"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider."—Francis Bacon
On Friday, April 24, 2020 Local 10 reported that "300 U.S. citizens who had been stranded in Cuba since authorities suspended flights earlier this month" arrived back home in Miami. Flights to and from Cuba were suspended at midnight on April 1st.
This is great news.
However there are some observations that need to be raised.
1. Cuba has a history of covering up prior epidemics of contagious diseases including dengue, cholera, and most recently zika.
2. Cuba has extremely poor hygiene conditions, with shortages of soap, and other toiletries due to an internal blockade constructed by the Castro regime that makes it difficult for Cubans even to make their own soap using house hold items. The regime, prior to the suspension of flights, limited how much soap or detergent Cubans could bring in.
3. Cubans inside and outside of the island are warning of a humanitarian crisis with both rising numbers of Wuhan virus cases and rising repression by the dictatorship. Independent reporting on what is actually taking place on the ground in the island is punishable by hefty fines and prison, at a time when coronavirus can turn a prison detention into a death sentence.
Taking all of this into consideration the following questions arise:
Were Americans who returned home from Cuba tested for the Wuhan virus before leaving the airport?
Will both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases be kept in quarantine, and for how long?
When travel opens up again will these kind of screening measures be in place to limit the spread of Wuhan virus from international travelers especially from governments such as China, North Korea, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba that can not be trusted to give accurate information on outbreaks?
We are in a new world with the current pandemic and recent history has shown that it is better to be prepared than caught by surprise because other countries and international health agencies have not done their due diligence endangering millions.
Policymakers should look to what Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia have done to prevent the spread of the Wuhan virus and keep death rates low while maintaining democratic norms.
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| Woman greets her father who was repatriated Friday and arrived at Miami International Airport from Cuba. (Local 10 News) |
This is great news.
However there are some observations that need to be raised.
1. Cuba has a history of covering up prior epidemics of contagious diseases including dengue, cholera, and most recently zika.
2. Cuba has extremely poor hygiene conditions, with shortages of soap, and other toiletries due to an internal blockade constructed by the Castro regime that makes it difficult for Cubans even to make their own soap using house hold items. The regime, prior to the suspension of flights, limited how much soap or detergent Cubans could bring in.
3. Cubans inside and outside of the island are warning of a humanitarian crisis with both rising numbers of Wuhan virus cases and rising repression by the dictatorship. Independent reporting on what is actually taking place on the ground in the island is punishable by hefty fines and prison, at a time when coronavirus can turn a prison detention into a death sentence.
Taking all of this into consideration the following questions arise:
Were Americans who returned home from Cuba tested for the Wuhan virus before leaving the airport?
Will both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases be kept in quarantine, and for how long?
When travel opens up again will these kind of screening measures be in place to limit the spread of Wuhan virus from international travelers especially from governments such as China, North Korea, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba that can not be trusted to give accurate information on outbreaks?
We are in a new world with the current pandemic and recent history has shown that it is better to be prepared than caught by surprise because other countries and international health agencies have not done their due diligence endangering millions.
Policymakers should look to what Taiwan, South Korea, and Australia have done to prevent the spread of the Wuhan virus and keep death rates low while maintaining democratic norms.
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