On Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization warned that Cuba is experiencing a "dramatic increase" in COVID-19 cases in several of its provinces, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, stated during a press conference that "the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is rising in Cuba, with many provinces recording a dramatic increase in infections." She added that the situation is "particularly delicate" in the tourist area of Matanzas.
Ciro Ugarte, head of emergency cases at the Pan American Health Organization, noted that Cuba, with a population of 11 million, recorded a record number of cases this week since the virus appeared on the island in March 2020. He mentioned that Cuba registered "more than 43,000 cases this week, an increase of 21% (compared to the previous week), with an average of 6,199 new cases daily," pointing out that the Delta variant is spreading "in several provinces."
Ugarte rejected any link between this increase and the popular protests that shook the island on July 11 and 12, asserting that "the number of cases in Cuba was already on the rise before the recent protests." Cuba did not join the COVAX program for distributing vaccines to poorer countries, which is supported by the World Health Organization and managed in Latin America by the Pan American Health Organization. However, Cuba has developed its own COVID-19 vaccines and launched a national immunization program in mid-May using two of these vaccines.
As of July 11, 3.3 million people in Cuba had been vaccinated, which is "30% of the population, still a low level," according to Ugarte. Cuban authorities hope to vaccinate 70% of the population by August.
