Cuba to Begin Mass-Scale COVID-19 Testing

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11 May 2020

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Dr. Francisco Durán, national director of Epidemiology of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, reported on Sunday that a considerable part of the population will be given tests to detect possible positive cases of COVID-19.

Durán explained that a representative sample of the population in provinces and municipalities will be taken on Tuesday, May 12, to know in real time the progress of COVID-19 with tests known as TCR, which detect the new coronavirus before the disease manifests itself.

The case is to detect cases in apparently healthy people in regions that have not reported numerous infections with COVID-19 on the island and act accordingly, Durán said in his traditional press conference to offer a balance on the state of the pandemic in the island.

The tests will be carried out in remote parts of the island to detect if cases of COVID-19 have developed in those sites that have not been previously detected to carry out a major intervention, he said.

Massive studies will begin in Cuba to find cases of coronavirus and study the contacts that may have been made, in order to reduce the spread of the pandemic in the Caribbean country, he said.

Both pharyngeal examinations and rapid tests look for cases that are important in the transmission of the disease, the spread of which is three times faster than other known coronaviruses.

The great alarm that exists for this coronavirus is due to its contagion power, which is why it is necessary to maintain confinement and health measures, he considered.

On May 9, Cuba reported 12 new positive cases for COVID-19, along with three dead and 53 medical discharges, Dr. Francisco Durán reported at a press conference.

1,824 patients have been admitted to hospitals for clinical epidemiological surveillance, while 4,081 people are monitored at home from primary health care.

The doctor specified that 1,826 samples were studied on Saturday, and 13 samples were positive. The country accumulates a total of 67,335 samples made and 1,766 positive cases.