COVID-19: Cuba

www.granma.cu/cuba-covid-19/2020-03-20/donde-encontrar-informacion-fiable-sobre-covid-19-07-03-2020-00-03-51
Applicacion por Infomed para moviles en Cuba y otros sitios

covid19cubadata.github.io/ COVID-19 Cuba Data Dashboard www.granma.cu/cuba-covid-19 temas.sld.cu/coronavirus/covid-19/ Cubadebate Salud

¡No vamos a parar!We Will Not Stop! Roberto Zurbano, 5/1/2020

“Conocernos cara a cara tras pandemia” 5/5/2020 Mujeres, entrevistea con Rosa Campoalegre

Gusano Lobby pressures nations to reject Cuban medical aid missions, Wayne Madsen Report, 4/10/2020

Articles/Artículos

The War on Cuba — Episode 3  10/24/2020 Belly of The Beast Cuba: "The documentary series, The War on Cuba, gives an inside look on the effects of U.S. sanctions on Cuban people. Episode 3 explores Cuba's healthcare program and medical brigades. We talk to doctors who served in Brazil, Bolivia and Italy, and of course the ones who held it down in Cuba during COVID-19."

US-Cuba Docuseries 'The War on Cuba' Premiers Friday  10/7/2020 teleSUR: "Originally slated to be a ten-part series focusing on the Trump administrations’ attacks on culture, sports, energy, travel, healthcare, and other sectors in Cuba, the Belly of the Beast production crew in Havana was forced to change gears with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, interrupting travel and production schedules. The revised series, narrated and presented by Cuban journalist Liz Oliva and scored by Cuban musicians El Espacio, will now focus on the mechanics of the US blockade, the connection to US policy in Venezuela, the attacks on Cuba’s international medical collaboration, and the role of Cuba in Florida electoral politics."

Episode 2- Reed Lindsay Belly of The Beast Media Cuban Doctors Fighting COVID  6/18/2020 The Breeze: "In this episode, we bring to you Filmmaker/Director/Producer Reed Lindsay, all the way from Cuba. We met Reed a few years back at The Dances With Films Festivals where his Documentary "Charlie VS Goliath" was screened, about an independent candidate who fought hard to win a senate seat by doing grassroots campaigning. We catch up with Reed about his new endeavor, including his Media Outlet, Belly of The Beast, which focuses on the news coming out of Cuba, and mentions the recent news about Cuban doctors which have traveled all over the world, helping various countries fighting off the COVID Crisis."

Scott’s new bill targets countries that hire Cuban doctors through official ‘missions’  6/17/2020 Miami Herald: "A new bill introduced by Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott on Wednesday would target countries that hire Cuban doctors through the “medical missions” controlled by the island’s government. The Cut Profits to the Cuban Regime Act requires the State Department to publish the list of countries that contract the doctors through the Cuban government and to consider that as a factor in their ranking in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report."

La pandemia racializada - Debates desde la afroepistemología (II)  6/15/2020 Ancestralidad, antirracismo y actualidades: "La continuidad de la serie “La Pandemia racializada: debates desde la afroepistemología”, tiene lugar en un contexto histórico de resistencias, muy especial. América Latina y el Caribe han devenido en el epicentro de la pandemia COVID-19 y se globalizan las movilizaciones populares de repudio ante la histórica brutalidad policial contra el pueblo afroamericano, asentada en el racismo estructural, a raíz del asesinato impune de George Floyd. Ante estos hechos cobran vigencia los nexos entre racismo y facismo. Al unísono, se profundiza una de las principales respuestas desde las contrahegemonías ante la pandemia: solidaridad militante y creciente."

Cuba sets example with successful programme to contain coronavirus  6/7/2020 Guardian: "The World Health Organization has identified Latin America as the new centre for coronavirus pandemic, but over the last two months, cases in Cuba have fallen. Cubans are now 24 times less likely to catch the virus than Dominicans, 27 times less likely to catch it than Mexicans, and more than 70 times less likely to be infected than Brazilians."

Incrementan en La Habana medidas contra la COVID-19  6/3/2020 Tribuna de la Habana: "Entre ellas, el reforzamiento en los centros de aislamiento de la ciudad, a partir del arribo de viajeros que se debe de producir en los próximos días."

Cuba’s Offline Quarantine  6/1/2020 Slate: "He delivers the Cuban “offline internet.” "I have almost doubled my clients since the lockdown started,” he says.

Planting Everything during COVID-19  5/29/2020 Havana Times: "It’s a very hostile landscape and, personally-speaking, I believe having a plot of land is a real blessing. An oasis to face the “desert” of this crisis. I normally try to plant something commercial that allows me to sell it and fix a small problem that a parent always has to deal with. But the perspective is different now: it’s pure survival! This is why I have filled my plot with bits of this and that, trying to plant everything I can. Some tomato plants, even though they are out of season right now; a couple of rows of okra; a couple of lines of sweet potato; another area of cassava at least; three lines of French beans; another six rows of black-eyed peas; and the rest is corn. I already have pepper seedlings so I can plant them soon. I want to make sure that we can feed ourselves, even if we don’t have other things."

