Cuban CP on Kissing and Covid-19
Prudence
This is a struggle in which we are all involved, of a social nature, and in which each one must impose on him/herself the condition of being responsible, for his own good and that of others.
By Ventura de Jesús
March 21, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Photo: Taken from the Internet
Covid-19 continues to spread around the world, with increasing levels of infection and death. The signal is very clear: protocols for prevention and control must be followed, and very strict health rules must be observed in order to avoid at all costs contagion and the spread of the disease.
There are various measures and lessons to flatten the epidemic’s curve and the emphasis is on collective awareness, discipline, and individual responsibility.
In addition to strengthening hygiene care, experts warn that personal behavior is key. They recommend social distancing measures, such as voluntary quarantine and isolation, as well as avoiding displacement and crowding.
Others are aimed at not shaking hands and avoiding kisses, and trying to keep at least one meter away from other people, something whose benefit nobody doubts, but which to a certain extent is tormenting for Cubans, since they quarrel with habits that are deeply rooted in our society.
Visual and physical contact in Cuba does not have the same connotation as in other parts of the world. According to scholars, it is part of nature and responds to socio-cultural and historical phenomena.
Fortunately, there are those who have given up on the fraternal embraces, friendly romps and other approaches that usually characterize the encounters between acquaintances, friends and family on the island.
There are more and more people who greet you from a distance or give you an affective glance from afar. There are even those, the few, who pass by without looking. They believe that this does not hurt anyone’s feelings, and is healthy for the purpose of evading the Covid-19.
The truth is that putting aside, or postponing for the time being, the relationship of joyful camaraderie in the form of handshakes or necking, need not sour anyone’s character or be a source of laughter or mockery. Everyone should understand the reasons and not overlook the importance of caution, even against their will.
Despite many exhortations, many people still do not take this particular matter seriously, and there is no human power capable of persuading them that, for example, affectionate greetings should be avoided.
Perhaps that is why we Latinos, and particularly Cubans, are like that. There are those who think that a kiss does not hurt anyone and find it extravagant to greet each other with an elbow or with simple gestures from a distance. They consider it a useless torture and continue to obey that ancient custom of shaking hands or hugging a friend.
Although some do not seem to be aware of it, this pandemic is dangerous and causes countless setbacks, including some that are related to our daily habits.
Cubans, bound by affection and solidarity, must continue to work with serenity, security and discipline to successfully confront the new coronavirus, as President Miguel Díaz-Canel indicated.
On an individual level, this means not losing track of reality and looking at the faces of others with our hands on our hearts. In this way, we accompany the country’s decisions and do not fail in the will that guides us in this battle.
It is a struggle in which we are all involved, of a social nature, and in which each one must impose on themselves the condition of being responsible, for your own good and for that of others. For the time being, we must postpone some customary habits. It is convenient for everyone, for you and for me. It is the most prudent thing to do.
Bolivia Suspends Elections until Further Notice
Bolivia Suspends Presidential
Elections until Further Notice
The Bolivian de facto government declared total quarantine this Saturday, taking effect from Sunday and will last 14 days, as an extreme measure to combat the new coronavirus pandemic.
March 22, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Photo: Taken from the Internet
The Bolivian Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced on Saturday the suspension of the election calendar due to the total quarantine decreed by the de facto government in the face of the new coronavirus, and therefore the presidential elections scheduled for May 3.
The President of the Supreme Electoral Court, Salvador Romero, said that the new date for the elections should be set “with technical support”. He reiterated that it should be made taking into account scientific assessments on the evolution of the pandemic. “It must be accepted without bias in favor or against any political organization or candidate,” he added.
In its statement, the TSE also expresses its commitment to resume its activities as soon as the minimum conditions are met.
“We declare our willingness to continue the broad and pluralistic dialogue with all political organizations participating in the 2020 process, as well as with the other branches of government, so that in a framework of consultation and unity of all Bolivians, we can define a new date for the voting day of the 2020 general election,” the TSE’s statement states.
For the time being, health authorities reported that 19 cases of infection and no deaths have been confirmed in the country.
In the run-up to the elections, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) is the favorite to win the presidency, vice-presidency and most of the seats in the Plurinational Assembly.
Quarantined Physician Describes It
Quarantined
Holguinera doctor Yaritza Pérez Peña fought her first face-to-face battle with the Covid-19
By Germán Veloz Placencia
March 19, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
I’m listening to Dr. Yaritza Perez Pena on the phone. Her voice sounds strange because she’s wearing a nasobuco [face mask]. I confess that I am anxiously looking for this contact and that she has more admirers behind her. I wish, I tell her, that from the Military Hospital of Holguin, where she is now in quarantine, she will share details of the moments in which, thinking of human beings, with her clear vision as a doctor, she fought her first face-to-face combat with the Covid-19.
“It was at the Hotel Rio de Oro, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre. She worked at the International Clinic of Guardalavaca and was on duty at the hotel’s Medical Post, where a Canadian guest arrived, at the suggestion of Mariluz Claro, the room’s waitress. She detected that the tourist had a cough, vomiting and diarrhea.
“Mariluz didn’t waste any time. She was alert and also warned her superiors about the case. This is what all the hotel staff was told to do when they trained staff to act at times like this. Together with nurse Marilín Oramas, I concluded that we were facing a suspicious case of the new coronavirus and we isolated it right there, to cut the chain of contacts with other people”.
She tells details about the operation of isolating the patient and his subsequent transfer to Villa El Cocal, in order to carry out the test expeditiously, which, sent to the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Microbiology in Santiago de Cuba, proved positive.
Yaritza Pérez, since she was a student at the University of Medical Sciences of Holguín, has prepared herself to face contingencies like this, she assures us. Then in Brazil, during her second mission as a collaborator, she faced severe outbreaks of zika, dengue and malaria, and implemented well-designed medical protocols. But the new coronavirus has great contagious power and collective vigilance to detect cases and prevent their spread cannot be compromised, she says.
She says that in the 26 de Julio neighborhood in Rafael Freyre, her son, husband, parents and siblings are keeping an eye on their progress during the period of isolation, and that is great emotional support. She is also called by her colleagues at the clinic.
“Mariluz, Marilín and I remain asymptomatic, just like the rest of the people we contact with the patient. We will be isolated for about 14 days, which is the incubation time of Covid-19. We feel protected by the staff of the Military Hospital. They have been very gentle with everyone.
In hands like those of these names, the Cuban family is well protected. The best thing is that, throughout the island, there are thousands like them.
CFK and Florencia Fly to Argentina
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Her Daughter Florencia Fly from Cuba to Argentina
In her text, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also recommends that Argentines respect preventive isolation within the framework of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic
By Redacción Digital
March 20, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Photo: Taken from the Internet
Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that she is returning to Argentina from Havana, Cuba, with her daughter Florencia Kirchner. The decision was made public by the former president herself through her Twitter account. There, in a tweet, she states that her daughter and her doctors “managed to restore some of her lost health and have been working on her return home for some time.”
In her text, she also recommends that Argentines respect the preventive isolation in the framework of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The return will take place through a flight from Cubana de Aviación, the island’s flagship carrier. Although Cuba is not a country at risk from the coronavirus, the former president said that, together with her daughter, they will comply with the preventive isolation.
This is her tenth trip so far this year, and for the former president, this is the most important one. “Flor asked me to come and help her… I felt that I could not do it alone,” wrote CFK.
In her tweets, the former president deeply thanks the people and government of Cuba. “And I feel that even if I had a hundred lives, they would not be enough for me to express my gratitude to this Cuba of solidarity, punished by the powerful but dignified and haughty,” writes the vice president and continues: “Cuba stood by me at a very difficult time in my life, that held out its hand to my daughter without speculation and that cared for and protected her when the fierce media and judicial persecution severely damaged her health.
Regarding Cuba, the former president also points out that “that Cuban doctors exercise their vocation with commitment, with a profoundly humanist stance and who, with precise diagnosis, for the first time, gave Flor the tools that those who have lost their health need”.
Finally, the Vice President asked Argentines to take care of themselves in the face of the coronavirus pandemic: “I would like to ask you to do the same, to take care of yourselves and others by respecting preventive isolation in your homes. I love you all very much”.
The “Superheroes” of the MS Braemar
The “Superheroes” of the MS Braemar
Cuban specialists with great experience in the three modes of transport: maritime, automotive and air participated in the operation of docking the British cruise ship and in the disembarkation and transfer of the passengers who came on it. Juventud Rebelde invites you to learn about the experiences of the pilot who came on board and the skipper and engineer of the boat that transported him.
By Yuniel Labacena Romero
yuniel@juventudrebelde.cu
and
Liudmila Peña Herrera digital@juventudrebelde.cu
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
The British cruiser’s command acknowledged the pilot Mario Martínez Lahera and highlighted the effort and organization of the Cuban authorities in this operation. Autor: Taken from Internet Published: 22/03/2020 | 03:31 am
Englishwoman Anthea Guthrie is back home. The imminent danger has passed. But the gratitude and love for the unknown people who helped her and 681 other tourists to return to their country after long days of uncertainty on board the British cruise ship MS Braemar, has been sown in her chest.
Meanwhile, expresses her appreciation, through her social networks, Cuba’s decision to allow the docking of the Fred Olsen cruise ship in the port of Mariel, in the country and all those who participated in the operation are kept under strict epidemiological surveillance.
Isolation
Approximately 198.5 kilometres from Mariel, far from their homes, isolated from their families, but in the care of the medical staff of the Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre hospital in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas province, the three workers of the Unidad Empresarial de Base Prácticos de Occidente, belonging to the Empresa Prácticos de Puertos de la República de Cuba, are well.
They will have to remain there for a minimum of 14 days under epidemiological surveillance, in order to detect in time any symptoms of respiratory disease. These are the perks of the job, and of courage.
The pilot boat driver, Denis Efrén Echevarría Martínez, 35 years old, recalls how the operation was carried out, after its completion, in order to protect their health and avoid possible contagion:
“They moved us to an area where they took off our protective clothing and we quickly got on the bus that brought us here. When we arrived, they explained to us the measures that are put in place in this type of center, where we are monitored for any symptoms related to the disease.
Their phones are ringing off the hook. Family members, colleagues, friends… they are interested in your health, as much as the specialized staff that attends to you.
“I feel fine,” assures the pilot Mario Martínez Lahera, 57 years old, the only one of the Cubans who came aboard the cruise ship, and he adds: “There are good conditions here for staying, for food and medical care, with periodic check-ups of parameters such as blood pressure and temperature, three times a day.
At his side, the skipper of the boat, Alean Torres Pacheco, 21 years old, corroborates this: “They take good care of us. The nurses are, as we say in good Cuban, “up to one”, asking everything about our state of health”.
The mission
Mario Martinez Lahera, who has 31 years of experience and training, did not know the mission in depth from the beginning. He was asked if he was willing, if he felt capable, and he said yes, that he was prepared physically, psychologically and professionally.
“At first they chose another compañero – Luis Alberto Guerra Valdés, with similar experience – and me, and told us that it was a very complex mission. Then they explained to us all the details of the ship and the sick people on board,” says the man who is not only a pilot but also a captain in the merchant navy.
The mission of carrying out the entry and exit maneuvers to the port of the Mariel of MS Braemar was not too different from those he had already carried out during his 28 years of work in the port of Havana. The difficulty was in taking care to avoid contagion.
“I had to stay onboard the ship for approximately 18 hours, although the time was extended to 20 hours because the transfer of the sick had to be done more carefully, both in the port and at the airport,” he recalls.
For Alean Torres Pacheco, the skipper of the Cuban boat that would take the pilot to the ship, the mission took him by surprise: “When they told me that I had been selected, I felt a little strange, and I even got a tremendous lump in my throat. Imagine, I’ve only been working in the port for a year.
“I could barely speak. But understanding that they had confidence in me, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. Of course, they explained to us what security measures we had to comply with, they gave us a vest, nasobucos [face masks), a gown, chlorine to disinfect the surfaces… With all the information in our possession, we went home”.
Denis Efrén Echevarría says that when they told him, he felt a lot of tension and thought about the risks, about his family. Then he relaxed a little. “In our schools, we are educated in the values of solidarity, compañerismo, dedication, and what better time to put them into practice than with this help.
“Of course, I only commented on the mission I was going to fulfill with the family, with my wife… It was all very discreet so that the people of the neighborhood and the colleagues at work would not be alarmed, nor would they feel panic in vain,” he assures us.
The Operation
The Cuban decision to allow entry to the cruise did not surprise Cubans, who have a long tradition of medical and humanistic collaboration. Everything went like clockwork. Photo: Abel Padrón Padilla/Cubadebate
It was around four o’clock in the morning on March 18 when they arrived to take them to the port of Mariel. It had been a short night, one of great expectations, but the three of them were ready. Very fresh in Alean’s memory are the details of that early morning’s preparations:
“In a small room at the port, the specialists explained to us how to use the suit and the rest of the clothing we would wear. They dressed us. We could not touch our hands, our eyes, or break the suits they put on us.
“When the time came to board the boat to take the pilot to where the maneuver was going to be performed, we were doing everything very calmly, with a positive mindset, until we got to the cruise ship. After the pilot got on board, we left to wait for him to call us to come and get him”.
