Molecular biology laboratory in central Cuba supports tourism sector at Jardines del Rey destination

CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, Jan 10 (ACN) The Molecular Biology Laboratory (LBM) of the province of Ciego de Avila supports the development of tourist operations in the Jardines del Rey destination by processing up to 500 samples per day for PCR to travelers.

Dr. Tatiana Artiles Herrera, head of that department, said that of the more than 1,100 tests carried out in a day (to detect SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus), 400 or 500 correspond to travelers entering or leaving through the international airport of the northern Avila keys, considered the second most important sun and beach destination in the country.

On arrival of the flights, passengers are randomly checked and, in the case of Canadians, all of them are screened before returning, as required by the tour operators, based on existing agreements between Cuba and Canada, she explained.

Artiles Herrera pointed out that last December more than 34,800 tests were carried out and so far in January there are about 8,000, some 300 corresponding to incoming tourists and about 2,000 to those who leave the country at the end of their stay.

Early this year, there was an increase in the number of studies carried out on the population at risk, due to the increase in positive cases of SARS-CoV-2, after the holidays and as a result of the epidemiological complexities in Cuba and the world, the expert stressed.

Since its opening on October 2, 2020, the LBM of the province of Ciego de Avila, located in the Provincial Hospital Roberto Rodriguez, in the municipality of Moron, due to its proximity to Jardines del Rey, has processed almost 700, 000 samples for PCR, a figure that places it among those with the best performance in the country.