The decrease in positive cases for COVID-19 should not be a reason for overconfidence, said Aldo Cortés González, deputy director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology (CPHE); while he warned that three people died recently and there are already six deaths in this calendar.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- In the last 15 days, 613 confirmed cases have been registered, for an incidence rate of 115 per 100,000 inhabitants; thus the territory is at high risk, mainly the municipalities of Majibacoa, Las Tunas, and Puerto Padre. “Although the trend is toward control, there is transmission and it is urgent to strengthen health protocols,” he emphasized.

The specialist called for the protection of children under 2 years of age and the elderly over 65. “Even though the behavior of the disease in the first ages of life has been mild, we cannot risk them getting sick since that group has not been vaccinated yet.

“We must also take care of older adults, whose comorbidities worsen the symptoms of the COVID-19 and are the reason for the increase in serious and critical patients and mortality. In the last period, the deceased have been people over 65 years of age with chronic ailments, who are not immunized, or have attended health centers late,” he pointed out.

Cortés González explained that more than 95 percent of the population has received the booster dose, which guarantees better immunological conditions to face the new coronavirus.

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 46,440 people have been infected here, of which 99.9 percent are autochthonous. Currently, more than 70 percent of active cases are in home admission, so that, the prevention measures must be extreme within homes to prevent the spread.

Responsibility is the cornerstone to control a pandemic with which we must learn to live and, above all, not minimize its impact. It is important, the doctor insisted, that people do not go to work centers or public places if they have respiratory symptoms, and comply with biosecurity measures to keep the SARS-CoV-2 at bay.