Denis’s responsibility as an engine driver was no less important. He had to ensure that the boat’s engines worked properly, that water did not enter the boat, that the temperature and vibrations were maintained, and that there was no noise so that the skipper could concentrate. The relationship between the three compañeros during the mission, Denis summarizes as follows:
“Practitioner, master and engineer are essential: we all depend on each other, and the success of one is the success of the other. We are the guarantors of the safety of the boat on the route between the intersection of the boat at sea, until the pilot performs the docking maneuver in the assigned dock. This is what happened with the British cruiser.
“We communicated with the pilot using the portable radio, once he was already on the cruise ship. He was explaining to us how things were done. On our boat, we had everything we needed on board (food, means for hygiene…), as we did not know how long the operation would take. At all times I thought a lot about the care I had to take, about my two-year-old daughter. I will not deny it: I felt a little nervous, with tension; but seeing so many grateful people saying goodbye to us, made me feel more at ease.
As they sailed to MS Braemar, each one was immersed in his own feelings and thoughts, and attentive to every detail. Mario Martinez, the most experienced of the three, showed no signs of worry, his face remained unaltered. At least, that was what Alean felt during the journey:
“We knew that the pilot was sure of what he was going to do, you could see it in his face. That gave us confidence, because one thinks of many things when one is carrying out a mission like this: I better not even count mine,” he admits.
Certainly, Mayito, as his compañeros say to the pilot, felt calm. In fact, he believes that life had prepared him for that moment and “I was confident because of all the security measures that had been taken by the Government, and because the doctors at the Mariel port took great care to put on my suit, to teach me how to change it inside the ship – because I was wearing four other suits of the highest level -, they emphasized all the measures that I had to take already on board. For all that, I was sure that my life would be guaranteed.
The confirmation that he had been chosen for the mission was given only the day before. For him, it was enough. After the crossing with Denis and Alean, around 6:00 in the morning, Mayito arrived at the side of the cruise ship, ascended the elevator to the deck, where the captain of the ship was already waiting for him, to welcome him on board, according to the navigation protocols, but without extending his hand, the first sign of the protection that the pilot would also receive from the management of the shipping company.
“After the greeting, the first thing the captain did was to thank Cuba for the gesture and then he said something like: ‘Go ahead, the ship is yours. Then we started the maneuvers, taking into account all the technical details for the safe docking of the ship at the port”, says Mayito. Besides guiding the cruise ship, Mayito served as the liaison between the captain and the Cuban port authorities for all the operations that took place onboard the ship, including the disembarkation of the passengers and their transfer to the airport.
During the 20 hours he remained on the ship, where the passengers who did not have any symptoms of illness were normally associated with each other. The pilot witnessed the hygienic measures being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “Every half hour, a crew member spent time disinfecting all handrails and surfaces. I think the shipping company also took every precaution so that I wouldn’t catch it,” he says.
The Family
Alean is an only child, living with his mother and grandparents. Only to them did he talk about the mission. He remembers how, at first, he did not know how to tell them: “When I told them, there was a moment of silence, I saw them uncomfortable, but then they gave me a lot of support.”
On the other hand, Denis is already a family man and he says that in this mission his wife was a very strong supporter from the beginning. Although a little restless, he gave her his support instantly and told her that “everything would be fine, that I would comply with the measures that had been explained to me. Now she talks to our little girl and tells her why daddy is not here.
Mayito, for his part, did not say anything to his family in order to not alarm them, until it was inevitable to tell them. He remembers that “his first reaction was one of fright, but I told them that I was willing and determined, and they had to trust that my decision was the right one”.
Solidarity versus risk
Given the logical fear that each of these three Cubans may have felt because of the danger of a disease that today takes thousands of lives every day all over the planet, and the very risk they could face if something did not go as planned, the images of gratitude of the passengers of the ship MS Braemar who traveled around the world -and their own state of health- are the best reward.
“This operation was a very good thing, even in the midst of the risk it meant, because, hearing how people applauded, shouted from the cruise ship greetings and phrases of thanks to Cuba, gave us encouragement and strength to carry it out.
Even though many outside our country have criticized it, everything we did was good, because we showed, once again, on what side our duty lies, the solidarity we learned from Fidel. Saving lives should be a gesture that always accompanies Cubans,” Alean said.
Something similar happened to Denis, who felt encouraged by the responsibility he was assigned, because “in the face of an operation like this you have to get away from fear and use all your strength because you can’t look bad.
But without a doubt, the one who was exposed to the greatest risk was Mayito. He felt so protected that, when asked, all that stands out is the satisfaction: “I witnessed a lot of joy, happiness, gratitude.”
