Source:
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2020-03/25/c_138915205.htm
ABSTRACT: Cuba, with 48 infected, applies border regulation
Updated 2020-03-25 12:27:14 | Spanish. xinhuanet. com
By Ra?l Menchaca
HAVANA, March 24 (Xinhua) - Cuba began applying strict border regulations on Monday, when the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) reported eight new infections to add 48 people infected on the island with the new coronavirus.
"From this Tuesday foreign tourists stopped entering the country," explained the head of the Minsap, Jos? ?ngel Portal, who also referred to the entry into operation of isolation centers.
Residents in Cuba who return to the country from this Tuesday are admitted to these centers, who, as previously announced by the Government, must remain in those facilities for 14 days.
The eight new cases are a Russian tourist, who arrived from the Dominican Republic, and seven Cubans who had traveled to the United States, Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, respectively.
Of the 48 infected, a Russian tourist, complicated with diabetes, an Italian with obstructive pulmonary disease, and a Cuban with a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and ischemic heart disease remain in serious condition.
According to the Minsap, another 43 patients diagnosed with the disease have a stable clinical course, and the remaining two cases correspond to the only deceased, an Italian tourist, and an American who, at his own request, was evacuated last week to his country.
Health authorities confirmed that the first patient recovered from COVID-19, a Cuban who was infected by his Bolivian wife who traveled to the island from Milan, Italy, has been discharged.
That 25-year-old man will now continue in house confinement and under medical supervision for 14 days.
1,229 people have been placed in preventive isolation, 174 of them foreigners of various nationalities, and another 33,132 are kept in their homes controlled by the primary health care system.
In the usual daily press conference, the national director of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Francisco Dur?n, reiterated that there is still no indigenous transmission on the island.
Dur?n said that 4,593 travelers left the country on Monday and 37,255 foreigners remain in Cuba at the moment.
The authorities began today the transfer to hotels of tourists who are staying in rental houses and who can only leave these facilities to return to their countries of origin.
Several hundred vacationers remain at Havana's international airport, the country's main airport, in search of alternatives to leave the island, after the suspension of flights by the companies Air Cara?bes, from France, and Copa, from Panama.
The daily flight of Air France will be suspended tomorrow Wednesday, while the Spanish airlines Iberia and Air Europa have reduced their frequencies.
For his part, the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodr?guez, announced that as of midnight all transportation of people between the provinces was suspended.
Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr?guez proposed to the General Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC) that a virtual technical workshop be held to share experiences against COVID-19.
In a videoconference speech at the first extraordinary meeting of the ACS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Health, which is meeting in Barbados, Rodr?guez called for other countries in the hemisphere such as the United States and Canada to be invited, in order to expand coordination and the exchange of experiences.
The head of Cuban diplomacy pointed out that a guide or questionnaire could be shared among all that helps to identify fundamental data, statistics, concepts and practices, and that draws on what has been learned from the experiences of other countries and regions.
"I can offer the participation of our experts in the preparation of such an instrument," said Rodr?guez, who advocated making that appointment in the coming days.
The foreign minister said that Havana has met "with effort" the requests for medical assistance from several countries in the region, including five members of the Association, "who have requested health personnel from us.
In this regard, it was learned that the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, announced the forthcoming arrival in that country of a Cuban medical brigade to combat the new coronavirus and thanked the Government of Havana for the assistance.
This brigade of aid workers will join the members of the Cuban health mission that provides services in Dominica.
Belize also announced that in the next few days it will receive a contingent of Cuban experts.
And in sports, the Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) supported on Tuesday the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese Government to postpone the 2020 Olympic Games of this year for next year.
