03 Feb 2021 | 02:54 PM UTC
Cuba: Authorities to further reduce international flights and apply additional COVID-19-related quarantine measures from Feb. 6 /update 18
Cuba to amend COVID-19 quarantine measures for international travelers and further limit flights from Feb. 6; internal restrictions remain.
Event
Effective Feb. 6, authorities in Cuba will further restrict international commercial passenger flights as part of ongoing efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Flight frequencies will be reduced for operations between the US, Mexico, Panama, Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Colombia. Flights from Nicaragua, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname will be suspended, and flights from Haiti will remain suspended.
Officials are also maintaining strict entry requirements for all arrivals; however, quarantine requirements will be tightened from Feb. 6. Jose Marte International Airport (HAV) in Havana is operating with the following additional restrictions:
All travelers must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test taken 72 hours prior to entry.
All travelers must declare their health status and will be required to take a COVID-19 PCR test upon arrival. Currently, travelers may await their test results at their hotels or homes, under health surveillance measures, though these measures will be amended Feb. 6. Persons who test positive will be subject to additional health and quarantine protocols.
Effective Feb. 6, all travelers will be required to remain in mandatory isolation for at least five days; a second PCR test will be administered on the fifth day. The isolation period ends when the second test result is negative. Nationals and residents will complete their isolation at designated centers free of charge, while foreign nationals and nonresidents will be isolated in designated hotel facilities at the traveler's expense.
Returning residents and travelers staying in local communities will continue to be required to take a second PCR test on day five.
All passengers must pay a sanitary/health tax included in the flight ticket cost to cover the costs of sanitization and COVID-19 testing.
Individuals are required to abide by the local restrictions, wear a facemask in all enclosed public spaces, and adhere to sanitization and physical distancing requirements.
Domestic Measures
As of Feb. 3, several provinces and municipalities have regressed from the "New Normal" phase of recovery, under which most restrictions are lifted, and some degree of restrictions have been reapplied.
Under the strictest of the levels, the level of limited autochthonous transmission (transmision autoctona limitada, TAL), which is the pre-recovery phase, heightened restrictions are placed on nonessential commercial activity and public transport. Following this phase, commercial and recreational activities may resume in a phased approach under Phase 1 and 2 of recovery. Stricter capacity limits and rules around operating hours are enforced under Phase 1. Under Phase 2, authorities may lift restrictions on inter-municipal passenger transport and further ease restrictions on the tourism sector. Generally, under Phase 3 (one step behind New Normal), all economic and productive activities may continue, and interprovincial travel may resume.
As of Feb. 3, the following provinces and municipalities are not in the New Normal phase or have regressed under the recovery plan:
Artemisa: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Camaguey: All areas are in Phase 3.
Ciego de Avila: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Cienfuego: All areas are in Phase 2.
Havana: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Holguin: All areas have moved to Phase 3.
Isla de la Juventud: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Matanzas: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Mayabeque: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Guantanamo: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Pinar del Rio: All areas are in Phase 1.
Santiago de Cuba: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Villa Clara: All areas are in the TAL phase.
Local authorities could enforce additional stricter restrictions on business, public transport, and recreational and group activities. Officials are enforcing some of the strictest measures in Havana, where authorities have prohibited the movement of all public and private transportation nightly between 2100-0500. All cinemas, theaters, bars, nightclubs, and private parties have been closed or suspended, and gatherings at parks, squares, or other public places are to end by 1900. Officials have also suspended all interprovincial passenger transport.
Authorities could reimpose, extend, further ease, or otherwise amend any restrictions with little-to-no notice depending on disease activity over the coming weeks. Officials could also impose highly targeted quarantine measures in localized communities where the threat of transmission is assessed to be higher, even within provinces under the New Normal phase.
Advice
Follow all official instructions. Abide by national health and safety measures. Reconfirm all travel arrangements. Liaise with trusted contacts for further updates and guidance.
