The official recognition that 21 children and adolescents have died in Cuba from dengue and chikungunya has caused international alarm and reached the pages of the press this Monday in Canada, one of the main countries that send tourists to the Island.
According to TVA Newsthe Cuban Vice Minister of Health, Carilda Penaconfirmed the day before that 33 people have died from arbovirus, including 14 minor victims of chikungunya and seven (7) of dengue..
The Quebec media stressed that to date, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) had not recognized deaths from chikungunya, despite complaints from family members and doctors who for weeks warned about the increase in serious cases and hospital saturation.
The late recognition of the regime coincides with the update of Global Affairs Canada’s travel recommendations, published on November 18, warning of the danger of traveling to the Island due to the epidemic outbreak and the precariousness of the Cuban health system.
According to the Canadian government entity, travelers and tourists who visit Cuba should know that there is “a larger number of chikungunya cases than expected”, and includes Cuba among the countries with active outbreaks along with Bangladesh, Kenya and Sri Lanka.
The Canadian advisory highlights that medical care on the island is limited, with hospitals in poor conditions, lack of medicines and hygiene deficiencies. “International clinics located in tourist areas offer better medical services than public centers, but are reserved for foreigners,” the document highlights.
The alert also recalls the structural problems facing the country: shortages of food, fuel and medicine, power outages and deterioration of emergency services. Ambulance response times, he warns, “can be slow, especially outside of tourist areas.”
International concern adds to the indignation within the island, where citizens and experts denounce the concealment of real figures and lack of transparency of the MINSAP.
The confirmed deaths of minors now confirm the medical warnings and complaints spread on social networks by Cubans who have suffered the loss of family members and friends and who have been denouncing that there are “many children in critical condition.”
While Canada issues warnings and the international media covers the crisis, the regime of Miguel Diaz-Canel continues to hold televised meetings with “experts and scientists” without announcing concrete measures, without budgets and without acknowledging its direct responsibility.
Cuba, which for decades sold its health model to the world as a revolutionary symbol, today faces a health collapse visible from the outside: an epidemic that kills its children, a system without resources, and a government that continues to prioritize propaganda over the truth.
