Cuba has allowed a dozen hotels to receive foreigners and citizens arriving in the country who must comply with mandatory isolation in the prevention of the new coronavirus. The island is facing an outbreak of infections that has forced authorities to reinstate the restrictions.
Half of the facilities prepared for this six-day, five-night quarantine are in Havana, and the rest are distributed throughout the country, explained Isabel Ocampo of the state-run Havanatour travel company.
Amid rising cases that began in late December after airports opened in November and became critical in January, the government has ordered mandatory isolation in a mixed way: hotels paid for by foreigners and citizens who choose them and free centers for its citizens. , but with fewer facilities.
Hotels can cost between $ 40 and $ 100 per night, and passengers cannot leave their rooms.
“The unit is completely full of these types of customers. We have all nationalities, “said Omar Milián, director of the four-star Comodoro hotel of the Cuban chain Cubanacan. On Thursday, for example, Commodore had a hundred customers in quarantine.
“For me, not traveling for tourism, but for work, is a very good option,” said Madeline Hernández, a 49-year-old Cuban who works for a foreign company, a group of journalists during a tour of these facilities. .
Hernandez arrived in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. She was transferred from the airport to Comodoro and, although it is a national company, her company paid for her stay. He also has the internet – a limited service on the island – which has allowed him to continue working.
The island has a protocol that consists of one test on arrival and another after five days, but in recent weeks has begun to request a negative COVID-19 certificate before boarding and cut off flights from countries such as the United States, Panama and Mexico.
Cuba has gone from having days with fewer than 10 cases and cities with months without reporting infections to more than 1,000 new patients a day after opening. Authorities acknowledged that an important source of infection was the arrival of Cuban emigrants, especially from the United States, who came to visit their families.
When the pandemic began in March 2020, Cuba canceled commercial flights, closed schools and suspended public transportation. He also started a house-to-house screening campaign and forced the positive to isolate himself in state institutions. The economy stopped and closed 2020 with an 11% decrease in gross domestic product.
When things improved, air transport was gradually reopened, leading to a resurgence.
Currently, classes are suspended, transportation is limited and there is an overnight shutdown in some cities, such as Havana.
On Friday, Dr. Francisco Durán, the island’s director of epidemiology, reported 36,595 cases and more than 200 deaths since March.