Behind the means of protection it is difficult to identify them. Only the brightness of the eyes, the delicacy of the gestures, the sensitivity of the voice and the strips of the masks, confirm their presence there, where the will overcomes the fatigue caused by the maelstrom of the work carried out for more than five months.
In the Molecular Biology Laboratory (LBM by its Spanish initials) of the Roberto Rodríguez Fernández General Teaching Hospital, located in the municipality of Morón, women constitute the majority as they represent 77.5% of the workforce, distributed in four work teams that are very alert on the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 in more than 1 000 daily samples. They are an example of the leading and decisive role of women in the confrontation with Covid-19.
“Of a total of 40 workers, 31 are women. Her youth, seriousness and responsibility are note worthy. They work for 24 hours, practically without rest, due to the number of samples they have to process. Many of them redouble their efforts to face household chores and take care of their children.
"They do not renounce any of their roles and feel committed to their work knowing that the entire country is waiting for a result", Dr. Niurys Martín Pérez, deputy director of Medical Assistance at the Public Health institution, said.
New specialists in Clinical Bioanalysis join this group and acknowledge having found their professional fulfillment.
“Joining here at the end of my studies is challenging because it is a difficult and compromising task, however, with my personal effort and the help of the collective I have remained firm. It has been a new experience and it has given me a lot of knowledge. We all met here and we have managed to form a wonderful team, we support each other so that the work flows with the required quality and agility.
"Women play a leading role because they are the majority and that makes us proud to know that we dignify the image of Cuban women in society, under such difficult circumstances", Misbell Espinosa Revuelta says excitedly.
Misbell Espinosa
For the young Yaumara Ramírez Martínez, from Baraguá, it has also represented a challenge due to the distance that separates her from the place. When they made the proposal, she felt touched, however, she assumed the task with honor “at a time when many forces and hands are needed to fight this pandemic that will not end us and I am sure we will be able to eradicate it very soon.
Yaumara Ramírez
“I am proud to have been able to study this specialty, work in this place and be able to help the Revolution in whatever it takes. The work requires a lot of dedication, we give ourselves every day, complying with all the biosecurity protocols so as not to get infected, nor to compromise the health of our colleagues and relatives”, she points out.
With five years of experience, Lian Crespo Amaro admits that she felt a bit of fear when she was summoned, but she overcame it immediately when she appreciated the conditions of the LBM, where there are resources and rules to protect the health of the workers.
“Being in the front line of combat is something difficult, but knowing that I am going to contribute to the public health of my country has given me the necessary impetus to join this group; the experience has been novel and unforgettable. I have to mention the support I receive from my family”, this girl commented, who was kind enough to show us, through a digital graph, the presence of the dreaded virus in one of the analyzed samples.
Lian Crespo
Dr. Martín Pérez, a Second Degree Specialist in Microbiology, expressed her pride “because I have been a participant in the education of the professionals who take on this task, I always try to advise them, I update them with teaching, I incorporate my experiences. My work is rewarded with the work of these young people”.
WORTHY CUBAN WOMEN
The skills and rapid learning of those who work at the LBM in the province of Ciego de Ávila, allowed the processing of more than 140,000 samples for RT-PCR tests (Polymerase Chain Reaction, in Real Time), from its inauguration (on October 2, 2020) to date, with a daily performance ranging between 900 and 1200 exams.
This center constitutes one of the main strengths for the confrontation with SARS-CoV-2 in the territory of Ciego de Ávila and the central region of the country, taking into account that it assumes the analysis of all the samples from the host province and important quotas of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Sancti Spíritus.
It also contributes to the consolidation of Jardines del Rey as a safe tourist destination, by guaranteeing monitoring of tourists who arrive in the country through the international airport of the northern cays of Ciego de Ávila. Also, the monitoring of travelers entering Cuba through the Ignacio Agramonte airport in Camagüey is added to its history.
The high technology of the equipment and its processing and automation capacity, which allows the increase in the precision of medical diagnoses, the speed in the decision-making process with patients and, therefore, the decrease in the number of admitted patients and in-hospital stay join to the skills of the staff.
In the future, this center will allow the study of other cases from the molecular point of view to obtain genetic information and make more accurate diagnoses.
Due to the maelstrom of work, Misbell, Yaumara and Lian find themselves willing and make copious work procedures, revealing skill and dedication. Tiredness appears in their eyes, but also professional satisfaction and joy at knowing they are useful. They represent the continuity and dignity of the Cuban woman, empowered in a nation that conceives her as essential in every battle.
"There is no place in Cuba where the Covid-19 pandemic is being faced without the presence of women, as a worthy representative of public health", Dr. Martín says.