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More than 3,100 medical consultations for acute respiratory infections (ARI) were recorded in the last week in the province of Matanzas, a figure that, although the authorities describe as “normal” for this time of year, has led to the reinforcement of health measures, including the use of face masks in medical consultations.
According to the Cuban News Agency, this information was discussed in a meeting between Public Health officials and authorities from the Communist Party and the provincial Government, where the seasonal increase of these conditions, common between the months of December and February, was acknowledged.
According to Andrés Lamas Acevedo, director of the Provincial Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology, the province is currently transitioning from the so-called successful endemic channel to the security channel, an official classification that, he stated, does not imply a situation of health alarm.
The official stated that there are no reports of serious or critical cases in the hospitals and that there is sufficient bed availability, even lower than the levels recorded in the same period last year. However, they admitted to an increase in cases in the municipality of Jovellanos, without specifying numbers or concrete causes.
Despite the official discourse of control, the First Secretary of the Communist Party in Matanzas, Mario Sabines Lorenzo, urged to reinforce health discipline from within the Public Health centers and supported the decision to impose the mandatory use of face masks in consultations for acute respiratory infections.
"Everything that is done to prevent infections is welcome. We cannot believe that just because the presence of H3N2 has not yet been confirmed in Cuba, it will not arrive at some point," warned Sabines, referring to the increase in cases of the Influenza A (H3N2) virus in Europe, Asia, and other regions of America.
The authorities also confirmed the , in a context characterized by the international circulation of new variants of the virus, although their presence on the Island has not been officially confirmed.
The attention to thousands of patients in just one week, along with the tightening of preventive measures, reflects increasing pressure on the Public Health system, which faces limitations in resources, personnel, and diagnostic capacity, despite official efforts to portray the situation as under control.
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