Last Updated on June 9, 2020, 1:50 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel has declared that the coronavirus pandemic is “under control” after the island nation has registered the eighth day continuously without any death from the COVID-19 in the island.
This declaration by the Cuban President paves the way for an announcement next week on the island’s strategy to lift its lockdown gradually.
Cuba is a country of 11.2 million people, and it has recorded less than 2,200 cases of the COVID-19 and 83 deaths from the COVID-19 disease in the country.
Cuba now only has 244 active cases of the COVID-19 disease, and 1,862 people have recovered from the deadly disease.
However, President Diaz-Canel said that the country could not become unconcerned given a spate of new cases of infections since May 28.
He said on Saturday that this was a week in which the number of active cases in the country as well as the number of daily cases had increased in the comparison to the previous weeks when as already announced, the country was at the tail end of this pandemic.
The President further added that Cuba needs to keep focusing on how the country is going to eliminate the residues of the virus that remain, especially those which are associated with the incompetence or malfunctioning of any institution, which may give rise to such events which can provoke a rebound.
He also said that in any case, next week, the Government will be able to inform the people about how it will approach this phase and when the Government can do so.
The Schools and borders of the country remain closed, and the public transport has been suspended along with the wearing of masks in public being made mandatory.
However, with an economy largely dependent on the tourism sector and external trade, and crippled by a six decades-long US embargo, Cuba can not afford to remain in lockdown for a much longer time.
The lockdown has worsened the social situation for millions of Cubans in a country which was already suffering from the shortages of food and fuel.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
