Health enquiries, vital to contain SARS-CoV-2 in Cuba

Havana, March 28.- Advanced-year students of medicine major are actively participating in health enquiries at homes, aligned to the comprehensive plan designed to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease in Cuba.

 

The idea is to find out who has fever, headache or cough, symptoms that can be associated to SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused Covid-19 disease, or any other respiratory virus that is in the country.

Students assume this task as part of their training as future professionals, from the beginning of this monitoring over 4,000 visits have been carried out, reported Cuba’s Minister of Public Health Jose Angel Portal.

‘I’ve never thought of witnessing a pandemic like this one in modern times of technological and scientific breakthrough, I found pandemics on books as Black Death in the Middle Age, said to Prensa Latina Adriana Rojo, a four-year student of medicine, voluntary involved in the enquiries in Havana.

They are also knocking the doors of the elderly, and up to now statistics stress, they have visited over 521,000 elder people, of which 38,000 live alone.

Indeed, this group of the population is the most vulnerable, particularly those people with associated pathologies as diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular illnesses, according to behavior and fatality rates, collected by the World Health Organization.

Health authorities and Cuban government are jointly working on a mega plan of action to fight against Covid-19 disease, which gradually has been tightened with stricter measures, from controlling travelers’ border until the temporary closure of teaching centers at all levels but kindergartens, and the suspension of cultural activities, among the most relevant.