“My skin stood up when I saw them without knowing how to thank, through me, the Cuban government, for what we were doing for them. The poster and the flag you see on the deck of the ship were part of a tribute to me in recognition of Cuba’s great help. But, of course, there were no hugs.
Three messages to Cuba
For these three Cuban “superheroes” who faced the danger in order to save more than a thousand lives -among passengers and crew members-, the priority is to prevent contagion among the Cuban population. That is why, even in the midst of their rest, they sent three messages to all of Cuba:
MESSAGE 1: “To the population and the families I recommend great prudence, serenity, trust…; that they leave their homes only what is necessary, that they avoid crowds, that hand washing be a practice for now and forever, because it prevents other diseases. In the event of any symptom, they go quickly to their family doctor, so that nobody lets their guard down. Many people think that this is just another disease, just another cold, but it is not. The numbers of infected countries, the deaths… everything is alarming” (Denis Efrén, engineer).
MESSAGE 2: “I recommend that you comply with the measures that have been established, that you trust the indications and decisions that the country’s leadership has taken, that you participate in the active investigation that is currently being carried out, that you isolate yourself when you feel suspicious and go to the doctor, that you think about your family, about the people who may be infected”. (Alean, boss)
MESSAGE 3: “Please take all possible measures and even those that seem to be too much. I’ll give you my own example inside the cruise: sometimes I felt immobilized because my nose was itching or I wanted to scratch my eye, but I knew I shouldn’t touch them. I was in a very risky situation and I assumed that I had to protect myself, that no one had to look after my health but me, and that any action I took was little. (Mario, practical)
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Another Brick in Roger Waters’ Wall
Another Brick in Roger Waters’ Wall
Roger Waters, a former member of the rock band Pink Floyd, is one of the artists who stands up for noble causes. He will be eternally condemned by those who do not benefit from these revolutionary positions
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Roger Waters joined the Chilean people’s pots and pans. Photo: Taken from the Internet
It seems that the artists who stand up for the noble causes against massacres, racism, xenophobia, exploitation and other evils that coexist within humanity today, will be eternally condemned by those to whom these revolutionary positions do not favor them. Such is the case of Roger Waters, a former member of the rock band Pink Floyd, who has once again been criticized for opposing the genocide in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The concerts of the British musician were being publicized by the website of Major League Baseball of the United States (MLB), which announced, last Saturday, March 8, that their platforms would stop promoting Waters’ performances, due to the pressures of the Zionist organization B’nai B’rith International. In January, in another attempt to silence the bassist, he had sent a letter to Rob Manfred, commissioner of MLB – the most important baseball league in the world – so that he would stop promoting the ticket sales for Waters’. This is not a Drill tour, scheduled to start on July 8, 2020.
The event that prompted such a reaction was the support of the British to BDS, a movement that drives the boycott policy, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.
The campaign promotes non-violence and advocates for the rights of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Argentine newspaper Clarín.
It turns out that Waters, after announcing a tour of Tel Aviv in 2006, began receiving messages from one of the movement’s promoters. In this way, as he approached the conflict and its realities, he bet on supporting the Palestinians. Thus, in 2018, during his visit to Montevideo [Uruguay], the musician participated in the talk Palestine and Human Rights Today. In the same year, in Barcelona, he was present at the colloquium Totes per Palestina. The Palestinian rain and international solidarity, where the co-founder of Pink Floyd stated that all human beings should have inalienable rights such as freedom, beyond being European, African, Palestinian, Jewish or Muslim.
In his view, there is no “legitimate reason” to justify the massacres that have caused the death of not a few Palestinians on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. This conflict has continued to take lives since the last century and which, if it does not stop, will exterminate Palestinian culture and society.
However, this anti-Waters campaign is not only based on his position in the face of this conflict, but it is enough to sound out the British man’s social networks to realize that his fight is for peace and the defense of humanity. It’s a vision that makes some people uncomfortable, precisely because they are defending many. There are plenty of examples.
As part of the Desert Trip festival, which in October 2016 brought together several stars from the golden age of rock, Waters gave a finale that resonated throughout California and beyond. During his presentation, Donald Trump’s montages appeared on the screens, accompanied by his craziest phrases from his last campaign. Meanwhile, the song Pigs was playing. Then, Another Brick in the Wall was heard, while a huge inflatable pig, with the face of the American president, flew over the audience, who could read in the figure: “pig”, “ignorant”, “liar”, “racist”, “sexist”…
In February 2019, the musician spoke out against the US interventionist attempt in Venezuela, which was holding the Venezuela Live concert, with the support of British tycoon Richard Branson and Colombian President Ivan Duque. In October of that year, Waters posted a video on Instagram, where he chanted in support and solidarity with Chileans protesting against the government of Sebastián Piñera. And in 2020 he has spoken out against the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States.
