by Yosley Carrero
HAVANA, Aug. 8 ( Xinhua) -- The Cuban government has strengthened the COVID-19 response in the central province of Ciego de Avila, one of the island's hotspots.
Cuba on Sunday logged 9,427 new COVID-19 cases and 83 related deaths, pushing its nationwide tally to 458,219 and 3,418, respectively.
With a population of nearly 320,000, Ciego de Avila registered 1,213 new infections in the past 24 hours.
In addition, Moron, the province's second most populous urban area, remains as the municipality with the highest COVID-19 infection rate on the island.
At the same time, in Ciego de Avila, where "Jardines del Rey" seaside resort is located, international tourists, mainly from Russia, continue to arrive under COVID-19 health protocols.
Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero urged local authorities to reinforce coronavirus protocols in Ciego de Avila, where the Delta variant continues to wreak havoc.
"We feel pain for what is happening in Ciego de Avila, and we will not leave the province and its people alone. This situation is reversible," he told a governmental meeting.
Marrero added that Cuban authorities will do whatever it takes to help people in Ciego de Avila slow the spread of COVID-19 amid the sharpest rise in cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people infected with the virus across the province are under home hospitalization due to limited bed capacities in hospitals and isolation centers.
In recent days, some 230 health professionals of Cuba's Henry Reeve International Brigade returned from Venezuela to provide people in Ciego de Avila with medical assistance.
At present, a work team headed by Cuba's deputy prime minister Jorge Luis Tapia is supervising the strict fulfilment of measures to tackle the COVID-19 crisis in Ciego de Avila.
In parallel, new restrictions on people's and vehicles' movement came into force across the province over the weekend.
Ciego de Avila resident Julio Marin said that self-responsibility will be fundamental to overcome the complex epidemiological situation in the Cuban central province.
"We have to work hard to prevent more people here from dying from COVID-19," he told Xinhua via phone. "If everyone does his or her part, we will overcome this complex scenario sooner." Enditem
