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Havana, May 22 (RHC)--Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade is the biggest obstacle to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba.

The minister denounced on Twitter that such interference policy, officially imposed on his country almost six decades ago, has caused losses to the national economy of 17 billion dollars only in the last five years.

In the social media network, Rodríguez Parrilla pointed out that the United States blockade has a daily cost of between 12 and 15 million dollars for the Cuban people, affecting all country sectors.

During the pandemic, Cuba has faced the intensification of the U.S. siege, implemented through 243 measures dictated by the administration of former President Donald Trump, which remain unchanged under the current administration.

The island official added that regulations had prevented the Cuban health system from acquiring technologies, medicines, and adequate sanitary material such as gloves, masks, and pulmonary ventilators for the confrontation of COVID-19.

According to official sources, from April to December last year, the blockade caused losses to the health sector in the order of 198 million 348 thousand dollars.

In addition to the economic losses, there was a campaign to discredit and hinder the international medical cooperation offered by Cuba; however, this could not prevent the presence of 57 brigades of the Henry Reeve Contingent in 40 countries, with more than 4,900 health professionals.