Journalist Carlos Herrera Rodríguez took to social media on Wednesday to highlight a situation he described as both shocking and unbelievable: a clinic in the Playa district of Havana was left without fuel for its generator.
"The emergency room at the 26 de Julio polyclinic in Playa has no oil to run the generator. Unbelievable, but true," Herrera stated on his Facebook profile. He criticized the lack of consideration for human life, underscoring the dire situation where a medical facility was left powerless, potentially jeopardizing medical care during emergencies.
Earlier, journalist José Luis Tan Estrada from Camagüey reported a similar incident in his province via Facebook. "The Este polyclinic in Camagüey city is back online after I highlighted its power outage yesterday on this social network. This center operates 24/7 emergency services," he mentioned.
A Worsening Energy Crisis
Despite how surreal it seems, Cuba's escalating energy crisis, marked by frequent blackouts, poses significant risks to patients in hospitals and clinics. Recently, the Municipal Hospital of Vertientes in Camagüey faced an electricity cutoff, placing critically ill patients in serious danger.
Independent journalist Tan revealed on Facebook that a source confirmed the blackout occurred around 1:30 a.m., affecting individuals with respiratory issues and pregnant women.
A similar incident was reported at a hospital in Santiago de Cuba. A local mother expressed her anger on social media after an unexpected blackout hit a children's hospital. Journalist Yosmany Mayeta shared the mother's frustration on Facebook, following the outage at the Dr. Antonio María Béguez César Children's Hospital, commonly referred to as "La Colonia."