Cuba Has Highest Rate of COVID Cases in Americas
2021-07-22
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1Cuba largely kept coronavirus infections low last year.
2But now, the Caribbean nation has the highest infection rate per person in Latin America.
3That is threatening the country's health care system and has led to protests of the communist government.
4The country of 11 million people reported nearly 4,000 cases per million people over the last week.
5That is nine times higher than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size.
6The sharp rise in cases is being fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant.
7Hospitals in the area of Matanzas are very crowded and are close to failing.
8State media reports have shown images of patients in beds.
9They also have reported that doctors say there is a lack of oxygen and other supplies.
10Cuba's handling of the pandemic was one issue that drove thousands to the streets last Sunday in anti-government protests.
11People also protested shortages of food and medicine.
12Cuba is not alone in struggling with the pandemic.
13But the country's strong healthcare system is a politically important part in keeping the country's one-party system in power.
14Daniel Rodriguez is a Cuban-American historian.
15He wrote a book on the country's medical politics.
16The government, he said, has "made the case that one of the main accomplishments of the revolution is its world-class medical sector."
17When cases of the virus began to rise sharply, he said, "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."
18The spread of the virus and the resulting restrictions are also hurting Cuba's already struggling economy.
19There are fewer numbers of flights.
20Many Cubans work in the tourism industry and depend on travelers to bring in money and goods -- including medicine.
21Rodriguez said food and medicine shortages because of the pandemic have been damaging to the government.
22Cuba's government has blamed the demonstrations on U.S.-financed "counter-revolutionaries."
23The government is largely blaming Cuba's struggling economy on American sanctions that were made stricter during the pandemic.
24Several countries and non-government organizations called on the U.S. to lift sanctions this week.
25On Saturday, officials organized pro-government protests across the island.
26Thousands of people attended.
27But many Cubans have aimed their anger at their own government's handling of the economy and the pandemic.
28"We are hungry, there's nothing at the moment, not even medicine," said Aylín Sardiña.
29She is 33 years old. She attended a protest in Havana.
30Cuba has had some pandemic successes.
31The country has produced five possible vaccines.
32Two of them are more than 90 percent effective, based on Cuban data.
33Many Cuban doctors went to help other countries deal with the pandemic.
34The country has one of the highest number of doctors per person in the world.
35And generally, cases per person are still under the worldwide average.
36Deaths per person, while rising, are still just one-third of the worldwide average.
37The Cuban government says those successes are because of its free, universal healthcare and its experimental medicine.
38But with cases now rising fast, Cuba's economic crisis is worsening.
39Many officials do not want to require strict lockdowns.
40Many people already have to stand in lines for hours to get goods like food.
41So far only about two million people - less than 20 percent of the population - are fully vaccinated.
42The country aims to have 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated by September.
43But experts warned that in the next few weeks, COVID-19 deaths would likely continue to rise.
44Libia Ortega is a restaurant worker in Matanzas city.
45The restaurant is closed because of the pandemic and food shortages.
46"You go out onto the street to buy food," she said, "and someone says to you: do you know who else died?"
47I'm Dan Novak.
1Cuba largely kept coronavirus infections low last year. But now, the Caribbean nation has the highest infection rate per person in Latin America. That is threatening the country's health care system and has led to protests of the communist government. 2The country of 11 million people reported nearly 4,000 cases per million people over the last week. That is nine times higher than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size. 3The sharp rise in cases is being fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant. Hospitals in the area of Matanzas are very crowded and are close to failing. State media reports have shown images of patients in beds. They also have reported that doctors say there is a lack of oxygen and other supplies. 4Cuba's handling of the pandemic was one issue that drove thousands to the streets last Sunday in anti-government protests. People also protested shortages of food and medicine. 5Cuba is not alone in struggling with the pandemic. But the country's strong healthcare system is a politically important part in keeping the country's one-party system in power. 6Daniel Rodriguez is a Cuban-American historian. He wrote a book on the country's medical politics. The government, he said, has "made the case that one of the main accomplishments of the revolution is its world-class medical sector." 7When cases of the virus began to rise sharply, he said, "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." 8The spread of the virus and the resulting restrictions are also hurting Cuba's already struggling economy. There are fewer numbers of flights. Many Cubans work in the tourism industry and depend on travelers to bring in money and goods -- including medicine. 9Rodriguez said food and medicine shortages because of the pandemic have been damaging to the government. 10Cuba's government has blamed the demonstrations on U.S.-financed "counter-revolutionaries." The government is largely blaming Cuba's struggling economy on American sanctions that were made stricter during the pandemic. 11Several countries and non-government organizations called on the U.S. to lift sanctions this week. 12On Saturday, officials organized pro-government protests across the island. Thousands of people attended. 13But many Cubans have aimed their anger at their own government's handling of the economy and the pandemic. 14"We are hungry, there's nothing at the moment, not even medicine," said Aylín Sardiña. She is 33 years old. She attended a protest in Havana. 15Cuba has had some pandemic successes. The country has produced five possible vaccines. Two of them are more than 90 percent effective, based on Cuban data. 16Many Cuban doctors went to help other countries deal with the pandemic. The country has one of the highest number of doctors per person in the world. 17And generally, cases per person are still under the worldwide average. Deaths per person, while rising, are still just one-third of the worldwide average. The Cuban government says those successes are because of its free, universal healthcare and its experimental medicine. 18But with cases now rising fast, Cuba's economic crisis is worsening. Many officials do not want to require strict lockdowns. Many people already have to stand in lines for hours to get goods like food. 19So far only about two million people - less than 20 percent of the population - are fully vaccinated. 20The country aims to have 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated by September. But experts warned that in the next few weeks, COVID-19 deaths would likely continue to rise. 21Libia Ortega is a restaurant worker in Matanzas city. The restaurant is closed because of the pandemic and food shortages. 22"You go out onto the street to buy food," she said, "and someone says to you: do you know who else died?" 23I'm Dan Novak. 24Sarah Marsh reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 25_____________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27handle - v. to deal with (a person, situation, etc.) successfully 28transmissible - adj. able to be spread to other people, animals, etc. : capable of being transmitted 29accomplishment - n. something done, achieved, or accomplished successfully 30revolution - n. the usually violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one 31sector - n. an area of an economy : a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs 32repudiate - v. to refuse to accept or support (something) : to reject (something or someone) 33tourism - v. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 34sanction - n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc. 35lockdown - n. a state of isolation or restricted access put in place as a security measure