People wearing face masks walk on a street in Havana, Cuba, May 21, 2021. Cuba reported on Friday 1,197 new COVID-19 infections and 9 more deaths in one day, for a total of 130,543 cases and 849 deaths, the Ministry of Public Health said. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)

HAVANA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Cuba reported on Monday 1,100 new COVID-19 infections and eight more deaths, bringing the total to 142,266 cases and 958 deaths, the Public Health Ministry said.

"We have to protect ourselves, especially those with underlying medical conditions associated with a high risk for severe infection," said the ministry's director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran during his daily report.

Havana, the epicenter of the pandemic, registered 497 cases in the last day, with an incidence rate of 395.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the country.

The health ministry has been carrying out a vaccination campaign in seven of the capital's municipalities for three weeks, continuing it in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba and the Special Municipality of the Isle of Youth.

The most advanced Cuban vaccine candidates, Soberana-02 and Abdala, are being used, while three other candidates, Soberana-01, Soberana Plus and Mambisa, are at different phases of clinical trials.

So far, over 860,000 Cubans have been immunized.