Cuba Cannot Get Swiss Respirators Due to US Inhuman Blockade  5/29/2020 teleSUR: "The U.S. blockade against Cuba ignores all moral limits. At this point, nothing Washington does to attack the Island should surprise us. However, the crime of Swiss respirators opens a chapter of unprecedented cruelty," journalist Waldo Mendiluza said from France."

How Cuba is succeeding in the fight against COVID  5/28/2020 48 Hills: "With a government-run medical system, the island has contained the virus to a tiny fraction of the cases in the US."

La efectiva estrategia cubana: cercar al virus por todos los flancos  5/22/2020 EFE: "Una cubana de mediana edad, pongamos que se llama Belkis, llega a lo que antes era un cámping estatal y ahora, un centro de aislamiento para potenciales enfermos de Covid-19. Una vecina con la que charló tres días antes resultó positiva. Antes de que acabe el día y sin saber aún si se contagió, Belkis iniciará un tratamiento farmacológico para elevar su sistema inmune. Hasta el jueves, Cuba había culminado una semana sin muertos por SARS-CoV-2 y muestra un índice de letalidad (4,2 %) por debajo del de la región de las Américas (5,9 %) y del mundial (6,6 %). Desde mediados de marzo acumula 1.916 casos y 81 fallecidos, en su mayoría ancianos con patologías de riesgo o pacientes con enfermedades previas en estado terminal. El 85 % de los enfermos ya se ha recuperado. ¿Cómo lo han hecho? El caso de Belkis ilustra la -hasta ahora exitosa- estrategia de la isla frente al coronavirus, un doble cerco que empieza por lo espacial y acaba en el mismo organismo humano: cercar al virus para que no se propague, pero también para que si penetra en el organismo encuentre una respuesta rotunda."

Percepción de riesgo  5/22/2020 On Cuba: "El policía, por su parte, conoce a la mujer y la deja hacer. La ve día tras día, mientras otros compradores van y vienen, rezongan, protestan, pujan por salir del abrazo funesto de la anaconda. Ella, en cambio, él sabe, persevera en la cola, ilesa, imbatible, a horcajadas sobre el grueso lomo de la serpiente constrictor, ajena al peligro de quedarse sin pollo –cuando venden pollo, ella siempre alcanza–, indiferente al riesgo de contagiarse con el coronavirus. El coronavirus también es objetivo, como la cola; el peligro que representa: real. En la Habana se han reportado ya más de 900 casos, suficientes como para que las autoridades hayan reforzado las medidas de aislamiento. Sin embargo, la vida sigue como antes. O casi. La percepción de riesgo es inversamente proporcional a las ventas de pollo. O a las posibles ventas."

Cuba’s Resilience Through Economic Crisis Prepared It for COVID Health Crisis  5/16/2020 Truth Out: "And yet there is another way to address widespread pandemics that focuses on the health, well-being and safety of all citizens, without being consumed by disaster exploitation or consumer fears. As a human rights lawyer, I can’t help but look to how other countries that incorporate a human rights framework and approach to governance are handling the crisis. As it turns out, I have had a chance to witness just that up close, since I’ve been in Havana, Cuba, since early March, when the virus began to be taken seriously throughout the world."

Cuba frente a la COVID–19, día 59: Últimas noticias  5/8/2020 Cubadebate: "La decisión de incrementar en La Habana las acciones que permitan detener la transmisión de la COVID-19 y lograr la estabilidad epidemiológica en este territorio, que hoy tiene 822 casos, la mayor cifra del país fue dada a conocer la víspera. En este sentido, se amplió las medidas de refuerzo de aislamiento social a los cinco consejos populares del municipio de Centro Habana y a todo el Consejo Popular de Luyanó Moderno, del municipio San Miguel del Padrón. Esta decisión se tomará también en el consejo popular Latino, del municipio del Cerro."

Cuba reporta 12 casos positivos a la COVID-19, un fallecido y 47 altas médicas  5/8/2020 Cubadebate: "Cuba reportó al cierre de este jueves 7 de mayo, 12 nuevos casos a la COVID-19 para un acumulado de 1 741 en el país, un fallecido y 47 altas médicas, según informó en conferencia de prensa el doctor Francisco Durán, director Nacional de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap)."

COVID-19: Algunos datos para apuntar  5/8/2020 Cubadebate: "Según datos oficiales del MINSAP, el total de pacientes recuperados en Cuba ya representa el 61.9 % de todos los enfermos de la COVID-19 que ha atendido el país desde el pasado 11 de marzo. El promedio mundial de recuperados, según las estadísticas actualizadas de la OMS es de un 33.8 % de todos los enfermos."