While his music and ideas in support of humanity have no borders, these actions against Waters are just another brick in the wall.
There Will Not be Another Saint Louis
There Will Not be Another Shame for Cuba like the St. Louis
By Jorge Gómez Barata
March 18, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews
The news moved the ink: “Cuba authorized the docking of a cruise ship British with coronavirus…” According to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez: “At the request of the British government, the Cuban authorities granted docking permission to the MS Braemar cruise ship, with some COVID-19 infected travelers on board. According to the minister: “This is a health emergency…
It later transpired that today, Tuesday the 17th, upon the ship’s arrival in the port of Mariel, a calibrated operation will be triggered as a watches to disembark all travelers, evaluate and offer medical care to the sick and airlift them to Gran Brittany.
It all started on Sunday, March 8th, when the cruise ship docked at the port of Cartagena, Colombia where, along with other passengers, an American woman landed. When examined at a center city doctor, she tested positive for the coronavirus.
Unaware of the situation, the cruise ship MS Braemar, set sail for Willemstad in Curaçao and Bridgetown in Barbados, where they were denied the entry. On Wednesday the 11th, the ship’s owner’s firm was notified of the passenger’s situation and immediately issued a statement in which he reported five other cases on board. The same day, the cruise captain asked the harbor master of Cartagena permission to return which was denied, which also happened with the Bahamas.
According to CNN, on Sunday afternoon, 15 British officials made intense and unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to find a country willing and with appropriate infrastructure to receive the ship in which 1,513 people are traveling. In addition to the British, among the passengers, there are Canadians, Australians, Belgians, Colombians, Irish, Italians, Japanese, Dutch, New Zealanders, Norwegians and Swedes.
On the ship, which at the time of the order was anchored 25 miles in the Bahamas, there are four passengers and one crew member positive for COVID-19. Other people, including a doctor, are subject to quarantine after presenting symptoms. In this case, it is for practical reasons because the cruise is about 4,000 miles from England where it would take several days to arrive and about 500 from Havana, so in about a day and a half of navigation the sick passengers will be under Cuban medical coverage and soon after, those who are re-marked, they will arrive in their country.
Although devoid of the dramatic and petty nuances, the situation of the cruise ship MS Braemar has reminded me of the tragedy experienced by the passengers of another ship, the St. Louis, which, in 1939, instead of to be welcomed in Havana, was rejected, so they ended up in the concentration camps and crematoria of Nazi Germany.
During World War II, in the face of persecution in Germany, there was an exodus of Jews to the United States. At that time there was a quota system for migrants that was not extended. In that context, there was an arrangement, according to which they would travel to a nearby country and wait there to be allowed to enter North America.
Under that understanding, in Hamburg, 937 passengers boarded the Saint Louis, which on May13, 1939 set sail for Cuba. All had permits to land in Havana with refugee status. On the 23rd of the same month, in the Cuban capital the captain received the news that the permits sold by a corrupt immigration director, were overruled by the president Federico Laredo Brú. Bru agreed to issue others at a cost of $500 dollars per person, an amount that only 29 passengers could pay.
In view of the refusal of the United States and Canada to take in the unhappy travelers, scarce water, food and fuel and with the crew virtually mutinous, the ship’s captain decided to return to Europe. In the port of Antwerp, Belgium, exhausted and terrified, the unfortunates of the St. Louis who lived the illusion of being welcomed into Havana.
According to reports, the British cruise ship will dock in the port of Mariel where directly, without any contact with the Cuban population, and, under strict medical and epidemiological supervision, will board buses to Terminal Five of the capital airport, which was destined and prepared for special operations, in which they will be taken by two planes chartered by Great Britain.
On social networks, in Cuba and elsewhere, both people who are bad intentioned as well compatriots acting in good faith, expressed critical opinions. It’s their right, but in this case, more than rights, it is the duty to assist others at risk, following rules that preserve the safety of the minimum number of people involved. COVID-19 shouldn’t make us any worse. See you there.
Movies and the Coronavirus
Movies and the Coronavirus
By Rolando Pérez Betancourt
March 16, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
A few days ago, actress Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on social networks wearing a mask and this recommendation: “I’ve already been in this movie. Stay safe. Don’t wave. Wash your hands often.”
