23 April 2021 - 08:55 By Nelson Acosta Cuba has spent more than R2.4bn fighting the coronavirus and is working on developing its own vaccine. Image: Alexandre Meneghini Cuba reported a record 1,207 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, as the arrival of more contagious new virus variants like the one first discovered in SA fuels its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic. While the government in the Caribbean's largest island did a good job initially at containing infections, the opening of borders in November without requiring negative Covid-19 tests and subsequent year-end socialising sparked a surge in cases that a lockdown and curfew have failed to curb.