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Updated March 30th, 2020 at 23:22 IST

COVID-19: Cuba sends doctors, nurses to help countries battle pandemic

Havana has sent thirteen brigades of 39 doctors and nurses to Andorra. Cuba has till now reported 139 cases of COVID-19 infection and three deaths.

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
COVID-19: Cuba sends doctors, nurses to help countries battle pandemic
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Cuba, a small island in the Caribbean is helping the countries across the globe to battle against Coronavirus. According to reports, Havana has sent thirteen brigades of 39 doctors and nurses to Andorra. Cuba has till now reported 139 cases of COVID-19 infection and three deaths. Around 28,000 health officials are working abroad in more than 60 nations as a part of bilateral agreements as for March 29. 

Read: Cuba Welcomes Cruise Ship With COVID-19, Others Seek Ports

Read: Cuba Opens Annual Fair For Key Cigar Sector

Andorra has till now reported 334 cases of infection and six deaths from the pandemic. Cuba has not only assisted Andorra but has also provided medical staff to other affected areas such as Venezuela, the Caribbean nations, Latin America and Lombardy, the hardest-hit area in Italy, international media reported. Till now, the small nation has dispatched 13 contagions of doctors, nurses as well as medical equipment till now across the world. 

Half a million ready to help

The latest assistance marked the first time experts from Henry International Medical Brigade, which was created in 2005 to help Americans after Hurricane Katrina, working in European nations to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as the Cuban health ministry reportedly claimed that over half a million Cuban medics have expressed their desire to extend necessary support to nations battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

Read: Cuba Doctors Arrive In Italy To Help In Virus Fight

Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says the country is temporarily barring tourists in order to prevent the introduction of more cases of Coronavirus. Díaz-Caneland Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said in an announcement on state television that only residents of the island would be allowed to enter for the next 30 days starting Tuesday.

Díaz-Caneland Marrero said exceptions would be made for people involved in commercial importation, like crews of merchant ships, and for tourism industry workers who need to help tourists leave the country. Marrero said there were about 60,000 tourists in Cuba as of Friday evening. The Cuban economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which had already slowed dramatically due to U.S. sanctions tightened by the Trump administration.

Read: Cuba Bars Tourists For 30 Days Over Virus Fears

(with inputs from agencies)

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Published March 30th, 2020 at 23:22 IST

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