HAVANA, Cuba.- Cuba dawned on Monday with 38 new positive cases to COVID-19, the highest number confirmed in the last 28 days, of which 32 relate to the focus aroused in the La Epoca Department Store. Precisely to the behavior of the disease in Havana province and to the analysis of its causes, much of the meeting dedicated to the temporary working group for the prevention and control of the new coronavirus, led every afternoon by President of the Republic Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.
In assessing these facts, the Head of State considered the event raised in the aforementioned commercial establishment “as the largest one we have had, even higher than that of the Nursing Home at Villa Clara.”
“The worst thing,” the President highlighted, “is that it happened at a time we were supposed to have enough control of the disease; however, in the last four days it has almost always put us above 20 cases per day, really causing an unrest, a setback in the days when we could eliminate the disease.”
“The truth is that there has been negligence,” Diaz-Canel said, “and the impact of this fact has shown us that, even with the experience we have in Covid-19 confrontation, we are still making mistakes, and every time there’s an oversight, look what happens.”
About these events Havana Governor Reinaldo Garcia Zapata said that in the last two days, of the 57 cases diagnosed in the province, 44 correspond to La Epoca event, which has varied the behavior of the disease in the territory. He further noted that of the 168 patients confirmed in the past two weeks in Havana, 106 relate to this event.
In this sense, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, insisted that there can be no relaxation in any of the measures indicated, as the call continues to strictly comply with all that has been established, to elevate discipline and responsibility of Havana inhabitants. “We have to take extreme action in the places, to review everything in detail, carefully, he remarked.
As part of the usual update that takes place in these meetings, the Minister of Public Health, Jose Angel Portal Miranda, confirmed that the increase in cases occurred in Havana in recent days logically also makes this province that with the largest number of patients admitted.
Of the 172 active cases found at the beginning of this day, 144 correspond to Havana and 24 to Matanzas, the two provinces that show the highest figures of positive cases today and that systematically render an account to the country’s leadership on their epidemiological situation.
Regarding the six local transmission events that remain active, out of a total of 44 opened in the country since the epidemic began, Dr. Portal Miranda specified that three of them are in Havana, where the most complex situation today lies in Centro Habana municipality.
The Public Health Minister also noted that on Monday the event of the La Ruda community, in San Jose de las Lajas municipality, closed.
As it is also usual in these working sessions, where the agencies of the Central Administration of the State report on its action in the middle of the confrontation with COVID-19, Minister of Education Ena Elsa Velazquez Cobiella made an assessment of the main actions developed during this stage by the sector.
In general, the Minister commented that television teaching activities have been carried out in these months aimed at all educational levels, with the participation of sign language interpreters. Classes have been gradually refined, taking into account above all the criteria issued by students, teachers, relatives, agencies and organizations, which have been of great value equally for the design of future actions.
In addition, Velazquez Cobiella noted that workers in the sector have linked to the production of food on arable land in different educational centers; to the support in educational institutions functioning as isolation centers; to energy savings and the anti-vector campaign.
The Minister of Education explained that from June 1st, television teaching activities continued at educational levels, except in the Education of Youth and Adults, which ended on May 29. Associated with this new stage for some teachings, she said adjustments are made to the programming and new training spaces are conceived to respond to it.
In particular on the preparation of the 2020-2021 school year, the Minister said stated that work is being made on the design of the corresponding curricular adaptations that allow, among other essential principles, to address all established content, maintaining the frequencies of each subject, as well as integrating different content and updating them.
Another agency that also reported on its work during this complex period was the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera updated on the implementation of the 36 measures of a labor, wage, prevention, assistance and social work nature, as well as of social security that have been implemented in the current context.
Feito Cabrera ratified that all of them remain in force and no date has been set for their termination. At the time the recovery stage is available, the people will be informed in a timely manner of any changes made.
Labor and Social Security Minister added that, taking into account experiences acquired in this period, there would be measures that must be maintained over time, based on the benefits their application has reported, as it is the case with remote work, which currently 627 855 workers practiced.
On these and other issues, the Ministers of Education and Labor and Social Security will offer greater details to the population on Tuesday, in Roundtable TV program.
Taken from the presidency of Cuba site