Presence of new SARS-CoV-2 strains confirmed in eastern Cuba

MATANZAS, Cuba, Apr 8 (ACN) Two new genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2, initially identified in South Africa and California, are circulating in the Cuban province of Matanzas, Fernando Acebo Figueroa, director of the local unit of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology confirmed last night.

He explained at meeting of the Provincial Defense Council (CDP) that the new COVID-19 strains are more infectious and lethal and spread faster. They are also more aggressive against human organs. The province will continue the studies to detect other possible genetic variants in the samples of patients in serious or critical condition, regardless of the result obtained with the real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

CDP vice-president Mario Sabines Lorenzo pointed out that we need to improve the quality of the processes to contain the rise in infection rates in light of the danger posed by these new strains and the one initially detected in Wuhan, first detected in this province on March 19, 2020.
Medical research remains one of the fundamental axes of the case-finding effort and the process to isolate suspected infections with a view to their treatment, the director said.

“What cannot happen is that the average time between the onset of symptoms and the admission of patients increases, which has direct influence on the rise in the number of serious and critical cases and even on the death toll,” he stressed.

Sabines Lorenzo recalled that as of this Wednesday, a new package of measures was implemented in the province, seeking to keep people at home as much as possible as the only way to cut down on the infection rate.