The Cuban Government has taken a drastic turn to its policy of confrontation with the coronavirus, which until now had not contemplated restrictions on tourists entrance, and has announced that as of Tuesday, only residents of the country will be able to travel to the island, and they must undergo a preventive quarantine 15 days in a healthcare center, whether or not they have symptoms. Right now in Cuba there are approximately 60,000 tourists –about 2,000 Spaniards-, that they must leave the island in the coming days. The authorities indicated that the airspace is not closed, so that the airlines that continue to maintain flights -such as Iberia or Air Europa- will be able to evacuate the travelers. The tourism entry ban will be in force for 30 days, which can be extended.
The Spanish Consulate has ensured that it has enabled information channels during the weekend for any situation that may occur, and other European offices have done the same. In total, some 15,000 citizens of the European Union are in Cuba at the moment, most with reservations to travel in the coming days. The 400,000 Cubans residing on the island who are abroad may return to the country when they decide to do so, undergoing the corresponding quarantine.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, together with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, and the main ministers have announced the measures in a special appearance on television, in which they have reported that in a short time there will be no tourists left in Cuba and that most hotels in the country will close. A very hard blow to the fragile Cuban economy, which had already seen the arrival of tourists drop by 20% in January due to the restrictive measures imposed by the Trump Administration. Tourism is one of the main engines of the Cuban economy, and already last year, after the suspension of cruises and the prohibition of travel by US citizens, the sector’s figures had fallen by around 15%. In the coming months the blackout will be total.
The Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) has reported five new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the number to 21 – one of them, an Italian tourist, died on Thursday. 716 people are kept isolated in health centers for presenting suspicious symptoms, while 26,000 are under surveillance in their homes. The MINSAP assured that the country is in Phase 1 of the epidemic, with cases only among tourists, travelers or people related to them, but measures contemplated for Phase 2 (indigenous transmission) and 3 (when cases increase without knowing where the contagion comes from).
These measures include the suspension of activities that may involve concentrations of people, such as sporting events, concerts, camping, leisure activities -since last week the cinemas and theaters have not opened-, but for the moment, the classes in schools nor forced to close bars and restaurants. Grocery stores will remain open, with numerous queues due to chronic shortages of staples. This reality will not change, so the authorities urged establishments to maintain hygienic measures and the population to maintain a conscious attitude, avoiding crowds and promoting the greatest possible isolation, avoiding trips that are essential to us and reducing use public transport, without taking extreme measures of compulsory isolation at the moment, as in other countries.
Faced with the gloomy economic outlook that looms, Cuban ministers who participated in the television program have announced a series of measures for fiscal, tax and social security benefits for private entrepreneurs and state-sector workers. The self-employed who run restaurants or hotels -or artisans, taxi drivers, etc.- who are forced to close or suspend their licenses will not have to pay the monthly tax and, in the same way, the state workers who are unemployed will receive part of their salary. It is requested to increase teleworking, something difficult to implement in Cuba due to material conditions, while the authorities call on society’s effort to control the expansion of the coronavirus, without ruling out that more severe measures should be taken in the coming days.
–
