May Day Parade Cancelled in Cuba over Covid-19 Fears

HAVANA TIMES – Cuba’s government has suspended its May Day Parade, a fixture of the country’s calendar since the 1959 revolution, due to fears that it could promote the spread of the novel coronavirus, reports dpa news.

The Communist-ruled island has so far recorded 186 cases of Covid-19, the potentially deadly respiratory disease that comes as a result of the virus. Of those patients, six have died.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel told government ministers in a meeting carried by the state broadcaster that Cubans would celebrate May 1, International Workers Day, “but in isolation.”

Diaz-Canel asked the Workers Central Union of Cuba (CTC), which organizes the event, to come up with alternatives that would allow people to remain isolated, such as a virtual parade or hanging flags outside the home.

The country’s Political Bureau, presided over by Communist Party leader Raul Castro, brother of the late Fidel Castro, took the decision in order to prevent the spread of the virus, the president said.