Cuba, gripped by unrest, battles highest COVID caseload in the Americas

A man holds an image of Cuba's former President and First Secretary of the Communist Party Raul Castro during a rally amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Havana, Cuba, July 17, 2021. Picture taken June 17, 2021. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba, which kept coronavirus infections low last year, now has the highest rate of contagion per capita in Latin America. That has strained its healthcare sector and helped stoke rare protests that have roiled the Communist-run island.

The Caribbean nation of 11 million people reported nearly 4,000 confirmed cases per million residents over the last week, nine times more than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size.