La Paz, March 21 (RHC)-- Bolivia's coup president Jeanine Añez and her health minister, Erwin Viruez, rejected Cuban health cooperation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with local news media, Viruez affirmed that Bolivian doctors have "the capacity to respond to this or any other contingency."
"Cuban doctors were never accredited as medical professionals in Bolivia... They never responded to the responsibilities of medical professional practice," Viruez said in December 2019 when he rejected Cuban doctors, accusing them of having been protected by former President Evo Morales.
The Health Minister reaffirmed that he does not consider the possibility of receiving Cuban sanitary help and medical supplies. “We are not going to allow it, that's a slap against Bolivian doctors,” Viruez said.
The Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) presidential candidate Luis Arce, is currently asking for Chinese help.
"We ask Mrs. Jeanine Anez to concretize the Chinese cooperation for the benefit of the Bolivian people, ” Arce stated.
Despite Viruez declarations, Bolivian doctors condemn the lack of material resources, medical supplies and preparation to face virus spreading in their country. The El Bajio hospital medical staff questions authorities’ management and transparency on the ongoing national emergency.
