CAMAGÜEY.- Javier's public history began as many of these days, with the confirmation of one case: No. 76 of the thirteen positives on Thursday, March 26. For the second time, Camagüey was on the list. For the second time he was a young man, now 33 years old.
But this April 7, Javier stopped being patient No. 76 and the 33-year-old man. His name, the expression in his eyes, his figure ... came to light and were shared hundreds of times by that joy of the Cuban when he knows one of his own well.
“Looking face to face with the COVID-19 and winning the game is something I will never forget. There is certainty of when and how you enter the hospital, but not of how you are going to leave. However, the dedication of the specialists who take daily risks for you, makes you sleep calmer, makes you trust, ”he told the press, still nervous from the ambulance that would take him back home.
MEMORIES OF CONTAGION
CAMAGÜEY.- Javier's public history did not begin the day he was admitted to the Amalia Simoni hospital, nor when the media announced that there was another case in Camagüey. It began when, at the reception of the Santa María hotel in the city, he took the keys of a French tourist, who days later would be confirmed as positive case in Santiago de Cuba.
Magdeline Ruiz Cimadevila, head of reception of the E Hotels, tells that on Sunday March 22 at about 9 in the morning received the call from Javier. "I have a fever and it looks like I am going to have the flu," it was the first thing she heard, and in less than half an hour I was with him.
“When I arrived I noticed immediately the concern in his eyes. That sociable character, that characteristic laugh seemed muffled. After handing over the shift, he complained of burning eyes and then I suggested that he go to the polyclinic to have him checked. We already knew that one of the French visitors who had stayed here was infected with the disease.
“Once at the health center and the symptoms explained in detail, the doctor who treated him contacted the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, and in about 30 minutes the ambulance took him to the hospital.
“From that moment on, we kept in daily contact. In each call he updated us on his evolution. He always remained uncomplicated, just giving him a cough and a little shortness of breath. ”
When it was reported that Javier became part of the positive cases in Cuba, several people changed their routines. Entering an isolation center until the established quarantine time was completed was a priority for coworkers, friends and family.
“Immediately, they entered his parents of more than 60 years and his pregnant wife. Furniture, utensils and all surfaces were disinfected with extreme care. In my opinion, the care the young man had when presenting the first symptoms made it possible for all his contacts to have negative PCR, ” explained Tania Expósito Martínez, a doctor at his medical office.
SECONDARY ROLES
Javier's public history is not just his. That day when he was known as Case No. 76, 12 contacts were also revealed. The epidemiological analysis would add more. At his hotel, for example, six persons worked alongside him on Sunday, including Magdeline.
“We knew we were vulnerable for our work. However, we do not think that Javier was the first. He is so organized and detailed that we never imagined him to be sick from carelessness. He disinfected his work area with chlorine before anyone else, he put on the masks, and wore gloves ... ”, commented Juan José Díaz Tong, manager of the E Hotels here.
“At that time, of the six centers that make up the complex, only the Santa María provided services. We had been declared receivers of tourists staying in private homes, we even had national clients. All withdrew and at the indications of the Cubanacán group the institution stopped working.
“The next day, the Public Health staff — accompanied by specialists in Hygiene and Epidemiology — fumigated the hotel areas and two groups of suspects were formed, one related to the French and the other to Javier. Each person on the list was entered, then their tests were negative, and today 100% are at home. The rest of the workers are isolated in the homes without leaving. Only the security corps remained. ”
Also in his neighborhood there were Health personnel, fumigation and even another list. And although those silent times at home are over, Dr. Tania and Nurse Mariela are just beginning. They will visit the young man and his family twice a day for at least 14 more days.
“Here we control their evolution, their symptoms and the treatment indicated in the hospital that must be completed in the quarantine period. When we visit their home we ask routine questions, take their blood pressure and temperature. It depends on a job well done that Javier fully recovers without any limitations, "said Mariela.
Close clinical epidemiological surveillance in Javier's home allows Dr. Tania and Nurse Mariela to monitor their symptoms and care for the entire family on a daily basis. Photo: Alejandro Rodríguez Leiva / Adelante
A STORY ... AND MORE
Javier's public history is, in some way, that of the 51 people as of this Friday grateful for the success of Cuban medicine in the face of the growing pandemic. On the other side are those that no one likes to count, or read, those of the 15 who until a few hours ago joined the list of millions of deaths worldwide in this Archipelago.
Cutting the chain of contagion with good collective practices is the best way to stop the news from COVID-19, the list of cases that are not numbers, but people with families, with plans, with a future.
So Javier did not think only of himself on the day he returned home. To all those who were left inside the Dr. Octavio de la Concepción y la Pedraja military hospital, he wished them the best of luck. "We must stand up, we must fight to save ourselves, we must respond with life to those who, dressed in white and green, give us a piece of their own on a daily basis."
When we are lying in a bed, far from ours, with human fears, we value more everything around us, those we leave at home, those who really matter and those misunderstood sometimes who leave their own behind to heal strangers. ..
To the people of Camagüey, to the Cubans, we recommend that you comply with all the measures, that you take care of yourselves and that you care for those who love you, for fewer scare stories and much less (hopefully none) of death.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez