Cuba Lends a Helping Hand for Africans Fighting COVID-19

More than 200 doctors from Cuba have arrived in South Africa to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The doctors, including community health and infectious disease specialists, arrived early Monday morning and were welcomed by military and health authorities. South Africa requested assistance from the Cuban government, which is sending more than 1,000 doctors to 22 countries, including Togo, Cap Verde and Angola in Africa. South Africa has reported the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Africa, with at least 4,546 cases and 87 deaths. Some of the Cuban doctors have been “in the frontline of fighting other outbreaks in the world such as cholera in Haiti in 2010, and Ebola in West Africa in 2013,” said South African health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize.  The Cuban medical personnel will stay in a two-week quarantine before starting work. They have arrived as South Africa is increasing community testing, especially in poor, crowded neighborhoods. In the economic hub of Gauteng province, which includes South Africa’s largest city Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria, mass screening and testing is scheduled to take place throughout the week.

SOURCE: VOA