Centro Habana quedará en aislamiento social: ¿Qué medidas se proponen?  5/8/2020 Cubadebate: "Centro Habana es uno de los municipios de la capital con una tasa de incidencia de coronavirus por encima de la media provincial y, junto al Cotorro, acumula el mayor número de casos positivos hasta la fecha, con la diferencia de que el riesgo epidemiológico no es en una institución, sino en todo el territorio. En aras de preservar la vida de la población y frenar la propagación de la epidemia, quedará aislado partir de las ocho de la noche de este viernes 8 de mayo y se reforzarán las medidas, previamente debatidas por los Consejos de Defensa Provincial y Municipal.

Programa Especial de Otaola con Luis Almagro (OEA) y John Barsa (USAID)  5/7/2020 Cubanos por el Mundo: "No te lo pierdas: Programa especial de Hola! Ota-Ola con Alex Otaola. Mensaje al pueblo cubano de Luis Almagro, secretario general de la OEA y John Barsa administrador de la USAID"

Cuba frente a la COVID–19, día 58: Últimas noticias  5/7/2020 Cubadebate: "De manera general, en La Habana, se elevará el rigor de las sanciones y multas a quienes permanezcan en las calles incumpliendo las medidas sanitarias, esta acción se intensifica debido a la identificación de indisciplinas, sobre todo por la presencia de niños y adolescentes fuera de sus casas, en estos casos las medidas punitivas recaerán sobre los padres o tutores, explicó Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, director provincial de salud."

Organización estadounidense pide Nobel de la Paz para médicos cubanos por combatir COVID-19  5/7/2020 Cubadebate: "La organización estadounidense Codepink solicita que el Nobel de la Paz sea entregado a los médicos cubanos por su lucha contra la COVID-19 en muchos países. La agrupación feminista y pacifista Codepink ha llamado al Comité del Premio Nobel de la Paz a considera la inclusión de los médicos cubanos en la lista de candidatos de este año, aun cuando ya pasó la fecha límite para las nominaciones."

Cuban medical aid for Angola's provinces to fight Covid-19  5/7/2020 PL: "Cuban doctors were taken to different provinces of Angola to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, Franco Mufinda, secretary of State for Public Health, said. Franco Mufinda stated the lab results in last 24 hours found that 237 Cuban doctors came back negative for infection, thus concluding a second test for members of the medical brigade, who completed the quarantine process. On Thursday, the first 53 doctors left for the territories of Huila, Bie, Moxico and Namibe, Mufinda said at a live press conference."

Cuba ordena sabotear transmisión online de conferencia crítica de las misiones médicas  5/7/2020 Nuevo Heraldo: "El gobierno cubano ordenó a sus médicos en misiones y a su personal diplomático entorpecer un evento patrocinado por la Agencia de Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo (USAID) y la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) en la que se abordaría el tema de las misiones médicas de la isla, denunció en las redes sociales el presentador e influencer cubano Alex Otaola, quien presentará el conversatorio."

‘Doctor diplomacy’: Cuba seeks to make its mark in Europe amid Covid-19 crisis  5/6/2020 Guardian: "“In Lombardy … everyone is grateful for their professionalism and their humbleness and availability to a country they hardly know,” said Marco Grimaldi, a politician from north-west Italy who helped to negotiate the arrival of a group of 39 Cuban healthcare workers with diplomats from Havana. “Imagine if Europe could manage to do the same.”"

Thousands of people in Cuba may have had early, undiagnosed cases of coronavirus  5/5/2020 Miami Herald: "“Not only could the increase be explained by a COVID-19 outbreak, it most likely does reflect the COVID-19 outbreak based on when it started and what has been going on in the world,” said Dr. Aileen Marty, an expert on infectious tropical diseases and director of the Florida International University Health Travel Medicine Program. “It is very probable that many people in Cuba had the virus in March and were counted simply as Acute Respiratory Illness,” she added. The statistics were published by the island’s Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine in its weekly bulletins."

“Conocernos cara a cara tras pandemia”  5/5/2020 Mujeres: "Mujeres conversó con Rosa Campoalegre Septien, coordinadora del Grupo de Estudios de Familia del Centro de Investigaciones Psicológicas y Sociológicas (CIPS), sobre un proyecto que une a la academia, organizaciones de masa, sociales y líderes comunitarios en el enfrentamiento a la COVID-19."

Chinese group skirts US embargo to help Cuba  5/4/2020 Asia Times: "US officials must be feeling a tad red-faced after a simple but dedicated group of Chinese alumni reportedly found a way around Draconian Cold War sanctions to help the Cuban people fight the Covid-19 virus, The Global Times reported on Sunday. A total of 286 Chinese donors raised more than 140,000 yuan (US$19,823), purchased 420 pieces of medical protective outfits and 38,750 masks and sent the medical supplies to Cuba successfully with the help of the Cuban embassy in China, Chen Ke, who initiated the donation campaign, told the Global Times."

