4 Cuban nationals test positive for coronavirus after returning home from Guyana

…could signal large number of undetected infections

Guyanese are of the view that the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is not being entirely truthful about the number of persons who are suspected to have contracted the coronavirus (COVID-19).

This conclusion was drawn after the MoPH failed to provide specific numbers as to the persons in quarantine and those being monitored.
Guyana confirmed its first case of COVID-19 just over three weeks ago; that number has grown to five, with several other persons in mandatory quarantine.
However, this number can increase dramatically following reports from the Cuban health authorities that four Cuban nationals recently tested positive for the coronavirus upon returning to Cuba from Guyana.
Reports coming out from the Cuban Health Ministry stated that an eight-year-old child and her mother are the two latest to be tested positive.
They both travelled to Cuba from Guyana on March 21. A 31-year-old Cuban national who arrived in Cuba from Guyana on the same day also tested positive.
All three persons have been hospitalised.
A source told Guyana Times that the Cuban authorities made several attempts to contact the Ministry’s hotline, but were unsuccessful.
Based on information received, the Government of Guyana had given permission for a chartered aircraft to fly the Cuban nationals back home after the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) had suspended all flights leaving and entering Guyana.
However, last week, the Cuban health authorities also reported that a man who travelled from Guyana to Cuba on March 12 had tested positive for the deadly virus.
When this publication made contact with the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle, she stated that the Ministry was currently investigating the matter and it could take a while to track down these persons along with persons they might have come into contact with.
Cuba has recorded more than 70 cases of the novel coronavirus with two deaths.