitary authorities in the province and its municipalities have enough experience, work capacity and disposition, he said.

The meeting began with a presentation by Dr. Francisco Durán García, National Director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP in Spanish) on the behavior of de pandemic in the last two months.

The expert made a comparative analysis of the behavior of the disease in June and July, the latter month having the worst indicators since the beginning of the pandemic.

Duran referred to a slight reduction of cases and deaths in the first days of August but declared that the decrease of cases is not exponential and therefore, epidemiological situation is still very complex.

Dr. Ileana Morales Suárez, Director of Science and Technological Innovation of MINSAP, informed that 16 Coronavirus variants are currently circulating in the capital, predominantly the Delta strain, originally from India (60% of the total) and the Beta strain, from South Africa.

The predominance of the Indian strain, with a viral load 1200 times higher than the original strains, changes the virological panorama in Havana, which should lead to an increase in number of admitted patients to hospitals wards.

The expert affirmed that advances made with the vaccination has avoided a major increase of infected, serious ill patients and deceased but it is not enough for stopping the spread of the disease, as it is shown in statistics: 72% of the positive cases reported in the last few days had gotten the three vaccination doses and of them, 42 % had already finished the immunization cycle, which is effective 15 days after getting shot with the last dose.

In the mid-August it is forwarded a delay in the virus transmission, mostly by the Delta variant, for that reason it will be necessary to strengthen the established sanitary measures: the use of face masks, physical distancing, the use of disinfectant substances, strict comply of home isolation.

This criterion was supported by prognosis given by PhD in Sciences, Dr Raul Guinovart, Dean of the Math and Computing Faculty, who predicted an increase of confirmed cases during second half of August.

Prime Minister alerted about the confidence excess that can be displayed by vaccinated people, which translates the situation in a break of protection measures and to an increase of contagious.

It is important to take into account that more than 700 000 inhabitants in the capital have not been yet inserted in the vaccination schemes, 400 000 of them are under 20 and there are 300 000 adult which were excluded before following an exclusion criteria and therefore, they are extremely vulnerable. 

That is the reason why vaccinated people must follow and comply protection measures, mostly within their homes, in order to avoid the contagious of the non-vaccinated with the immunogenic family members, pointed out Marrero Cruz.

Then, Dr, Emilio Delgado Iznaga, Provincial Health Director, updated the auditorium with epidemiological status of the capital and in regard with sanitary measures.

The Governor of Havana, highlighted the strict comply of home isolation, the importance of active inquiry, the accurate admission in care centers if it is necessary , sustainability of medical supplies, the increase of the provided information to the population through mass media.

On this subject, Torrez Iríbar defined the role of interpersonal communication and the work carried out in the community by the Basic Health System, the mass organizations and the delegates in the neighborhoods, which is very important because it is the most effective due to it is directly carried out in the neighborhoods.

This battle is won at homes, in the communities just in this place it has a fundamental role, with the aim of the Primary Health System, the structures of Poder Popular in the districts, the actions of the people involved in this task is the key.

Social work in disadvantaged communities

Regarding with the attention to the 62 districts of the capital that are in a vulnerable situation, García Zapata informed that based on the diagnoses made, 10334 actions were proposed, mainly involving the sectors of Housing, ETECSA( Telephone Company), Electric Company, Gas Company, Education, Transport and Gastronomy.

In adittion to the needs assessment work, repair work is being carried out in doctor’s offices, pharmacies, drugstores, stores and business along with some community sanitation work that is being intensified.

A total of 2256 actions have been carried out, which represents almost 22% of what was planned at this stage, with the cooperation of the private sector.

In the last two weeks social work teams and revolutionary vigilance brigades were formed and work centers were linked to communitarian work.

The municipalities with a greatest progress in this area are Arroyo Naranjo, La Lisa, Guanabacoa, Cotorro and Habana Vieja.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the work carried out in this program of attention to disadvantaged communities and announced that this issue will be taken into consideration in the next meeting with the President of the Republic.

Source: Tribuna de la Habana