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Source: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article248782480.html
Cuba detects South African COVID-19 variant amid virus uptick
By Nora G?mez Torres
January 26, 2021 08:11 PM, Updated 35 minutes ago
Cuba has detected a potentially more contagious COVID-19 variant, just as the island experiences its biggest uptick in new cases since the start of the pandemic, health authorities said.
Cuban officials reported the presence of the “501Y.V2” variant first detected in South Africa to the Americas’ branch of the World Health Organization in an epidemiological report released Tuesday.
The Pan American Health Organization noted that preliminary studies indicate the new strain is associated with a higher viral load, indicating “a potential for greater transmissibility.” However, the variant has not been linked to an increased risk of death.
Virus cases have risen significantly in Cuba in recent weeks after months of low infection rates. The island closed its airports to international travelers for nearly eight months and imposed a strict quarantine. But a severe economic downturn compelled authorities to reopen before the holidays. The government blames travelers for the new outbreak. Now in the country’s main cities, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Santa Clara, the virus is spreading mostly among Cuban residents.
Dr. Mar?a Guadalupe Guzm?n, a top researcher at the Pedro Kour? Institute of Tropical Medicine, known by its Spanish acronym, IPK, said last Friday that the South African strain was detected in an asymptomatic traveler from that country.
The traveler and his close contacts complied with the island’s required quarantine, she said. But she wouldn’t rule out the possibility it had entered through other travelers as well.
“With the data we have, we cannot say that it is widespread in the country,” Guzm?n said. “But we cannot rule it out because a high number of cases are being reported daily.”
On Tuesday, the country broke a new record for daily COVID-19 cases, with 786 reported. Since Jan. 2, there have been 50 deaths and 9,404 new cases, a figure that represents 43% of all infections since the government began publishing data in March last year.
Although it is still too early to link the circulation of this variant with the increase in cases in Cuba, epidemiologist Carlos Espinal said it is “very important that the IPK remains transparent and shows the results of studies about the dispersion of this variant in Cuba.”...
Cuba detects South African COVID-19 variant amid virus uptick
By Nora G?mez Torres
January 26, 2021 08:11 PM, Updated 35 minutes ago
Cuba has detected a potentially more contagious COVID-19 variant, just as the island experiences its biggest uptick in new cases since the start of the pandemic, health authorities said.
Cuban officials reported the presence of the “501Y.V2” variant first detected in South Africa to the Americas’ branch of the World Health Organization in an epidemiological report released Tuesday.
The Pan American Health Organization noted that preliminary studies indicate the new strain is associated with a higher viral load, indicating “a potential for greater transmissibility.” However, the variant has not been linked to an increased risk of death.
Virus cases have risen significantly in Cuba in recent weeks after months of low infection rates. The island closed its airports to international travelers for nearly eight months and imposed a strict quarantine. But a severe economic downturn compelled authorities to reopen before the holidays. The government blames travelers for the new outbreak. Now in the country’s main cities, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Santa Clara, the virus is spreading mostly among Cuban residents.
Dr. Mar?a Guadalupe Guzm?n, a top researcher at the Pedro Kour? Institute of Tropical Medicine, known by its Spanish acronym, IPK, said last Friday that the South African strain was detected in an asymptomatic traveler from that country.
The traveler and his close contacts complied with the island’s required quarantine, she said. But she wouldn’t rule out the possibility it had entered through other travelers as well.
“With the data we have, we cannot say that it is widespread in the country,” Guzm?n said. “But we cannot rule it out because a high number of cases are being reported daily.”
On Tuesday, the country broke a new record for daily COVID-19 cases, with 786 reported. Since Jan. 2, there have been 50 deaths and 9,404 new cases, a figure that represents 43% of all infections since the government began publishing data in March last year.
Although it is still too early to link the circulation of this variant with the increase in cases in Cuba, epidemiologist Carlos Espinal said it is “very important that the IPK remains transparent and shows the results of studies about the dispersion of this variant in Cuba.”...