Volleyball player Javier Jiménez, first Cuban athlete positive for COVID-19

March 27, 2020

Volleyball player Javier Ernesto Jiménez became the first Cuban athlete to test positive for COVID-19, as was announced today at a press conference held by several directors of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder).

Jiménez, a 30-year-old from Matanzas, is currently a player for Saaremaa VK, in the Estonian League.

In a match in which his club faced Milan, from the Italian League, as a visitor, his head coach was infected with the disease and transmitted it to Jiménez, who is currently in the final phase of the epidemiological surveillance stage and whose health status is good, explained Pablo Castillo, director of the Inder's Institute of Sports Medicine.

Castillo stated that the volleyball player from Matanzas is scheduled to return to Cuba on May 20th.

So far, Jiménez has not shown any other symptoms. We have maintained direct contact with him and we know that he communicates a lot with our country, just as the representatives of Cuba's embassy in Estonia do, added the physician.

Furthermore, in his remarks to the press, Dr. Castillo stated that, after March 7th, 77 athletes from 15 countries have returned to Cuba.

Today there are 11 in isolation centers and the rest are under epidemiological surveillance by the authorities of the Ministry of Health. Additionally, seven collaborators returned: five from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and two from Mexico, and all of them are being carefully monitored, Castillo concluded.