In the face of the outbreak of coronavirus in Havana, the authorities of the Cuban capital decided to resume the disinfection of streets and other public spaces, which had already been carried out in previous moments of the pandemic.
The measure started being applied this Tuesday and includes the disinfection of streets, sidewalks, portals and perimeter fences “with the aim of minimizing the microbial load of these surfaces that today constitute a source of contagion of COVID-19,” says Tribuna de La Havana.
The action, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Health, the Armed Forces, the Police and the Community Services Enterprise, began in the municipality of La Lisa, one of the most affected currently in the city, and will extend to other areas with sources of transmission of the disease, in territories such as Habana del Este, Marianao, Playa and Plaza.
Rosandra Mulé, head of the Department of Environmental Hygiene of the Provincial Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology, explained that the product applied is a three percent chlorinated solution, “very effective in inactivating viruses on surfaces.”
According to the specialist, disinfection is carried out at dusk “when there is no incidence of the sun to make the process more effective” and “the residents of the people’s councils are previously informed where the disinfection will be applied.”
Five military cars are used in this activity, which hold a total of 14,000 liters of chlorine solution. For its part, the Community Services Enterprise “provides other vehicles, responsible for resupplying the latter,” says Tribuna.
Disinfection actions had previously been carried out in public spaces in Havana and other cities on the island, but these stopped when the first phase of the post-COVID de-escalation was decreed. However, the rebound in positive cases in the capital has forced their comeback as part of a plan of measures to control the disease.