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 The Caribbean nation of 11 million people reported nearly 4,000
confirmed cases per million residents over the last week, nine times
more than the world average and more than any other country in the
Americas for its size.
The outbreak, fueled by the arrival of the more contagious Delta
variant first identified in India, has pushed hospitals at the virus
epicenter in the province of Matanzas to the brink. State media has
shown rare images of patients in beds in corridors and doctors
complaining of a lack of oxygen, ventilators and medicines.
Cuba's handling of the pandemic was one of the issues that propelled
thousands to take to the streets
https://www.reuters.com/
world/americas/street-protests-break-out-cuba-2021-07-11 nationwide
last Sunday in unprecedented anti-government demonstrations in a
country where public spaces are tightly controlled. Demonstrators
also protested shortages of food and medicines
https://www.reuters.com/world/
americas/cubans-turn-herbal-
remedies-barter-amid-medicine-scarcity-
2021-04-20 and curbs on civil liberties.
Cuba is not alone in struggling under new waves of the pandemic. But
the political implications of such a crisis are greater in a country
where healthcare is considered one of the pillars of legitimacy of
its "revolutionary" one-party system.
Moreover the outbreak and subsequent lockdown and reduction in
numbers of flights has taxed an already bankrupt economy where many
work in tourism and others rely on travelers to bring in remittances
and goods including medicine.
"The government has consistently made the case that one of the main
accomplishments of the revolution is its world-class medical
sector," said Cuban American historian Daniel Rodriguez, author of a
book on medical politics in post-independence Havana.
Rodriguez said the exacerbation of food and medicine shortages over
the past year due to the pandemic-related economic crisis had
already broken Cuba's social pact.
"When the pandemic began spiraling out of control a couple of weeks
ago, it appeared increasingly the revolutionary government was no
longer able to protect Cuban lives, and the result was an
extraordinary repudiation of the revolution itself."
'NOT EVEN MEDICINE'
Cuba's government has blamed the demonstrations on U.S.-financed
"counter-revolutionaries" exploiting hardships caused by decades-old
U.S. sanctions tightened during the pandemic. Several countries and
non-government organizations including Oxfam called on Washington to
lift sanctions this week.
On Saturday, authorities organized pro-government rallies across the
island attended by thousands.
But many Cubans have aimed their anger at their own government's
handling of the economy and the pandemic.
"We are hungry, there's nothing at the moment, not even medicine,"
said Aylín Sardiña, 33, at a protest in Havana.
[to top of second column] |
 Some critics complained that
the authorities appeared to have ample transport
to deploy security forces to quell protests and
bus state workers to rallies, while lacking
ambulances. To be sure, Cuba has
had some pandemic successes, notably the development
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-
cuba-focus-idINKBN27S1OX of five vaccine candidates, two of which
have proven to have efficacy of more than 90%,
https://www.reuters.com/
business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cuba-says-second-covid-vaccine-soberana-2-boasts-912-efficacy-2021-07-09according
to preliminary Cuban data.
Thanks to one of the highest numbers of doctors per capita rates in
the world, it was also able to send its "white coat army" https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-cuba-doctors-feature-idINKBN2651NV
to help other countries, and lately to reinforce hospitals in
Matanzas.
Moreover cumulative cases per capita are still below the global
average, while deaths per capita, though rising, are still just a
third of the global average, a fact Cuba credits to its experimental
treatments and its free, universal healthcare.
However, with cases now rising fast, a deepening of Cuba's economic
crisis has prevented officials from imposing stricter lockdowns with
many Cubans having to stand in lines for hours to get scarce goods.
And so far only some two million people - less than a fifth of the
population - are fully vaccinated.
Brazil-based Cuban virologist Amilcar Perez Riverol said that
premature triumphal statements from state media about the Cuban
vaccine candidates and rallies like Saturday's may have also led to
people lowering their guard, creating a breeding ground for cases to
soar.
The country has an ambitious aims to have fully vaccinated 70% of
the population by September. But Perez Riverol warned that in the
next few weeks COVID-19 deaths would likely continue to rise as they
lagged the surge in cases.
"You go out onto the street to buy food and someone says to you: do
you know who else died?" said Libia Ortega, 44, a worker in a
private cafeteria in Matanzas city closed due to the pandemic and
shortages of products.
"The doctors are making a big effort to save lives every day but
medicine and supplies are lacking."
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta;
Editing by Adam Jourdan and Daniel Wallis)
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