Havana, September 3 (RHC)—Over the last 24 hours, Cuba reached two somber milestones in its fight against the Coronavirus. 

The National Director of Epidemiology, Dr. Francisco Duran reported on Thursday the largest number of new cases diagnosed on the island for a single day: 88 cases and two deaths.

The fatalities were two elderly patients from Artemisa and Havana provinces. With their passing, the island reaches a cumulative of 100 fatalities since the beginning of the epidemic in March.

Dr. Duran stressed how health authorities want to expand PCR tests further and exceed 6000 samples daily to detect people asymptomatically spreading the virus among the population.

Of the 88 new cases, 69 were diagnosed in Havana. The capital remains the epicenter of the disease with great dispersion in its 15 municipalities. In the last 15 days, it has reported 528 new cases. Artemisa follows with 76.

To date, 4214 people have tested positive for the disease, and 638 confirmed cases remain hospitalized.