Ernesto Soberon, head of the Foreign Ministry's Directorate of Consular Affairs and
Cubans Living Abroad (DACREE), meets the press in Havana on Saturday, July 20, 2021. PL PHoto.

Havana, July 11 (RHC) During the 16 months of Covid-19's presence in Cuba, the country has received solidarity collaborations from abroad and will continue to do so through existing mechanisms,  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed.

The ways to send aid are working, said Ernesto Soberón, head of the Foreign Ministry's Directorate of Consular Affairs and Cubans Living Abroad (DACREE), adding that the resources reach their recipients and can be sent from any part of the planet.

In a press conference, he said that during this period, the Caribbean nation received 543 donations, but in the case of Cubans living abroad, there were shipments from 20 countries, mainly masks and other supplies, in addition to five million syringes.

He explained that another 13 deliveries are in process and thanked the collaboration of all the people who show their solidarity with the Antillean island.

In exceptional situations, Cuba has always counted on international aid, whether from governments, companies, friends from other latitudes or nationals living abroad, but that is very different from a humanitarian corridor or humanitarian intervention, Soberón pointed out.

The diplomat pointed out that these are concepts related to war conflicts and human rights violations, none of which apply to the country.

There is a genuine interest of Cubans abroad to alleviate the current situation amid the impact of Covid-19, he said. Still, he added that there is also an all-out campaign to present an image of chaos that does not correspond to the national situation.

Even amid the complex scenario that the country has, recognized by the authorities, and particularly in some provinces, the panorama is not the one they try to present, he added.

The purpose is to discredit Cuba and the government's management of the pandemic, ignoring the efforts of the Caribbean nation to preserve life, and which allow indicators such as a mortality rate of 0.65, well below the international average, which is 2.16.

In addition, five vaccine candidates have been obtained, two of which have an efficacy of over 90 percent. In the case of Abdala, it already has the authorization for emergency use by the national regulatory authority.

These results have been achieved with Cuba's resources, and during the tightening of the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island, Soberón said.

Cuba has worked intensively to control the pandemic, and there is no chaos or neglect, he assured.