Chinese-donated medical supplies arrive in Cuba after delay due to US sanctions  5/3/2020 Global Times: "Medical supplies to fight COVID-19 donated by Chinese alumni who once studied in Cuba have arrived in the country with love and gratitude, after breaking through transportation restrictions amid US sanctions against the island nation, Chinese donors said on Sunday. A total of 286 Chinese donors raised more than 140,000 yuan($ 19,823), purchased 420 pieces of medical protective outfits and 38,750 masks and sent the medical supplies to Cuba successfully with the help of the Cuban embassy in China, Chen Ke, who initiated the donation campaign, told the Global Times."

Cuba releases thousands of prison inmates amid coronavirus fears  5/1/2020 Miami Herald: "The Cuban government has jailed more than 300 people on charges of “spreading an epidemic,” but has sent home 6,579 inmates in an attempt to avoid coronavirus contagion in prisons, one the largest releases of inmates in decades. Speaking on state television on Thursday, Otto Molina, the president of the Criminal Chamber of Cuba’s Supreme Court, said that most of the inmates benefited from an “early release” under parole."

Lift Cuba embargo or risk many lives lost to COVID-19, UN rights experts warn US  4/30/2020 UN News: "The economic and financial embargo, first imposed by Washington in 1958, adds a cumbersome and expensive licensing process to the export and re-export of goods to Cuba. The issuance of licenses or clearance for exemptions can take several months, according to the experts. “Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the comprehensive embargo has imposed additional financial burden, increased cargo travel time due to an inability to procure supplies, reagents, medical equipment and medicines necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19,” the experts said. It also makes access to technology difficult, delaying the development of e-health and telemedicine."

Cuba’s Improbable Medical Prowess in Asia  4/24/2020 The Diplomat: "Dr. Oscar Putol, a member of the mission treating the victims of the 2006 Indonesian earthquake, explained their operations: “Today, a volcano; tomorrow, an earthquake; the day after, floods. Cuba is prepared to go to any country to help.” But very little of Cuba’s remarkable history of sending medical teams to Asia and the world – including now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic — is covered by the Western mainstream media."

The Cuban government is sending people to jail for not wearing a mask  4/24/2020 Miami Herald: "A video published by the Cuban Supreme Court of Justice on Thursday provided several examples of Cubans sentenced in quick trials to one-year prison, correctional work, or steep fines under charges of "spreading an epidemic.""

We Should Applaud the Cuban Health System — and Learn From It  4/22/2020 Jacobin: by Medea Benjamin

Cuba reporta 49 nuevos casos de COVID-19 para un total de 1035 confirmados  4/19/2020 Cubadebate: "e acuerdo con el especialista, al cierre del día de ayer, 18 de abril, se encuentraban ingresados en hospitales para vigilancia clínico epidemiológica 3 037 pacientes, de estos 2266 sospechosos . Otras 8 134 personas se vigilan en sus hogares, desde la atención primaria de salud."

Coronavirus response: why Cuba is such an interesting case  4/15/2020 The Conversation: "If Cuba’s contact-tracing and testing regime gets the disease under control, its experience might offer lessons for controlling the pandemic, and more of its doctors will be available to help with the effort to combat the pandemic abroad. But tests are expensive, at around US$50 each, so if its hard-fought battle against COVID-19 is prolonged, Cuba’s lack of access to finance could prove fatal."

Cuba reporta 40 nuevos casos de COVID-19 y 11 nuevas altas médicas  4/14/2020 Cubadebate: "Con la confirmación al cierre del lunes 13 de abril de 40 nuevos casos con la COVID-19, Cuba alcanza la cifra de 766 pacientes positivos a la enfermedad causada por el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, informó esta jornada el doctor Francisco Durán García, director nacional de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud Pública (MINSAP)."

Why is Canada Refusing Cuban Doctors?  4/14/2020 Counterpunch: "In a setting of mutual aid, overlapping families and constant interaction in a Canadian Reserve setting, having ANY Covid-19 cases is a clear recipe for disaster. Seeing this in motion, multiple Chiefs working in the Southern Chiefs Organization of Manitoba First Nations had a remarkable and very workable step to try and mitigate such a disaster. They opted to call upon the solidarity work of Cuban doctors, doctors who have worked in pandemics like Ebola, SARS and have worked in disaster relief from hurricanes in the rest of the Caribbean to relief from earthquakes, treating HIV patients, helping children from Chernobyl recover and far, far more."

Cuba reporta 57 nuevos casos de COVID-19, tres fallecidos y 29 nuevas altas médicas  4/13/2020 Cubadebate: "Con la confirmación al cierre del domingo 12 de abril de 57 nuevos casos con la COVID-19, Cuba alcanza la cifra de 726 pacientes positivos a la enfermedad causada por el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, informó esta jornada el doctor Francisco Durán García, director nacional de epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud Pública (MINSAP)."

