The critical epidemiological situation in Cuba has reached National Baseball Series. It is not just about some sick players, but about teams weighed down by “the virus”, a situation that forced matches to be suspended this weekend and threatens the stability of the tournament.
This weekend, scheduled meetings between Granma and Mayabeque, and also between Pinar el Río and Villa Clara, could not take place. And although the official media have not elaborated on the causes, the reason is precisely related to the ailments suffered by the players.
One of the most complex situations is presented by the Alazanes of Granma.
As reported on their networks the communicator Wilber Pastrana, the games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Nelson Fernández stadium in Mayabeque could not take place due to the existence of “several Granma athletes who were sick, including the team’s three catchers.”
According to Pastrana, these clashes should take place “at the end of the qualifying stage,” while “the team’s situation was evaluated to make decisions regarding their transfer to the Isle of Youth,” where their next matches are scheduled.
So far, the name of the sick baseball players has not been officially revealed nor what will be the decision that will be made with the next presentations of the Alazanes, who are not the only ones hit by the virus or viruses that are spreading unchecked throughout the island.
The cast of Pinar del Río is also affected by these diseases. sports commentators Ernesto Amaya Esquivel and Dairon Pérez Urbano They confirmed this Sunday that the scheduled game between Pinareños and Villa Clara at the Augusto César Sandino stadium had to be suspended due to “several Vegueros athletes suffering from arbovirus”, although without offering more details.
“The virus” gives no respite
Although Cubans popularly call it “the virus,” the island’s current epidemiological scenario is marked by the spread of several infectious diseases, mainly dengue and chikungunya—in turn driven by a high level of mosquito infestation—but also respiratory, digestive ailments and hepatitis.
This situation, already very complex given the serious difficulties that the Cuban Health system is experiencing due to the prolonged economic crisis, the shortage of foreign currency and US sanctions, has been aggravated by the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa in the eastern zone.
Arboviruses—and in particular chikungunya—have spread throughout the country in recent months, devastating families and entire communities, putting doctors and hospital institutions under maximum stress, and leaving an undetermined, but very high, number of patients.
The official statistics, which a week ago spoke of about 20 thousand cases of chikungunyaare questioned by numerous people on the networks and refuted by a reality in which many patients do not go to medical centers and to those who do go, effective diagnostic methods are often not applied, due to the lack of resources and the overdraft of patients.
Also from the Cuban networks and streets, the death of many people from these viruses is reported, while the authorities remain silent about the possible number of fatalities and when they have referred to the issue they have handled very low figures, attributed to dengue.
These ailments, which leave their mark on the daily lives of Cubans, forced this weekend to cancel performances of the National Ballet due to the illness of a group of dancers and, in parallel, to suspend the aforementioned National Baseball Series games.
Faced with these visible problems derived from the country’s epidemiological scenario, fans on the networks have begun to advocate for a suspension or postponement of the baseball tournament. At the same time, cases of sick athletes have been reported on other teams and there are fears about the effects that these delayed-recovery viruses may have on the health and performance of baseball players.
