The results of Las Tunas in the confrontation with the COVID-19 are due to the cohesive work of the authorities, agencies, and the cooperation and discipline of the people, Jaime Ernesto Chiang Vega, governor of the province, said in the Mesa Redonda radio-television program.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- In his appearance, he congratulated the local population, the main protagonist of the fight here against the pandemic, of which the territory registered only 17 cases, with the third-lowest incidence rate in the country and has been 51 days without registering new infections (52 today).

Chiang Vega recognized, in particular, those from the community and the Defense zones that helped combat the new coronavirus from various fronts: medical students, health brigades, members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and others.

He pointed out that in this second stage phase of the recovery stage, Health personnel maintains the epidemiological surveillance, without neglecting what refers to the control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which causes deadly diseases too.

He said that among the priorities of the local executive are food production, the construction of houses and the industrial activity; key sectors for population care, service provision and the vitality of the economy.

In keeping with this, the offer of takeaway food is maintained in the second phase with the daily production of more than 70 thousand servings; as well as the operation of fifty hundred chlorine sales points, the sale of food modules in rural communities and the transfer of patients from the hemodialysis and chemotherapy services.

Regarding transport, he highlighted that all the services for the urban and suburban environment, as well as the inter-municipal and rural ones, work. To date, he explained, in Las Tunas more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for interprovincial transportation, of those reservations 540 correspond to the Viajando app.

Regarding the benefits of the Health system, he pointed out that 75 percent of outpatient visits and outpatient activities were reestablished; Minor Surgery and Endoscopy services and those of clinical laboratories resumed; as well as the exams required to granting the driving license.

The Governor of Las Tunas also referred to the reopening of the units of Commerce and Gastronomy, of the activity of Technical and Home Services, of the Accommodation System, of Tourism and of the facilities of Popular Camping; to which 9,074 reservations of the more than 11 thousand planned for the months of July and August have already been made.

As for the summer, he highlighted the actions in the northern coastal area where the best and the largest number of beaches in the province are located. The Defense Council has moved to the resorts to verify the work for this season.

The references to local challenges were not lacking in his analysis. The first of these, he pointed out, is food production, dissatisfaction even for the leaders and the local population, since the production of only 20 pounds per capita of food, fruits and vegetables of the 30 expected by the country is reached.

‟Despite the difficulties, at the end of June, the planting campaign was completed at 113 percent, with more than 14,000 hectares planted out of 12,000 programmed. Likewise, various crops, vegetables, grains and fruits were planted. The viands will reach their main harvest peak in the coming months,” he explained.

The local strategy, he added, includes the planting of short-cycle crops and the search for alternatives to bring the harvests from the furrow to the table of the population. In this objective, the 31 productive poles and the movement of Urban and Suburban Agriculture are not renounced.

"Today we have 17,700 sowing beds planted in this modality, even so in this activity we do not reach 10 square meters per inhabitant, the province today has just over six and we plan to reach December with those 10 established. To achieve this purpose, we work intensively in all municipalities," he stressed.

The Fishing productions, the work of the Food Industry and the alternatives in the meat industry also deserved words, which ended with the reflection about how much remains to be done to satisfy the demand for food.

The industrial sector that is prestigious here with the performance of METUNAS, Ludema Furniture, Melissa Clothing and Acinox deserved an aside; companies committed to the export of products and services, the development of tourism and the advancement of the economy.

Henceforth, the also vice-president of the Defense Council in the province stressed that the local government will continue to take into account the experiences of this unprecedented stage and will continue on the path of perfecting work and planning systems to guarantee efficiency in government management.

"We are confident of victory," concluded Chiang Vega, after recalling the feat of July 26, 1953.