Cuba reporta 49 nuevos casos de COVID-19, dos fallecidos, y 15 nuevas altas médicas  4/12/2020 Cubadebate: "Con la confirmación al cierre del sábado 11 de abril de 49 nuevos casos con la COVID-19, Cuba alcanza la cifra de 669 pacientes positivos a la enfermedad causada por el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, informó esta jornada el doctor Francisco Durán García, director nacional de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap)."

Cuba reporta 56 nuevos casos de COVID-19, un fallecido y 26 altas médicas  4/11/2020 Cubadebate: "Con la confirmación al cierre del viernes 10 de abril de 56 nuevos casos con la COVID-19, Cuba alcanza la cifra de 620 pacientes positivos a la enfermedad causada por el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, informó esta jornada el doctor Francisco Durán García, director nacional de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud Pública (Minsap)."

Miami-Dade Leaders Think Cuba Is Partly to Blame for Coronavirus Spread  4/10/2020 Miami New Times: ""It is well known that the Cuban government after the Bay of Pigs and so on — and the Missile Crisis — began experimenting and getting a lot of support from the then-Soviet Union in biological warfare and all kinds of different weapons," Souto said at a livestreamed commission meeting this past Tuesday. "They have... weaponized certain diseases and certain things. This might very well be some sort of moment that they are trying to capitalize and use to [inflict] one more wound on us, on the USA." [See our page on the biowar against Cuba.]

‘Officials in Florida city say they face ‘unimaginable’ potential death from COVID-19: ‘Recipe for disaster’  4/8/2020 Alternet: "Officials in the Florida city of Hialeah are warning that they are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic and face the possibility of “unimaginable” death from the disease. In interviews with The Daily Beast, the officials explained how their large population of senior citizens is at grave risk if Hialeah erupts as a major COVID-19 hotspot."

Cuba cuenta con tres nuevas plataformas digitales sobre la Covid-19  4/8/2020 PL: "Cuba cuenta hoy con tres plataformas digitales que brindan información verídica sobre la Covid-19 a la población y al personal de la salud. El ministerio de Salud Pública, desde su portal web Infomed, puso a disposición de los usuarios tres nuevas opciones, una de ellas es la apk covid-19-InfoCU, que facilita el acceso a datos actualizados de la mencionada cartera acerca de la pandemia."

Is COVID-19 Disproportionately Killing Black Men?  4/8/2020 Newsy: "State-level data suggest virus hits African Americans the hardest, and international statistics shows COVID-19 kills more men than women."

Covid-19 in Cuba, 46 new confirmed cases  4/7/2020 PL: "The director of Epidemiology of that entity, Francisco Durán, specified that all the last affected are Cubans, and one of them had the source of infection in the United States. He added that 31 were contacts of previously confirmed cases, 13 of contacts of travelers from abroad and the source of infection of one is being investigated. By provinces, there is one per capita in Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Matanzas; six from Havana; four from Villa Clara; 20 from Ciego de Ávila; four from Camagüey; two from Holguín; and three from Santiago de Cuba; from the special municipality Isla de la Juventud with four. Durán explained at the usual press conference on Covid-19 that 1,752 patients are admitted for clinical-epidemiological surveillance. Another 15,762 people, added the doctor, are monitored in their homes, from the Primary Health Care. In order to detect the disease, yesterday 566 cases were studied, and 7,754 samples were accumulated."

Bienvenida Cuba  4/6/2020 Martinique: "Si l’efficacité et le sérieux de la médecine cubaine n’est plus à démontrer, jamais les médecins cubains n’avaient été autant espérés chez nous. Du côté de la CTM [Collectivité Territoriale de Martinique], son président, Alfred Marie Jeanne a pris sa plume pour adresser au Préfet une offre de service. Dans cette lettre, il affirme avoir obtenu l’assurance et le soutien des autorités cubaines en la matière."

Cuban doctors would be welcome in France, says deputy  4/4/2020 PL: "In an interview with Prensa Latina, the environmentalist parliamentarian, who represents the southern department of Bocas de Ródano in the National Assembly, reacted to decree 2020-377 of March 31, which allows regional health agencies in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy to hire doctors, dentists, midwives and pharmacists from countries outside the European Union. The pandemic that we are facing due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is global, it has no borders, therefore aid and solidarity should not have any borders either, he said in reference to the initiative that opens the doors to the participation of Cuban doctors in those territories, demanded by local personalities. Lambert recalled that a few days ago he proposed, along with 45 other deputies, that the French government ask for the island's support in the battle against Covid-19, not only in the overseas departments."

