reunion

Havana, April 24 (RHC)--Despite the high number of COVID-19 cases being registered in Cuba day by day -some of them never seen before-, the population's perception of risk is still insufficient, said Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.

Speaking on Friday in a meeting of the Temporary Working Group for the prevention and control of the new coronavirus,  the head of Government stressed the need to "continue taking measures" because there is no sense of fear despite everything reported about the disease.

We have to "take care of ourselves and others; we have to continue this fight," said Marrero Cruz.

Underscoring the severity of the situation, Public Health Minister,

José Angel Portal Miranda said that 15 438 COVID-19 infections were diagnosed in the country in the last fifteen days, for an incidence rate of 138 per 100 000 inhabitants.

Havana, Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, and Granma provinces have the highest rate.

Cuba accumulates a total of 569 deaths due to the disease, for a lethality rate of 0.57 percent.

Portal Miranda drew attention to the fact that 70 percent of the COVID-19 positive cases, diagnosed as of last Thursday, were concentrated in the provinces of Havana and Matanzas.

Authorities of the country's capital and the province that follows in epidemiological complexity explained what has been done in the last hours to face the epidemic.

The Governor of Havana, Reinaldo García Zapata, pointed out that the province has 14 hospitals with 2,827 beds, a figure that will be increased using two other health institutions one for children and the other for adults.

As for the province of Matanzas, its authorities said that more than 2,000 patients are under epidemiological surveillance. The territory has hospital capacity for contacts, suspects, and low-risk positive cases.