Cuba Reports First Coronavirus Death, Welcomes British Cruisers

HAVANA TIMES – As more coronavirus cases are confirmed in Cuba, the island reported the first death, a 61-year-old Italian man, early Wednesday.  The health authorities said they did everything possible to treat the patient and sent their regrets to his family and friends.

Thus far the government’s health authorities are reporting 10 confirmed cases on the Island. The newest three cases are Cubans in Villa Clara province that recently returned from Madrid, Spain and New Jersey and California, EUA.

While Cuban doctors have a highly positive reputation responding to different types of disease and disasters around the globe, on their home soil many medicines are cronically in shortage and hospital facilities greatly deteriorated. Likewise, even basic foods and hygiene products are frequently missing from stores where most people shop.

Operation to get Britons Home

Later on Wednesday morning the Fred Olson MS Breamar cruise ship docked in Mariel, 35 miles west of Havana with over 1,000 tourists and crew, mostly British, and some with the coronavirus.

After a request from the British government, the ship received authorization from their Cuban counterparts to dock in Cuba and then organize an airlift from the Havana Airport. 

The MS Braemar previously tried to dock in Curacao and Barbados but was denied entry.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, which operates the vessel, confirmed four aircraft had landed in Cuba ready for the rescue operation. The first flight was set to depart at 6 p.m. local time (ET), reported CNN.

Five people aboard the cruise ship tested positive for the virus, according to a statement from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. A further 28 passengers and 27 crew members, including a doctor, are in isolation after displaying symptoms. The number has been rising over the past few days, noted CNN.

There are 682 travelers and 381 crew members on board, said the cruise line company.

The Cuban government said it allowed the MS Braemar to dock out of “humanitarian concerns” and the need for “a shared effort to confront and stop the spread of the pandemic.”

The three charter flights of apparently health passengers will reportedly all go to London’s Heathrow Airport. One flight with people who tested positive for coronavirus or have flu-like symptoms and their companions will be flown to Boscombe Down, a military base west of London with medical personnel on board. 

The British government expressed gratitude to the Cuban authorities for allowing the transfer operation to occur on Cuban soil.

“On the issue of cruises, we’ve been working intensively with the Cuban authorities […] to ensure that all of the British nationals are able to return quickly and safely to the UK […] within the next 48 hours,” said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

“We are very grateful to the Cuban government for swiftly enabling this operation and for their close cooperation to make sure it could be successful.”