More than 50 Cubans here for COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2021, 16:02 by Denis Chabrol

Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said 56 Cuban health care workers have arrived in Guyana and have been deployed to work at the Ocean View, Liliendaal-based COVID-19 hospital as the country prepares for wave of infections from the Delta variant.

“We need people who can operate our Intensive Care Unit,” he said in his daily update on the viral disease. He noted that the Unit’s beds have been increased to 45 beds along with ventilators,  monitors and other staff.

Among the members of the Cuban Medical Brigade are 20 Intensivists who  would be working “primarily in the Intensive Care Unit.” The health care workers include doctors and nurses

With an expected surge in the number of persons who would be infected with the Delta variant, the Health Minister said the Guyana government has opted to ask that they work in the COVID-19 dedicated facility. “We though that this would be the best use of their resources and to prioritise having a skillset,” he said.

Dr. Anthony hoped that Guyana would not have a surge in COVID-19 cases, but said the best option is for Guyanese to take one of the available vaccines.

Members of the Cuban Medical Brigade have been coming to Guyana for several decades now, as part of their country’s assistance to one of its longest allies in the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana has over the years received thousands of scholarships for studies in a range of disciplines.