Havana, May 11 (RHC)—Two months after the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Cuba, the most favorable forecast appears to be developing in the country, nonetheless, the island´s Chief Epidemiologist, Dr. Francisco Duran Garcia, urged the island´s population to abide by the restriction measures to avoid the spread of the disease.

Speaking Monday on the daily media briefing on the domestic and international situation on the pandemic, Duran noted that the encouraging declining cases reported over the last 8 days, with more discharges than newly diagnosed cases, should in no way lead to loosening restrictions

“Al the contrary, no more than ever we have to stay at home,” he said, pointing to countries who have had the experience of losing restrictions after declining cases, just to witness a rebound of the disease.

“The week that starting now is of the greatest importance… with a group of studies that are going to be conducted islandwide, with real-time PCRs and the Cuban-developed SUMA technology that allows for the detection of antibodies, we will be able to obtain a picture of the behavior of the pandemic in those places where apparently there are no cases,” Duran said.

On Monday, 17 new positive cases of COVID-19 were announced, for a cumulative total 1783 since March 11.