Cuban Female Health Workers Committed to Fight and Defeat COVID-19

Havana, Aug 23 (ACN) Cuban women in the health sector ratified their commitment to fight COVID-19 as far as there is a single patient positive to SARS-CoV-2, which causes the highly contagious disease.

The statement was made during an exchange between members of the Cuban Women Federation and a group of women professionals in the health sector, while marking the 61 anniversary of the setting up of the women’s organization on Monday.

The meeting was presided over by the members of the Cuban Communist Party Politburo Manuel Marrero, who is the island’s Premier and by Teresa Amarelle, general secretary of the Women’s Federation, as well as Jose Angel Portal, Health Minister.

Doctor Mylene Vazquez, director of the Salvador Allende Clinical-Surgical Hospital said that her institution was fast in joining the fight on SARS-CoV-2 with 1 900 workers, out of whom 1 132 are women. “We have assisted over 10 138 persons and we will continue to give our affection to every patient and their relatives, she said.

Idania Benedico, municipal director of health in the municipality of Regla, in Havana, said most of her co-workers are women who have contributed to the public health intervention with the Cuban vaccine Abdala of almost all the inhabitants eligible to be immunized under the process in her municipality.

Meanwhile, nurse-to-be Sadis Laine recalled that medical students have joined the fight against COVID-19, particularly in the search of cases in the communities, working in isolation centers, vaccination sites and doing PCR tests. They also made up the first student brigade who went to support COVID-19 efforts in eastern Matanzas province when that territory was highly affected by the virus.

Lieutenant Colonel Sara Urguelles, who heads the Mother-Child Center at the Military Hospital Doctor Luis Diaz Soto said that having been the first ones to have assisted positive patients was a real compromise which they will continue to honor.

Yaima Rodriguez, director of the San Miguel del Padron Pediatric Hospital said they expect to keep the infant mortality rate in zero, a challenge to take but that can be achieved with love.

And Lucia Otamendi an internationalist doctor recalled the solidarity of Cuban health workers in Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.
The meeting, held at Havana’s Salvador Allende Hospital, was also attended by the first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Havana, Antonio Torres and Havana’s governor Reinaldo Garcia.