COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba

The COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba occurs as a regional sub-happening of the global COVID-19 respiratory disease outbreak and is due to infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus of the coronavirus family, which emerged in late 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading from China since December 2019. As of March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the outbreak of the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.

Situation

The spread of the virus in Cuba is testing the socialist Caribbean island's health care system. Originally brought to the island by tourists and Cubans returning from abroad, the virus has spread rapidly throughout the island.

The country does have a broad health care system with a very high density of doctors. At the same time, however, medical care suffers from a lack of equipment and medicines. In addition, there are sometimes dramatic supply bottlenecks, including for sanitary products or the water supply. Due to the high age structure, around a quarter of the population is considered to be at risk. Despite the critical situation on the island itself, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat the COVID-19 epidemic in a number of countries, including northern Italy and numerous Caribbean states.

Cuba's difficult economic situation is exacerbated by the pandemic, which has led to the collapse of the country's main economic sector, tourism. The government has taken lock-down measures. To provide emergency supplies to the population, it has increasingly withdrawn food and sanitary products from free sale and transferred them to the distribution economy of the rationing system.

Also the individual supply by means of private packages from abroad, which is usual especially for Cuba, is now blocked, at least the German post office has suspended the dispatch to Cuba until further notice.

Course and measures

On March 11, 2020, the first three COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Cuba. Those infected were Italian tourists. They were quarantined at the Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute in Havana. A fourth case had already been confirmed on March 12. It involved a Cuban man whose wife had returned from Milan on February 24 and showed symptoms on February 27. The husband had started showing symptoms on March 8. Both were tested and only the husband was positive. The wife was found to be negative because the disease had probably already been cured.

On March 16, 2020, the cruise ship MS Braemar, carrying over 1000 passengers and crew, received permission to dock in Cuba after being denied by the Bahamas. At least five passengers tested positive for COVID-19. British nationals were able to take flights home after both governments reached an agreement on their repatriation. As of March 17, Cuban authorities said seven infections had been reported in the country.

On March 18, 2020, the number of confirmed cases increased to 10 and the first COVID-19-related death was announced. A man died who was one of the first three confirmed cases of infection in the country. By March 19, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 16 infections. As of March 19, there have been 16. infections in the country, according to Cuban authorities.

As of March 20, 2020, there were 21 infections, according to Cuban authorities, and it was announced that effective March 24, Cuba will restrict entry into the country only to nationals and residents. Only Cuban residents will subsequently be allowed to enter if they have not been outside Cuba for more than 24 months, as well as foreigners living on the island.

On March 22, 35 coronavirus infections were confirmed on the island by the Cuban Ministry of Health, as well as 950 suspected cases being monitored in quarantine. On March 23, the number of infections rose to 48 infections, according to Cuban authorities.

By March 30, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen to 170 infections, including four deaths.

Effective midnight April 1, Cuba suspended the arrival of all international flights. On April 4, authorities in Cuba announced 288 coronavirus infections by then. Already in mid-April, about 1,000 cases of infection were counted.

As of April 22, 2020, a total of 1137 cases have been reported by WHO, including 38 deaths.