The film Paltrow was referring to is Contagion (Steven Soderberg, 2011), the most-watched on the Internet in recent weeks because of its similarity to that global scourge that keeps humanity against the wall, Covid-19.
Contagioun has a first-rate international cast: Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and Matt Damon, in addition to Paltrow, and is the film, within the genre of catastrophe, that most resembles what we’re experiencing, something like if since fiction its scriptwriter, Scott Z. Burns, had been sending out a warning message.
Gwyneth Paltrow has posted an image on Instagram recalling the film Photo: Instagram
In Contagion, Soderberg once again demonstrates his ability to combine experimental films with documentary elements and commercial touches, a formula that, through the use of breathless editing, opens the doors to vast audiences, while at the same time immersing the viewer in an atmosphere of tribulation.
The film talks about a virus that is supposedly transmitted from Hong Kong. Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, infected by a chef who shakes her hand after preparing a strange dish, later visits a casino where she blows the dice on a man who will die two days later. There he will contaminate everyone who approaches him, people who in a few hours will take planes to different parts of the world. On her way back to her native Minnesota, she falls ill and dies.
The epidemic takes on a global dimension and scientists begin to work on a vaccine, while the most diverse reactions take place in a film that gives great importance to the secondary characters: a blogger who denounces an international conspiracy that links the government with the pharmaceutical industry, cases of extreme selfishness, countries with no economic possibilities that are not involved in international cooperation, the manipulative role of the media and the lukewarmness, at the level of the nation and from the first moments, with which it faces what is happening.
Soderberg once again demonstrates in Contagio the ability to combine his experimental cinema with documentary elements and commercial touches Photo: sensacine.com
It is true that there are other films that deal with the subject, but none with the realism of Contagioun, hence the worldwide resurrection that makes many people look for it, and especially those people who remain in quarantine in their respective countries, perhaps because after long anguished suspense of anguish, the conflict opens the way to hope.
It is logical that in this “re-envisioning” the scriptwriter of Contagion, Scott Z. Burns, a faithful collaborator of Soderberg, returns to the foreground – with greater force than nine years ago. Interviewed by the website Slate, he had no qualms about condemning the cold actions of some governments in the face of the pandemic, starting with President Trump, who in the first moments relied more on his elusive messages via Twitter than on concrete actions.
According to Burns, while writing the script for the film, he went to meet with leading scientists who told him that the issue was not whether what he said could happen, but “when” it would happen. “When scientists say something, it’s better to listen,” the screenwriter said, and he had words of praise for the professionals at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control who advised him on his script. But he complained, “We’re finding out that we don’t have enough kits to test and for some reason, we’ve dissolved our pandemic response teams.
Speaking of the many people who tell him that the film was becoming a reality, Burns responds that he said, “I never imagined that there were leaders in this country who would leave us defenseless.
From a long interview appeared on the Slate website and an extensive lunge by Scott Z. Burns: “The administration and the Republican Party talk about protecting people with a wall [on the border with Mexico], but we don’t even have test kits. And he blames the lack of measures against hoarding, demonic price hikes, and other reprehensible aspects. “Where is the law when there are people on the Internet selling miracle cures?” he wonders. Those who saw the film remember the tricks of a grotesque con man in it, one more similarity of the many that come to show that, between fiction and reality, only the passage of life is in between.
Disinfecting Buses in Havana
Disinfecting Buses in Havana to Prevent COVID-19
By Ricardo López Hevia, Susana Antón Rodriguez
March 16, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
In a city like Havana that moves an average of one million people a day by bus, any measure taken to combat the new coronavirus might seem like little.
However, the Ministry of Transport (Mitrans) has implemented a series of actions aimed at increasing sanitation and preventive control in the Provincial Transport Company, which is responsible for the articulated and rigid buses that participate in the daily transfer of the population in the capital.
The measures, which began last Tuesday, also include the work centers and the arrival of each worker to the base units, said Raimundo Hierro Luna, deputy director of human resources of the company.
The process is established so that, once the “bus” arrives at the terminal, a team begins with the disinfection with chlorine solutions of the handrails, seats, doors and other surfaces.
The departure times of the transport will not be affected, because also at peak times, between each departure of the buses, there are 15 minutes for cleaning, explained Mauricio Mató Hernández, director of the Mulgoba Terminal.
Each time a bus completes a journey, at the rest time before returning, these measures are also being applied, and the people responsible are the driver and the conductor, who carry out the cleaning with the means given to them.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
Likewise, once the “cart” finishes the daily route and arrives at the base, a more meticulous cleaning is done to leave it ready for the next day.
The Provincial Transport Company of Havana has also published informative banners inside the buses, both rigid and articulated, so that the population is aware of the measures that must be adopted to prevent COVID-19.
This practice is implemented in each of the areas related to transport, such as the railways, the sea, and even aeronautics, as has been indicated to private transporters.
It is necessary to create a collective awareness of the importance of prevention, as each driver must be responsible for cleanliness and ensure compliance with the provisions of the COVID-19 confrontation in the Mitrans.
It is therefore up to the transporters to ensure the health of the Cuban people and to ensure, through hygiene and discipline, that all forms of transport are a guarantee of safety.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
They disinfect the buses in Havana. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia/Granma.
Kissing Moratorium?
Kissing Moratorium?
In an era marked by virtual affections, not very credible for the most part, the scourge of the coronavirus has put in greater trouble that which the French call poutous, bisouilles, becs, bisous, bécots…
By Enrique Milanés León
March 15, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
This picture of a Chinese couple pulling down their masks to kiss has been very popular, in the midst of the spread of the virus. Author: EFE Published: 15/03/2020 | 12:04 pm
Amazed, the world put its hand on its mouth when, a few days ago, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte received the king of Spain at the Elysée Palace without giving them a hand or a gift – bonjour with bonjour and cheek with cheek – the bise, that double portion of kisses so dear to the so-called land of love. The host couple chose to bow slightly with their hands and throw love into the air to Doña Leticia.
The anecdote may encapsulate the evolution of a planetary medical history because, just a week ago in Naples, Macron himself had had no qualms about putting a pair of pecks on the face of Italian Prime Minister Antonio Conte, a gesture with which, it is said, at the same time, sent a message of security to their citizens in times of uncertainty.
In an era marked by virtual affections, most of which are not very credible, the scourge of the coronavirus has put in a greater predicament what the French call poutous, bisouilles, becs, bisous, bécots… in short, kisses. There and here, certain contexts of doubt, between acceptance and rejection, leave many attempts in the frustration of the grimace.
A powerful and highly respectable woman, none other than Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel went through the motions this week of being denied her hand by her own Interior Minister at a meeting, while across the Channel Queen Elizabeth II wore long white gloves for the first time in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
The issue is global, but in France, where the kiss is something of a national attribute, it must hurt more. It is easy to imagine that the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, the public call to stop kissing must have seemed almost like a dictatorial act.
Such is the colorfulness of this practice that the French themselves sometimes don’t know if it’s right to give two kisses, as they do in Nice and Paris, or three and even four, as they’re used to in Montpellier. Who would have seen a Cuban there, with a shopping bag!
The famous Parisian centers of joyful life have also been impacted. At the Mask Club, for example, you cannot get into the bedroom without using hydroalcoholic gel and wearing a convenient mask, either expensive lace or the common surgical version.
Even the Tinder dating application, with some 50 million users who often venture into real contact, had to put on the mask on and warn its customers that “protecting yourself from the coronavirus is more important”.
They are distant prints that give the idea of how human contact looks in this particular context of humanity. German experts advise suspending the strong handshake that, from the schools, has always been promoted as a sign of strong personality. The British and Italians also propose to leave aside those expressions of appreciation that so many earthlings germinate, generous, by the hands and the lips.
There is indeed a moratorium on kissing. In Beijing, red posters advise against squeezing and propose to replace them with the traditional gong shou; that is, to put the palm on one’s fist as a sign of aseptic “hello!
Ravaged by the coronavirus, in Iran they defend the motto “I do not shake your hand because I love you” and men choose to approach, without reaching the contact, a closed fist to the equally tight fist of the friend. And almost at the end of the world, in New Zealand, the practitioners left aside the hongi, the traditional Maori greeting that consists of joining noses and fronts.
In Cuba… in Cuba you can see everything. Just a couple of days ago, at an event of colleagues, I found myself in the same space with some who kept me at a distance, at the distance of a musketeer, and others who embraced me, in a frank bid for the “affectovirus”. As far as the Ministry of Public Health is concerned, which is everyone’s best friend, each personal picture is an interesting page.
There is no other way than to join in this battle that is also being fought for the massive return of kisses. The world cannot live without them, so, as the measures are temporary, it is advisable to make a stockpile for when the “thing” is fixed. Let’s hope that by July 6th, International Kissing Day, the epidemic will be a tamed jíbaro and, without a virus crown or a king’s crown, the common people of humanity will take to the streets to celebrate… simply by kissing.
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