Havana, July 3 (RHC)-- Havana province begins this Friday the first of three phases planned for the first stage of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic after nearly 15 days of favorable health indices.

Thanks to the positive results in more than three months of confronting the epidemiological situation caused by the expansion of the SARS CoV-2 virus, the rest of the country's provinces -- except Matanzas which will begin next week -- will also move on to the second phase beginning today.

"We always knew that Havana would be the most difficult and complex place to face the pandemic because of the characteristics of a country's capital," said Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, announcing the decision earlier this week.

However, he said, the results of the work carried out over the past few days allowed us to appreciate the progress made to the point that seven days ago the health indicators in the territory were being met, although there are still some daily cases, which is part of this process.

In the Cuban capital, a specific plan of measures for the area will be applied, in line with the guidance of President Miguel Díaz-Canel to move towards a new normality through a gradual and asymmetric process, taking into account the characteristics of each place and the health indices under strict surveillance.

The day before, the president of the Provincial Defense Council of Havana (CDP), Luis Antonio Torres, specified that the transition to this first phase does not mean the abandonment of the measures that have been in place until now.

He also called to be prepared for the possibility that in the next few days, new cases will emerge due to the number of asymptomatic people who could have the disease, and he directed that attention and rigor be maintained in compliance with what has been established.

The measures for this phase include the progressive reactivation of economic activity and suspended services, but maintaining the implemented sanitary measures and epidemiological surveillance.