Cuban experts reported about the behavior of COVID 19 in the country

 HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 6 (ACN) With the presence of Miguel Diaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, a meeting with experts and scientists was held on Monday to discuss the country's main health issues.

As reported by the Presidency on its website, in the exchange the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) presented proposals for short and medium-term actions for the monitoring and surveillance of the new coronavirus in the current stage.

Reporting on the behavior of the disease in Cuba, Dr. Ileana Morales Suarez, director of Science and Innovation and Technology of the Minsap, explained that in the last 14 days 18 positive cases were diagnosed.

All the cases correspond to the Omicron variant and in the last eight weeks 13 subvariants of this strain have been identified in the country, she said.

It was learned that since the beginning of the pandemic until Monday, 1,115,123 confirmed cases have been reported to COVID-19.

Cuba accumulates 8,530 deaths, for a lethality rate of 0.76 %, the last death occurred on August 20, 2022, she added.

In the exchange, it was reported that all prognosis models reflect that the disease is under control.

Regarding the anti-COVID-19 vaccines, it was noted that up to September, 406.1 doses per 100 inhabitants have been applied.

Cuba's vaccination strategy has allowed 10,031,591 people to be immunized, which represents 90.9 % of the population or 98.7 % of the possible population to be vaccinated.

Morales Suarez stated that this established and persistent health problem implies that countries must integrate surveillance and response activities to the disease into regular health programs.

She noted that WHO has recommended the following advice for the current phase:

- Preserve what has been gained in terms of national capacity and prepare for future events.

- Integrate vaccination against COVID-19 into vaccination programs throughout the life course.

- Integrate surveillance of respiratory pathogens and continue reporting data to WHO.

- Prepare for vaccines, diagnostics and treatments to be licensed within national regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term availability and supply.

- And continue to work with communities to achieve strong, resilient and inclusive programs in risk communication and community engagement, as well as infodemic management.

MINSAP proposed, and it was approved by the country leadership, that based on the current epidemiological situation and the new recommendations issued by WHO on August 30, 2023, related to continuous COVID-19 reporting, to move the COVID-19 and vaccination report to a weekly frequency.

Other participants were Manuel Marrero Cruz, member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister; Ines Maria Chapman and Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, deputy prime ministers of Cuba and Jose Angel Portal Miranda, head of MINSAP.