U.S. embargo thwarts aid shipment to Cuba  4/4/2020 CGTN, China: "As infections rise in Cuba, the nation is finding its control efforts complicated by international politics. Cuban health officials battling COVID-19 were counting on a donation of face masks, diagnostic kits and ventilators from Chinese electronics giant Alibaba and the Jack Ma Foundation in late March, but the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba has kept it from arriving. The U.S. company hired by Alibaba to deliver the shipment backed out at the last minute, citing rules of the blockade despite the embargo's exceptions for food and medical aid."

Cuba Suspends International Passenger Flights  4/2/2020 teleSUR: "Airports remain open for cargo flights and humanitarian operations, the Minister of Public Transportation Eduardo Rodriguez said. Ships and other vessels in Cuban territorial waters have been asked to withdraw, he said, as officials step up efforts to mitigate the epidemic. Cubans have been told that face masks are mandatory on all public transportation nationwide."

Congressional Black Caucus asked to promote emergency legislation for access to Cuban drug  4/1/2020 RHC: "At a time when the numbers of infected and dead in the country -which has become a global epicenter of the pandemic- are soaring, Dr. Rosemari Mealy and lawyer Joan Gibbs are calling for the promotion of emergency legislation for access to proven Cuban medicines such as Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2B, used with good results in China. Mealy and Gibbs, whose work focuses on developing legislative, local, and national strategies in mobilization efforts to end the US blockade against Cuba, urge the Caucus in their letter to take immediate action during this pandemic, Prensa Latina highlights."

US Blockade Prevents Medical Supplies From Reaching Cuba  4/1/2020 teleSUR: "Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández, Cuban Ambassador in China, said: “The commendable efforts of the founder of Alibaba and the Jack Ma Foundation, which had managed to reach over fifty countries around the world, could not touch Cuban soil, no matter how necessary those resources might be in support of the battle being waged by the small, besieged and blockaded Antillean island."

Cuban doctors invited to join fight against COVID-19 in Caribbean islands  4/1/2020 People's Dispatch: "The French government has invited the services of Cuban doctors in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, and Guiana, all of which are administered by France. The decision was made at the request of senator for Martinique, Catherine Conconne, and senator for Guadeloupe, Dominique Theophile. Conconne said the decision “was taken mainly to strengthen our teaching hospitals. This amendment allows us to draw on our Cuban fraternal resources. So, for me, it’s a victory, a great joy. That this decree arrives at the height of the coronavirus crisis is very good.”"

Cuban nurses to the rescue as they arrive in Jamaica to assist in COVID-19 battle  3/30/2020 Voice, UK: "“I want to use the opportunity to encourage all professionals, who have reached retirement age but are still very skilled and experience, we’re inviting them back to work with us during this period and this is an official invitation,” he said. In the meantime, Dr. Tufton said that isolation areas are being identified at hospitals island-wide."

Expert: Cuban Health System's Strength Against COVID-19  3/27/2020 teleSUR: "Celestrin praised the work of medical students in Matanzas province, who are carrying out active home investigations to identify flu symptoms in the population and possible cases of Covid-19. Around 1,300 students from the Juan Guiteras Medical Sciences University in Matanzas support these investigations in the local health areas themselves, who have received the necessary training on the procedure and characteristics of the disease."

Caribbean Governments Join Forces Against COVID-19  3/25/2020 teleSUR: "The Health and Foreign Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) held Tuesday the first extraordinary meeting of the regional bloc on COVID-19, during which the delegations proposed joint actions to confront the pandemic."

Cuba Uses 'Wonder Drug' to Fight Coronavirus Around World Despite U.S. Sanctions  3/24/2020 Newsweek: "Cuba first used advanced interferon techniques to treat dengue fever in the 1980s and later found success in using it to combat HIV, human papillomavirus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other diseases. The use of Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant "prevents aggravation and complications in patients reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death," Cuban biotech expert Luis Herrera Martinez said, according to a recent Yale University Press Blog feature written by the University of Glasgow's Helen Yaffe. She called the treatment a potential "wonder drug" against the new coronavirus."

Cuba in the time of the coronavirus  3/23/2020 Open Democracy: "Patients sickened with the coronavirus in China are already being treated with the Cuban antiviral Interferón Alpha 2B Recombinant (IFNrec). This pharmaceutical is being produced at the Chinese-Cuban ChangHeber factory in China’s Jilin province since January 25. It is one of the stars of Cuban biotechnology, also used against HIV viral infection, the human papilloma virus, and hepatitis types B and C. Furthermore, it has proven effectiveness against various types of cancer. Interferón Alpha is one of the medications recommended in the treatment of covid-19 in the February 6, 2020 guide published by Chinese doctors in Wuhan, where the pandemic originated in December 2019. The medication is one of the products developed by the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), created on the island in 1986."

