HAVANA, Jan 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — Cuba has lost its first health worker due to COVID-19 amid the government’s efforts to contain the sharpest rise in infections since the pandemic began, the country’s Ministry of Public Health reported.
“A 49-year-old male doctor from Havana died of COVID-19,” said the ministry, reporting four new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the death toll to 208.
Meanwhile, as in-person classes remain suspended in Havana and partial lockdowns have been reimposed in different parts of the country, there were still 666 new cases recorded, down from 825 a day earlier, taking the nationwide tally to 24,105
According to the ministry, January 2021 has been the worst month in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba, with 62 deaths and 12,049 infections registered so far.
The ministry’s National Director of Epidemiology, Francisco Duran, urged senior citizens and people with underlying health conditions to stay at home as much as possible.
“People should go to see a doctor as soon as first symptoms are detected,” Duran said during a daily press briefing. “Senior citizens and people with health issues must take extreme precautions.”
The first confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Cuba were reported in March 2020 after three Italian tourists visiting the central town of Trinidad tested positive for COVID-19. — NNN-XINHUA
