The Cuban regime disseminated a series of health tips for the summer this Saturday through Canal Caribe and the health promotion unit ProSalud. They urge the population to boil water and properly store food to prevent gastrointestinal illnesses, all while the country is experiencing blackouts lasting over 20 hours daily and a water crisis that leaves millions without access to drinking water.
The spokesperson for the official message was Dr. Pablo Feal Cañizares from ProSalud, who stated that "hand hygiene, water hygiene, and food hygiene are essential" and that "boiling water is a very practical measure," adding that chlorinating it "is also another option, if that chlorine is available somewhere, and when it is available at the pharmacy, it should be purchased."
The contradiction is glaring: the regime advises conserving food "within the possibilities" when nearly three million Cubans lack regular access to drinking water and the hydraulic system operates with only 37% of the fuel necessary for pumping.
The electrical deficit reached a record of 2,153 MW on May 13, and last Wednesday, the Electric Union projected an impact of 1,975 MW during peak hours, with 1,203 MW unavailable due to a lack of fuel.
Without electricity for refrigeration or gas for cooking in many homes, asking the Cuban people to boil water and preserve food is equivalent to an institutional mockery.
The background on health is even more alarming: Gisela García Rivero, a journalist from Canal Caribe, acknowledged in the same report that "currently all provinces in the country have reported cases of hepatitis A," with the largest outbreaks concentrated in Havana, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba, Ciego de Ávila, and Camagüey.
Doctor Feal Cañizares explained that hepatitis A "is transmitted via the fecal-oral route, meaning through the contamination of food and water with infected feces," and that "flies can also contribute to this transmission." This description accurately depicts the conditions that the regime itself has fostered after decades of neglect in sanitation.
In Matanzas, an outbreak with 18 active cases was confirmed in the Versalles neighborhood and seven in La Marina, Cárdenas, while in Camagüey, between 30 and 40 positive cases were reported daily in April, although authorities refused to formally acknowledge it as an outbreak.
In Pinar del Río, there has also been arise in suspicious cases in recent days, contributing to the epidemiological situation that is spreading across the entire island.
The Deputy Minister of Public Health, Julio Guerra, denied on May 11 that Cuba was experiencing an epidemic of hepatitis A, although he acknowledged to international media a "very complex" health situation.
The food crisis worsens the situation: a report from the Food Monitor Program revealed in April critical levels of food survival in five provinces, with production drops of 81% in rice and 61% in eggs, while 33.9% of Cuban households had at least one member who went to bed hungry in the past 30 days.
Dr. Feal Cañizares warned in the video that acute diarrheal diseases "can easily lead to dehydration" and that, although "it is rare," "even severe complications and death" can occur. This warning sounds like a condemnation when the state does not guarantee water or electricity to follow its own advice.
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