Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Jul 1, 2021 / 17:01 pm
Bishop Juan de Dios Hernández Ruiz of Pinar del Río on Wednesday called on the faithful to pray that through the intercession of Our Lady of Charity the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a sharp rise in Cuba, would come to an end.
On June 30, the Diocese of Pinar del Río posted on Facebook a letter signed by Bishop Hernández and addressed to the pastoral workers and faithful of the diocese and the country.
The bishop said that "the health situation of our country and especially our diocese, has worsened as a result of a huge increase in cases" of COVID-19, which has led "the country to declare it is in the Community Transmission phase.”
For the last week, Cuba has been undergoing an exponential increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 infections. According to the government, the island went from having an average of 1,473 new cases per day on June 21 over the previous seven days; to having on June 29, in the week prior, an average of 2,453 new cases per day (+66%).