Cuba said it sent a team of doctors and nurses to Italy for the first time at the weekend to help fight the Corona virus, at the request of the Lombardy region, which has been hit hardest by the virus.
Communist-ruled Cuba sent "white-coated armies" to disaster areas around the world, especially poor countries since its revolution in 1959. Cuban doctors were at the forefront of fighting cholera in Haiti and Ebola in West Africa in 2010.
The 52-strong Cuban team marks the first time that Cuba has sent an emergency team to Italy, one of the richest countries in the world.
This is the sixth medical team that Cuba has recently sent to combat the spread of the Coruna virus abroad. Havana has sent teams to its socialist allies, Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada.