Havana Family Pays for Hearse, Receives It Without Coffin Amidst Growing Health Crisis
Havana, Cuba – A family in Havana’s Lawton neighborhood was forced to pay 20,000 pesos for a hearse to transport their 30-year-old relative, only to discover upon its arrival that it lacked a coffin, according to a post shared on Facebook by singer-songwriter Saúl Manuel.Teh death, presumed to be from an unidentified virus affecting multiple provinces, has sparked outcry over the lack of medical resources and funeral services available in the region.
The young woman, a mother of two children, reportedly died without receiving adequate medication due to widespread shortages. A relative told Manuel’s Facebook profile that an autopsy was not performed.Following her death, the body remained at the family home for several hours due to the unavailability of transportation.
The incident comes as Cuba grapples with a severe health crisis, marked by outbreaks of dengue and other viral diseases transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquito. Residents of Lawton have reported additional deaths with similar symptoms in recent days.
Citizen reports align with a growing number of infections and deaths, exacerbated by shortages of medicines, reagents, and medical transportation, leading to a collapse in hospital capacity. The Ministry of public Health (MINSAP) recently acknowledged an epidemiological emergency,citing a lack of insecticides,fuel,and fumigation resources,but has not yet released information regarding the specific virus currently circulating. MINSAP has not issued a statement on this particular case.