Cuba's wonder drug - Will it combat COVID-19?  3/22/2020 Jamaica Observer: "Cuban Interferon Alpha 2b has proven effective for viruses with characteristics similar to those of COVID-19. Cuban biotech specialist, Dr Luis Herrera Martinez, explained that “its use prevents aggravation and complications in patients reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death”. Cuba first developed and used interferons to arrest a deadly outbreak of the dengue virus in 1981, and the experience catalysed the development of the island's now world-leading biotech industry."

Cuba can produce 23 drugs to treat coronavirus, working on a vaccine against it  3/18/2020 Ahora!: "Cuba has full capacity to supply Interferon alpha 2B and other 22 medicines to the national health system in the fight and treatment of COVID-19. It is also s working on a vaccine against that disease. Biocubafarma Business Group is studying how some existing medications of its production line can contribute to the positive response of patients. Such drugs include Biomodulin T, an immunostimulant with which clinical studies are already being carried out, and a vaccine to facilitate the systemic response of patients affected by COVID-19."

Cuba: Fallece paciente italiano contagiado con COVID-19 y se reportan tres nuevos casos  3/18/2020 CubaDebate: "En la madrugada del 18 de marzo falleció el paciente de nacionalidad italiana de 61 años de edad, que se encontraba ingresado en la sala de terapia intensiva del Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kouri”, en estado crítico. A pesar de los esfuerzos realizados por el equipo de terapia intensiva que directamente lo atendía, así como por el grupo de expertos del Ministerio de Salud Pública que le dio seguimiento permanente, las complicaciones desarrolladas propias de su enfermedad, provocaron su fallecimiento."

Italy and UK rely on help from Cuba, China, Venezuela to fight coronavirus – as US steps up brutal sanctions  3/17/2020 Greyzone: "The sanctions that the United States has imposed on dozens of countries around the world, in an attempt to overthrow their independent governments, have only made the global coronavirus pandemic worse. But at the same time, some of these nations targeted by US economic warfare have taken the lead in the effort to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. In fact, the local government in the north of Italy, a member of the European Union and NATO, has officially requested medical help from China, Cuba, and Venezuela — all countries demonized by the United States and EU, which in turn have provided Italy with little support."

Amid coronavirus pandemic, Bolsonaro’s Brazil begs for Cuban doctors – after expelling them  3/17/2020 GreyZone: "By February 2020, however, the Brazilian government began to reverse course. The Bolsonaro administration had been unable to find doctors who would serve in these remote areas, so it agreed to allow the 1,800 Cuban doctors who remained in the country to return to the communities they had previously served. And now, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Brasilia’s right-wing occupant has done a complete about-face. In a press conference on March 15, Brazilian Secretary of Health João Gabbardo beseeched Cuba to send back the doctors who were expelled to prevent the country’s health system from collapsing as it battled a spreading pandemic. Gabbardo declared that 5,000 of the Cuban doctors re-deployed to Brazil will be assigned to primary care centers across the massive country."

Brazil to hire more doctors to fight coronavirus, including Cubans  3/16/2020 Reuters: "Health ministry officials said they will initially look to hire Brazilian nationals, but after that, they would try to bring in Cuban doctors - collateral damage in a war-of-words between President Jair Bolsonaro, who was then the president-elect, and Havana. Bolsonaro, a far-right army captain, has for years railed against communist Cuba, which had close ties to previous leftists administrations in Brasilia. Almost 9,000 Cuban doctors, many working in poor, remote communities across continent-sized Brazil, headed home in November 2018, after Havana pulled them. Bolsonaro said they were working in “slave labor” because the Cuban government took 75% of their salaries."

Cuba tiene disponible importante medicamento contra el coronavirus  3/13/2020 El Nuevo Dia: "Señalaron que los chinos han recomendado que el medicamento sea colocado en el protocolo de tratamiento del COVID-19, lo cual ha sido acatado por diversos países, como España e Italia, y la propia Cuba. El presidente de Biocubafarma, Eduardo Martínez, explicó que la empresa ha puesto miles de dosis del Interferón a disposición de los hospitales cubanos, que deben ser suficientes para atender la emergencia en los próximos meses. Sostuvo que Cuba está en la posición de vender el medicamento en el mercado internacional en grandes cantidades y que han recibido acercamientos de países de todas partes del mundo para comprar o informarse sobre el Interferón."

Proponen en Miami cancelar todos los vuelos a Cuba por coronavirus  3/12/2020 On Cuba: "Al final del jueves, en una rueda de prensa en el hospital público Jackson Memorial, el alcalde del condado, Carlos Gimenez, dijo que está de acuerdo con la suspensión de los vuelos a Cuba y que cuenta con el apoyo del gobernador Ron DeSantis. «He hablado con el gobernador, sé que el presidente suspendió ayer todos los vuelos desde Europa, y le estoy pidiendo ayuda (al gobernador) si nos puede asistir en esto. Sé que en Cuba ha aparecido el Coronavirus. No creo que solamente sean tres casos, creo que hay muchos más y eso es un riesgo para la gente de nuestro condado y este estado."

