14ymedio, 17 October 2021,Havana — The population over 50 years of age continues to be the most vulnerable to covid-19 in Cuba, which this Sunday presented a slight increase in cases after a week of decreases. Some 21 deaths were reported from the coronavirus and of those, 20 of the were people over 50. Based on the figures from the Ministry of Health, covid killed 194 adults in the last week.
As of 16 October, 23,920,914 doses of candidate vaccines have been delivered on the island and 6,689,090 of the 11.2 million inhabitants have completed the three-dose regimen. Despite the fact that a decrease in the numbers of patients with covid-19 has been reported, 255 are currently in intensive care; of these, 88 are in critical condition and 167 are serious.
The provinces of Pinar del Río with 389 cases, Camagüey (337), Sancti Spíritus (318), Holguín (290) and Las Tunas (201) maintain the highest number of infections by the SARS-CoV-2 virus of the 2,197 new cases registered on Saturday. In Santiago de Cuba, of 47 who died, four victims were reported to have succumbed to complications derived from the coronavirus.
Intoxicated by the decline in figures, the official press reported that “the number of cases decreased by 9% and in terms of active cases, the decrease was 14.6%.” With this argument, the First Deputy Minister of Culture, María Elena Salgado Cabrera, proposed the reopening of activities and holding of events.
These activities include “re-establishing the rehearsals of theatrical, musical and dance groups, with specific prevention regulations”; in addition to the “controlled reopening of the recording studios, the programming and operation of the Houses of Culture, theaters and cinemas.”
The plan contemplates starting with “the theatrical presentation in a staggered manner, using small-format works and repertoires or other variants that do not require greater physical contact between the artists.”
This also implies that “those groups and companies that already have one hundred percent of their artists vaccinated with the three doses against covid-19 will resume their functions; and the sale of tickets to the theaters will be held days before the function, in order to avoid crowds.”
Theatrical capacity will be handled with “30 to 40% of the total capacity.” Salgado Cabrera also proposed “to open all bookstores, libraries, museums and galleries during normal hours.” Which would imply the adoption of hygienic measures, limiting the number of participants and guaranteeing physical distancing.
And faced with the planned arrival of tourism in mid-November, the important thing for the Government is to “establish strategies” for the arrival of foreign and Cuban visitors. The concern is simmering; in September alone, this newspaper announced that the disaster affects this sector, first of all, in direct jobs. Of the 111,033 tourist workers, only half, 55,832, have returned to their jobs, while 2,950 are working remotely.
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