Doctor José Ángel Portal Miranda, Minister of Public Health

Havana, Dec 28 (RHC) Cuba reinforces epidemiological measures for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and Dengue, as reported Tuesday during the meeting of the Temporary Government Working Group, headed by the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

Data offered by Doctor José Ángel Portal Miranda, Minister of Public Health, confirmed that COVID-19 transmission in the country increased compared to the previous month.

The highest levels of transmission during December were in Havana, Matanzas, Guantánamo and these territories accounted for 62.4% of the cases diagnosed in the country during December (286), said the Public Health Minister.

Portal Miranda underlined that, although in the last week the number of active cases increased in the country, the situation is very favorable. For 18 consecutive weeks there have been no deaths due to COVID-19; and no serious or critical patients have been reported in the Intensive Care Units.

The Minister of Public Health said that Cuban experts forecast a slight growth of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in January, which will not be as significant as in previous periods, "due to the high levels of immunity reached by the population".

In view of this scenario, Cuba will reinforce all epidemiological surveillance measures at the border level in search of symptomatic cases. The use of masks is recommended to enter grocery stores, sales fairs, public transportation, theaters and all those that take place in enclosed spaces.

The authorities also recommend to go immediately to the health services when respiratory symptoms appear as well as not to go to work, school or social events if respiratory symptoms appear.

Extreme vigilance measures should be taken in nursing homes, schools, kindergartens and other institutions with a high concentration of people.

Other measures include the intervention with Nasalferon antiviral product for at-risk groups, the treatment with Biomodulin T scheme in Nursing Homes and Medical Centers, in its semiannual cycle. The application of booster doses of Anti Covid-19 vaccines to pregnant women in their last trimester, a new booster dose of anti-COVID-19 vaccines to the at-risk population (health, BioCubaFarma and tourism workers), the completion of the second booster dose to the population between 19 and 48 years of age, six months after having received the last vaccine.

In this exchange, held at the Palace of the Revolution, José Ángel Portal Miranda also informed about the epidemiological situation regarding Dengue, a disease whose transmission shows a slight downward trend, taking into account that the incidence rate of suspected cases per 100,000 inhabitants show a decrease compared to the previous week. (Source: Radio Rebelde)