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Several players from the Alazanes de Granma have fallen ill, leading to the suspension of their upcoming commitments in the National Series in the context of the health crisis in Cuba.
"Neither today nor tomorrow will there be games at the Nelson Fernández Stadium. Several athletes from Granma are ill, including all three catchers on the team. The matches will take place at the end of the qualifying stage,” reported this Saturday by official journalist Wilber Pastrana.
Granma would face the Mayabeque Hurricanes in the continuation of the subseries between the two teams, but perhaps more games will need to be suspended.
“It is being evaluated for Granma to return to its province. If they continue like this, they will not make the trip to the Island of Youth. The health of the athletes will always be the priority,” Pastrana added.
These games are in addition to those that have already been suspended due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa.
Health crisis in Cuba
This week, the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Carilda Peña García, confirmed to national media that in Cuba there have been officially reported 20,062 cases of chikungunya, as well as a high incidence of dengue and other arboviral diseases.
The report, broadcast by the state-run television, highlighted that the most affected provinces are Havana, Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Artemisa, and Villa Clara, where the confirmed cases are concentrated.
However, the figure acknowledged by the Ministry of Health (MINSAP) is far from the reports that flood social media daily, where neighbors report entire neighborhoods and families falling ill and question the lack of medical attention and medication.
The presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito is very high, the official acknowledged, noting that 62% of the breeding sites are concentrated in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, and Villa Clara, which indicates a persistent lack of effective efforts.
She added that the "active search for fever patients" continues with the support of medical science students, while nine provinces are conducting intensive fumigations, although there are reports that this treatment has become a business in plain sight of local officials.
Moreover, despite the official rhetoric, public perception is different: in numerous municipalities, citizens report that fumigation is irregular, that there are no doctors or basic supplies, and that many people avoid going to hospitals due to the shortage of medications or the overcrowding of services.
The Deputy Minister also announced that clinical trials will soon begin in Matanzas to apply the immunoregulatory peptide Juzvinza in the treatment of chronic symptoms of chikungunya, and she referenced the "international solidarity" received by the healthcare system.
However, the contrast between the official message and the reality that the population experiences remains vast.
However, the contrast between the official message and the reality faced by the population remains staggering.
In a country where epidemic outbreaks spread rapidly and access to medicines is limited, Cubans face arboviruses without resources, without trust in institutions, and often without medical care.
What the deputy minister conveniently omits is that stories of improvisation abound on social media.
Many people, for example, turn to natural remedies, such as using papaya leaves, to combat illnesses like chikungunya, a viral infection that causes high fever, severe joint pain, and general weakness.
Officially, the regime acknowledged in October three deaths caused by dengue. However, according to reports on social media, this number could be higher and even, some due to other diseases.
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