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of coronavirus. (Photo: Vicente Brito / Escambray).
At a time when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has already infected more than twenty countries and caused the death of more than 2,000 people in China, a plan for the prevention and control of the so-called Wuhan pneumonia has been already established in Cuba.
As part of this preventive measure, a training course has been started in this central Cuban territory for workers in the health and tourist areas, and also for self-employed workers running private hostels.
According to Dr. Mareinys Moreno Gutiérrez, head of the Department of Health Surveillance at the Provincial Health Office, the work carried out to date has placed emphasis on personal care and the need to immediately go to the doctor in case of any symptom.
“In the eight hospitals of Sancti Spíritus, the isolation rooms for possible patients are already identified as well as the number of beds in each of them, taking into account that there should be a space of more than one meter between one bed and another and that the rooms must be spacious and well ventilated. Other supplies like sheets and masks are also available”, said the doctor.
In this territory, international health control measures and epidemiological surveillance have been strengthened, both for Cuban travelers and for all foreigners who study in the province. Although there is only one student from China in Sancti Spiritus, all foreign students at the José Marti University and the University of Medical Sciences have received different courses on COVID-19.
Dr. Moreno Gutiérrez emphasized that in order to prevent virus transmission people must wash their hands with soap and water, cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing, specially in the presence of respiratory symtoms, wash bedsheets and utensils before using them again, among other measures.
Although no cases of coronavirus have been reported in Sancti Spiritus or Cuba, the province and the whole island remain alert to prevent and lessen the risks of an epidemic currently challenging world scientific community.
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