Havana, Cuba: During the first year of the pandemic, Cuba did not present a scenario as complex as that of the last months of 2021, which reaches today with unprecedented figures reported in July, Prensa Latina publishes.
According to the national director of Epidemiology, Francisco Durán, in a recent press conference, that month reported an accumulated of 200 thousand 398 confirmed and one thousand 543 deaths.
For June the same indicators were quite lower, with 50,622 diagnosed and 337 deaths, that is to say that the most recent data almost quadrupled those of month six.
The last day of July was the worst with numbers never seen before by the Caribbean island, 9,747 infections and 87 fatalities. It happens that with the circulation of the Delta and Beta variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the epidemiological scenario of the country becomes more complex, Durán pointed out in a television appearance, also explaining that the Delta – a variant registered for the first time in India – is the most contagious so far, and the one that had a predominance among the Cuban population in the month.
Beta, identified for the first time in South Africa and present on the Island since February, represents a greater risk of severity and even death for people, and according to the expert its presence in the territory has influenced the decrease in asymptomatic cases in the most recent period. From the beginning of the disease, patients evolve with severe symptoms.
On the other hand, the average number of daily cases exceeded six thousand, and also reached 50 deaths. Meanwhile, the incidence rate of the disease at the country level increased more and more, managing to exceed 1,000 positives per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 15 days.
From a territorial analysis, it emerged that the provinces of Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila and Cienfuegos have the highest rates, displacing the capital, which is in sixth position.
Regarding the behavior of pediatric cases (under 18 years of age), Dr. Durán stated that in the last 15 days more than 20 thousand patients were confirmed, and as a daily average there was a record of 1,367 cases.
“A more responsible participation of the population is necessary, because no matter how many measures are taken, restrictions adopted or adjusted protocols, if the population does not assume the care measures to comply with, it will be very difficult to control this situation?, the specialist said.
Recently, Dr. Raúl Guinovart, dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing at the University of Havana, highlighted in the television program Mesa Redonda that based on forecasts made by specialists, at the end of July the number of cases could have a peak with more than nine thousand cases in one day, an event that has been carried out twice in the last seven days.
The scientist also remarked that such behavior can continue at the beginning of the eighth month of the year.
“The greatest impact of vaccination will be noticed in August, which will be decisive?, Guinovart also specified.
The immunization process in Cuba continued without setback throughout the month, and by the last day health authorities reported the figure of 9,650,235 doses administered with the candidates Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus from the Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV); as well as the Abdala vaccine, approved as such by the Cuban regulatory authority on the 9th, belonging to the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB).
As of July 31, two million 620 thousand 50 people had a complete immunization scheme, which represents 23.4 percent of the total population in the nation.
