Cuba: The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, addresses the Cuban people at night.
At the beginning of his appearance, the president referred how the country is marching towards a new normality, emphasizing that the nation has lived two years of closure in tough situations, but “we are getting up.”
We are at a time when we are defeating the pandemic and we are seeing how the country resumes its course and normality. With a people like that of Cuba, there is no possible surrender and because of that shared effort we can talk about counting, honoring and recognizing.
The Head of State regretted the losses caused by the pandemic and extended his condolences to relatives and friends of the victims. To all, he dedicated the triumph of science and health. “Cuba deserves a celebration adjusted to the new normality,” the Cuban President said.
Díaz-Canel said that imperialism took advantage of this moment to tighten the screws and present ourselves as a failed state, but our people have been recovering and the lights are opening to move forward.
He stressed that we are obliged to jump over the blockade with our own strength, with the talent of the people, and therefore we can achieve conquests and greatly mitigate the difficulties it causes us.
This would be the way to defend the Homeland, the one that our parents left us as an inheritance and that forces us to climb mountains together. We are in a position to speak and comment on these topics.
Journalist: Could it be said that the pandemic is under control? What guarantee do we Cubans have that there will not be another pandemic peak?
Regarding the first opening that the country experienced, the Head of State stressed that the home entry protocol was not efficient, a problem that worsened after the entry of the new strains of COVID-19 into the country.
At that time, Cuban scientists were already in clinical trials with their own vaccines, a sign of the sovereignty achieved by the country in this regard.
Then, with the immunization of the population, a decrease originated, now it is over 400 cases, which is a return to the same levels that existed in January of last year.
Díaz-Canel referred to the behavior of the number of deads as a result of the pandemic, figures that have decreased considerably in recent months and weeks.
Likewise, he stated that there is a downward trend in cases and compared some indicators for Cuba, the world, and the region of the Americas.
At this point, he pointed out that Cuba has a control over the spread of the disease, a behavior that is manifested with the low rate of active cases with 0.22 percent, 98.92 of the recovered cases and a lethality of 0.86 percent, results that They recognize the work done by the health system, scientists, and the cooperation and participation of our people.
“COVID-19 is not going to disappear,” the president stressed and we have prepared to combat it in these two years of pandemic.
An element of national pride is the sovereignty of our vaccines, entering this process a little late compared to those countries that had money and were able to acquire them through international mechanisms, highlighting that we are growing at a vaccination speed of 4.4 percent every week.
It required the creation of laboratories, the development of innovative drugs and others that were effective in different diseases and were used in the treatment against the pandemic, as well as in the design and commissioning of equipment, such as lung ventilators, in productive relation state next to non-state.
He added that the return to normality will be accompanied by a control of the epidemic that is evident, but we have to have a control that starts from the awareness and responsibility of this issue.
An element of national pride is the sovereignty of our vaccines, entering this process a little late compared to those countries that had money and were able to acquire them through international mechanisms, highlighting that we are growing at a vaccination speed of 4.4 percent every week.
It required the creation of laboratories, the development of innovative drugs and others that were effective in different diseases and were used in the treatment against the pandemic, as well as in the design and commissioning of equipment, such as lung ventilators, in productive relation state next to non-state.
He added that the return to normality will be accompanied by a control of the epidemic that is evident, but we have to have a control that starts from the awareness and responsibility of this issue.
We are vaccinated, we are immunized, we go to the reinforcement, there is a robust work system, we are improving ourselves from aspects that did not go well, «we have learned, but we cannot trust or relax, we have to do the activities with all the responsibility to do not back down.
Journalist: Why booster vaccination if the population vaccination strategy in the country has not yet been completed?
About the recently started process of reactivation of Cuban vaccines, he said, studies have shown that national immunogens generate high levels of immunization that last from six to eight months.
For this reason, scientists suggest that it is advisable to go for a booster dose to avoid taking risks and avoiding pandemic outbreaks.
Our vaccines are safe. They have shown it and we are going to go to that dose of reinforcements, added the president.
Let us remember that we are still developing the tests or clinical trials of a fifth candidate, which comes with good results, which is Mambisa and is applied through the nasal route.
Journalist: Is it contemplated that tourists can be vaccinated? Do you think a recovery in the tourism sector is possible?
When asked, Díaz-Canel replied that when immunization with Cuban vaccines began and its effectiveness was seen throughout the world, many said “I’m going to Cuba to get vaccinated.” There is some possibility that it can be done, that tourists can enjoy and be immunized here, he said.
The President first stressed that in the midst of the world situation, Cuba turned to provide solidarity aid.
At the same time, the country announced that tourism would be paralyzed. We get to have up to more than 4 million tourists a year and that come to a standstill. We stopped receiving more than a billion dollars, at the same time that more than 300 million dollars had to be dedicated to fighting COVID.
He added that in the midst of that, we have had to face the global economic crisis.
However, he added, in the midst of this, the country has also begun to recover, and sooner rather than later it will facilitate an economic dynamic and services to the population.
The First Secretary of the Party highlighted the serious effects that the contraction in tourism has brought to the national economy “which is what the accountant sounds like per day and not for pleasure the empire has not stopped attacking us in that area,” he said.
Díaz-Canel announced that in these conditions of the new normal and the conditions that have been created; we are expecting a greater arrival of tourists than what had been thought. “The movement of tour operators indicates that it is high and therefore, in the remainder of the year, we are predicting an immediate increase in tourism.”
He specified that it could be 50% of what we have received throughout the year. In the middle of that, the tourist who wants to get vaccinated will be able to do so. He could receive the first dose and then take the following, with all the indications, if he does not have time in Cuba.
In fact, he pointed out, there is information that some tourists come for the purpose of receiving Cuban vaccines.
To questions about the impact of the meetings held with the different sectors of society, he pointed out that the recent ones have been very profitable, and it would be good to say that it is not new since the tours of the territories were taking place.
Now we have done it with a broader perspective and in a few months we have met with scientists, journalists, intellectuals, lawyers, producers of sectors of culture, religious, military, many more and most importantly, many of the questions raised in it have already begun to be implemented, that is, the statements will not remain a dead letter.
Journalist: About what has been announced for November 15 and what do you expect for the future of Cuba.
The country’s top party leader stated that first one observes there is an intensification of the media to try to destroy the country. This is part of an imperial strategy to destroy the Revolution and build events by dates, proposing to make provocations on November 15.
Now they have raised a whole halo about what could happen that day, he added.
«That does not take us away from sleep. We are calm, safe, but alert and prepared to defend the Revolution and any interventionist action that threatens citizen tranquility. But we have to see the future from the present and our present is the new normal that we are going to go through?, Díaz-Canel said.
The future of the country is a future of hope and of Revolution, said the Head of State, for whom what best demonstrates the reality of that future is the fact that we are returning to the new normal, the revival of the economy, the restart of face-to-face classes during the school year, the inauguration of the Havana Biennial, the opening of a modern CIGB facility for the production of vaccines in Mariel, as well as the application of a government system based on science, management and innovation.
The Cuban president highlighted that the fact that we have experts linked to the development and management programs of laws in the process of forming the legal norms so that they come out robust; The way in which we have carried out the socioeconomic programming of the country and that we are developing a legislative process faithful to what was approved by the ANPP, are elements that denote that, from the present, the future of the country is one of hope, priority and Revolution.
