Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has expressed confidence that, given the way the country has worked thus far, all provinces, except Havana and Matanzas, are in a position to move into the first phase of the first stage of the recovery period and advance rapidly through the remaining phases, if we continue to control the epidemic.
These comments were made during the June 17 meeting of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Task Force, which the President and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz lead, every afternoon, with all governors and the mayor of the Isle of Youth special municipality via video conference. The agenda focused on implementation of the first phase of the recovery period which began June 18, in 13 provinces and the Isle of Youth.
With the Vice President of the Republic, Salvador Valdés Mesa, and all Deputy Prime Ministers on hand at the Palace of the Revolution , the President recognized the responsible way in which the provinces of Havana and Matanzas are approaching the moment, determined to intensify work to join the rest of the country in the recovery period, as the President emphasized.
Faced with the new challenges of this stage, President Díaz-Canel insisted that the priority of saving lives, emphasized during the COVID-19 battle thus far, must not be forgotten, saying, "Everything we do in this new phase is also directed toward this end, as our number one priority.”
We cannot squander the results we have achieved thus far, he insisted. We must be able to begin relaxing restrictions that the situation demanded and return to normal life, coexisting with the disease, without setbacks.
We must move forward and continue improving all statistical indicators, striving to meet the objective we set for ourselves, that COVID-19 does not become endemic, he said.
The President emphasized that measures outlined for the three phases of the recovery’s first stage must be rigorously controlled and implemented, insisting, "Any mistake opens up a gap and the possibility of resurgence. Maintaining and consolidating the results we've achieved is key."
He recalled that among the objectives of this new stage is to return to normal gradually, in a differentiated manner, to avoid a resurgence of the virus, and to continue working to reduce the risks and long term consequences of the disease in our population, economy, and social life.
As essential elements that must be maintained at all times, he stressed the need to continue encouraging responsible, proper, disciplined, and respectful behavior, adding that physical distancing is called for and must become a daily habit, since this is the best way for everyone to respect each other. “This is not capricious; it is needed to avoid infection, to prevent propagation of the illness.”
Likewise, the public health system must maintain control and precise monitoring of every new case identified, to guarantee the success of the gradual process of relaxing preventative measures.
Thus the importance of treating every suspected case, from the outset, as if the patient were confirmed positive for the virus, and of prioritizing the use of screening methods that have been developed in the country.
As working principles that must be maintained, Diaz-Canel identified, conservation, in the first place, which must remain a premise. In addition, he reiterated that the intention is to gradually resume economic and social activity in all sectors, both state and non-state, without renouncing distance work, wherever possible and not as an exception.
As a fundamental issue for the development of the country, the President stressed food production, "an issue we must solve definitively," as we cannot continue depending on imports, especially now, with difficult months ahead, he noted.
Among other priorities, he pointed out that logistics must be taken into account to continue advancing in home services; in electronic commerce; in the opening of tourism, both national and international; in promotion of new products; as well as in the development of all options we have for exports.
The President reiterated that the Cuban government will collaborate with scientific institutions and experts to evaluate different situations that the country may face, and encourage such collaboration as a working method, emphasizing that this is being done now, and will continue in the most diverse sectors to find solutions to problems we have, without neglecting scientific research underway to develop a vaccine and battle COVID-19 with new medications and advanced technologies.
RECOVERY BEGINS
As announced, 13 provinces in the country and the Isle of Youth special municipality began the first phase of the post-COVID recovery period, June 18, a decision based on the meeting of five statistical benchmarks defined by the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), including incidence rate; reproductive index; number of active cases; positive cases with known source of infection in the last 15 days; and local transmission events.
Referring to the benchmarks, Health Minister José Angel Portal Miranda explained that they are intended to allow the pandemic’s evolution to be evaluated in each territory, and determine the appropriateness of moving to another phase of the recovery period. These indicators, he said, will be subject to periodic evaluation to determine their effectiveness.
In this regard, he said that, based on analyses by province and municipality on June 16, Minsap determined that, with the exception of Havana and Matanzas, all provinces and the Isle of Youth special municipality were in a position to move to the first phase of recovery.
At another point during the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil Fernandez, reported that during the first phase of the recovery period, to protect those not working as a result of the epidemic, to be maintained is the policy of assuring 60% of salaries for such employees and continuing the temporary suspension of licenses and related obligations for self-employed workers who cannot yet return to their activities.
The intention of this first phase, he said, is to move toward a gradual return to productive activity, but protection offered by the state to workers who have been affected has not been removed. What we are planning is for people to re-enter the workforce gradually, while respecting physical distancing.
He stressed the need to produce more, to provide more supply, which requires increasing productive activity and the provision of services to the population, prioritized in this first phase. He additionally recalled that maintaining energy saving practices, and avoiding high consumption during peak hours, remain critical, without neglecting any of the measures previously planned in this regard.
Also presenting reports were the Ministers of Transportation, Tourism, and Domestic Commerce, who outlined actions planned in their sectors for the first phase of recovery, which have been discussed on the Mesa Redonda television program.
After the exchange with governors and the Isle of Youth mayor, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz reiterated the importance of maintaining work to contain social indiscipline and illegalities, while paying close attention to the opinions expressed by our people, which are establsihed government practices.
In conclusion, he insisted on the importance of working coherently in the implementation of new measures, vital to reducing the risks of contagion during the new stage most territories are entering.
