Havana, Jul 1 (IANS): Cuba reported on Wednesday 2,970 new Covid-19 infections in the last day and 14 deaths, including a two-year-old child, bringing the total caseload to 190,993 and the death toll to 1,284.

Director of hygiene and epidemiology of the Public Health Ministry Francisco Duran said in his daily report that 15,502 people are currently hospitalized, marking the highest figure to date, Xinhua reported.

The western province of Matanzas registered 790 infections in the last day and continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic on the island, with an incidence rate of 656.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Cuban Health Minister Jose Angel Portal pointed out that the high rate of infection and the increase in the incidence rate in the last 15 days have been compounded by the circulation of highly contagious variants of the coronavirus.

As a result, the Cuban government has announced new measures which include the strengthening of epidemiological monitoring and the implementation of more rigorous international health controls.

At the same time, the ministry's emergency vaccination campaign against Covid-19 continues, as 5.84 million doses of Cuban vaccine candidates Abdala and Soberana-02 have been administered so far, with over 2.74 million Cubans receiving at least one dose.