Catalonia’s Health Minister Alba Verges asked Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa that Cuban medical teams can join the fight against COVID-19 in her autonomous territory.

She also requested a rapid recognition of Cuban doctors' professional degrees so that they can work in Catalonia, as they are already doing in Andorra or Italy.

If accepted, the recognition of professional credentials would benefit all Cuban doctors residing in Spain.

Earlier this week, the Catalan crisis cabinet considered the possibility of recruiting Cuban physicians and has insisted Minister Illa to facilitate the hiring of them.

The Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands are also interested in incorporating Cuban health workers into their teams against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evolution of COVID19 in Spain. The discharged patients represent 38 percent of the total number of infected people in Madrid, 34 percent in the Basque Country, and 32 percent in Catalonia. There is less than 10 percent of patients discharged in Andalusia, Valencia, Castilla, and Valencia, which are feeling more pressure now.

In their first contacts with the Spanish government, however, the authorities of those regions did not obtain immediate responses but reluctance, as local media La Vanguardia reported.

Up to now, Cuba has sent medical brigades to cooperate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to 44 countries. In Italy, for instance, 37 doctors and 15 nurses, who have experience in the fight against epidemics in Africa, arrived on March 22.

In Spain, 12 doctors and 27 nurses are already offering their cooperation in Andorra. France has also authorized Cuban health professionals to work in its overseas territories, such as Martinique, Guadalupe or Guyana.