Cuba has taken measures of maximum priority ("swine" flu)

[Mika]

Cuba has taken measures of maximum priority

Health authorities are asking the population to keep informed about the course of the epidemic and to follow, with rigor and discipline, the instructions provided… Not a single case of the disease has appeared… Cuban people may celebrate May Day with tranquility

José A. de la Osa

AT the end of the special "Roundtable" TV/radio program yesterday dealing with swine flu and the measures Cuba has adopted in response to the epidemic, host Randy Alonso asked the panel of speakers, "Based on the decisions made in some countries to prevent concentrations of crowds, close schools, has there been any decision like that in our country?"

"No," replied Doctor Luis Estruch, deputy minister of public health for hygiene, epidemiology and microbiology. "Given that not a single case of the disease has appeared to date, I would say that we may all parade this May Day, because luckily, the country is tranquil, with stability, and there is nothing to keep us Cubans from having our events celebrating this great commemoration for workers, and join all our forces together with the Revolution!"

"One last question," Randy added. "Given this epidemic situation, what is your main advice for citizens who are listening to our program?"

"Discipline," the deputy minister emphasized. "Listen closely to the instructions and follow them to a ‘T,’ because sometimes we say ‘did you hear?’ but we don’t say, ‘what should I be doing, I the administrator, the worker, the citizen, the health worker?’" And he emphasized, "Follow the instructions, existing health regulations, the ones related to our ports and airports, the ones with which therapy services function, with garbage pickup. Everything should be stabilized so that the country has unity, a capacity for response and much discipline."

Doctor Estruch noted that, on Wednesday, the World Health Organization raised the alert level measuring the risk represented by the swine flu pandemic, to 5 on a scale of 6, and said we were facing a very serious problem on a world level, with as-yet unpredictable consequences.

It is a new virus that has gone through "acceleration" in its genetic transformation, and humanity is facing a new problem: a new virus, a new disease can become a pandemic. There is no doubt that it is worrying.

"I don’t believe that there is a single country, a single health authority, a single citizen that is not concerned, because these are problems that are not easy to prevent."

Referring to the measures that Cuba has taken, Estruch said that in Cuba, "we are very strong as a nation because of our social system and the unwavering political will of health being a top-priority task. The life of a human being is more important than any riches. And that has made it possible for the country to have strength in the development of its health system, in the organization of its people and in the stability of public health."

As an example, he noted that in Cuba, 11 contagious diseases have been eliminated and five others are in the control phase. A country with a health care system that is developed, free, accessible to all citizens and with great human capital developed over the years.

Translated by Granma International