Cuban health authorities called for greater responsibility in the face of the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the Caribbean island.

The average number of infected per day, from November to December, went from 3.7 to 19.1, the Ministry of Public Health said. In view of this reality, measures were established to counteract the spread of the virus.

The Ministry recommended the use of face mask to enter shopping malls, sales fairs, public transport and shows in cinemas, theaters and all those held in closed spaces.

Immediately go to the health services when respiratory symptoms appear; and when a member of the family presents them, distance and protection measures should be adopted at home.

Other steps to be taken include permanent hand washing; not to go to social spaces if one has symptoms caused by the virus; extreme vigilance measures in nursing homes, grandparents’ homes, schools and other institutions with a high concentration of people, as well as the use of medicines such as Nasalferon in risk groups, are other steps to be followed.

The Ministry of Public Health also indicated the application of new booster doses in vaccination schedules. The highest levels of transmission during December occurred in the provinces of Havana, Matanzas, Guantánamo and Holguín, and 62.4 percent of the cases diagnosed on the Caribbean island are concentrated in these territories.

In the current year, 207 patients died for a lethality rate of 0.14 percent, and for 18 consecutive weeks no one lost their lives to this disease, according to the Ministry of Public Health, quoted by Granma newspaper.