Cuba’s medical team in the European epicenter of COVID-19: Carlos R. Pérez-Díaz MD MS PhD Director, Joaquín Albarrán Provincial clinical-surgical hospital, Havana Henry Reeve Medical Contingent leader, Lombardy, Italy

On March 23, 2020, Cuba’s Henry Reeve Emergency Medical Contingent began treating COVID-19 patients at Maggiore Hospital in Crema, Lombardy Within days, the 52-member contingent comprised of 36 doctors and 15 nurses (plus 1 logistics specialist), together with Italian colleagues, were receiving patients in an adjacent field hospital established and equipped for this purpose At the time, Lombardy was the epicenter of COVID-19 transmission in Europe Many of the Cubans in Lombardy were Contingent veterans, having served in post-disaster and epidemic scenarios in Chile, Pakistan, Haiti and elsewhere since the founding of the emergency medical team in 2005 Importantly, some had worked fighting the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa Even so, providing medical care during COVID-19 is a unique challenge, the likes of which had never before been seen by the Cuban team Dr Carlos R Perez-Diaz, one of the Contingent’s founding members, headed the team during its 60-day rotation in Lombardy, drawing on a wide array of professional experience From 2006 to 2009, Dr Perez-Diaz led the Cuban team posted at the Peltier Hospital in Djibouti, where he worked in the infectious disease department;in 2008, this team helped control a cholera outbreak that had spread to three countries Following the 2010 earthquake in Chile, Dr Perez-Diaz headed the team of Henry Reeve volunteers that provided free health services for 10 months in a tent hospital established to treat victims;he returned to Chile in 2015, again as head of the Henry Reeve Contingent, after severe flooding struck the Atacama region Dr Perez-Diaz has dual specialties in family and internal medicine and a doctorate in medical education Additionally, in 2014 he was accredited as a medical expert to treat victims of chemical warfare and dangerous chemical substances by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW);in 2019 he began imparting classes for the OPCW Dr Perez-Diaz is currently the director of the Joaquin Albarran Provincial Clinical-Surgical Hospital in Havana, a post he has held since 2015 He is a member of the expert panel formed in January 2020 by Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) to confront COVID-19 Since returning from Lombardy, Dr Perez-Diaz has worked in hospitals, multi-service community polyclinics and isolation centers in various provinces helping contain the pandemic at home, and participates in training future Henry Reeve teams at Cuba’s Central Medical Cooperation Unit (UCCM) MEDICC Review had the opportunity to interview Dr Perez-Diaz as he juggled various responsibilities—including the possibility of heading overseas again as subsequent waves of COVID-19 strike around the world