April 10-12, 2020 -- Gusano Lobby pressures nations to reject Cuban medical aid missions, Wayne Madsen Report

The Gusano Lobby in Washington, aided and abetted by right-wing elements in the Trump administration and Senate, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House trade coordinator Peter Navarro, and Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, are threatening third party sanctions against nations that have welcomed Cuban medical teams to help in the battle against Covid-19. Gusano is literally the Spanish word for "worm" and is a pejorative used to describe the right-wing Cuban expat community that is mainly centered in south Florida.

Cuban medical teams are now in high demand as the health care infrastructures of many nations, large and small, have been stressed to their breaking points by Covid-19 patients.

Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the Gusano Lobby and its White House and congressional supporters believed they had great success in convincing Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and El Salvador, all governed by far-right or right-wing governments, to expel Cuban doctors, nurses, and other medical support staff as part of the Trump administration's policy of increasing the American economic blockade of Cuba. That policy now lies shattered as Cuban medical personnel, considered to be some of the best in the world, have been welcomed to various nations. Last year, Trump accused Cuban doctors in Venezuela of "undermining democracy." The Trump administration is using the U.S. military and CIA in a "regime change" operation designed to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and replace him with the CIA-supported opposition stooge, Juan Guaido.

Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, received accolades from Trump and Pompeo for expelling Cuban doctors from Brazil. Embarrassingly, the spread of Covid-19 across Brazil has resulted in Bolsonaro reversing his earlier decision and inviting Cuban doctors back into the country. Andorra Cuba COVID-19

Cuban medical teams fighting Covid-19 are now found in countries around the world. The Trump "paper tiger" State Department has complained to the countries welcoming Cuban medical teams, but American diplomatic power projection today is a virtual joke. After the Principality of Andorra welcomed a Cuban team of 39 medical personnel, the U.S. berated the government of the tiny Pyrenees nation that has seen an explosion of Covid-19 cases.

Andorran Foreign Minister Maria Ubach fired back at the U.S. pressure, saying, "I am aware of the position of the United States, but we are a sovereign country and we can choose the partners with whom to have a collaboration." Andorra found itself unable to request medical help from neighboring Spain and France because they were overwhelmed with their own Covid-19 cases. Ubach personally welcomed the Cuban medical team to Andorra-la-Vella, the capital, on March 29. [right]

Responding to criticism of Cuba's international medical assistance program, Cuban ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal tweeted, "Shame on you. Instead of attacking Cuba and its committed doctors, you should be caring about the thousands of sick Americans who are suffering due to the scandalous neglect of your government and the inability of your failed health system to care for them."

The U.S. also became crosswise with the United Kingdom after Cuba was the only Caribbean country to permit the cruise ship MS Braemar, with five Covid-19 positive passengers aboard, to dock in Cuba after the United States, Barbados, and the Bahamas refused docking privileges. The Cuban government arranged for the hundreds of British passengers on board the ship to be transported to an airport for a flight back to the United Kingdom. It was an act that resulted in a formal thanks from the British government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In an April 2 letter, British ambassador in Havana Antony Stokes wrote, "During Operation Braemar, I witnessed the many qualities of the Cuban people, their humanitarian principles, kindness and hard-working attitude; facets of the Cuban character that I have come to know and love since I came to the country."

Not only did the Cuban gesture and the British response irk the Trump administration and its congressional lackeys, but Britain also granted permission for Cuban medical teams to provide assistance to the self-governing British Caribbean territories of Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, and Cayman Islands.

COVID-19 cuban doctors Cuban medical teams were also welcomed to Italy, much to the chagrin of the Gusano Lobby and Trump administration figures. Jaws tightened in Washington as the health and welfare minister of the hard-hit Lombardy region, Giulio Gallera, welcomed the Cuban medical team to northern Italy. The Cuban team, consisting of 52 Cuban doctors and nurses, immediately set up a field hospital in Crema with 3 intensive care unit beds with ventilators and 32 other beds equipped with oxygen. Meanwhile, a White House task force set up under Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner was busy interdicting medical supplies and equipment destined for other countries and various U.S. states and diverting them to a stockpile controlled by Kushner and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Other Cuban medical teams, all part of Cuba's Henry Reeve Brigade -- named after an American who helped Cuba in its war of independence from Spain and established by Cuban president Fidel Castro in 2005 -- arrived in other nations around the world to help in the battle against Covid-19. These include Venezuela, Nicaragua, Grenada, Jamaica, Belize, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname,[left] Haiti, Saint Lucia, Angola, and Argentina.

Although the coronavirus has yet to hit the small Pacific island states of the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Nauru, and Tuvalu, Cuban medical missions in the islands are standing ready to treat any Covid-19 positive patients.