In view of the new variant of coronavirus, traveler control is reinforced, Cuban president affirms

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 30 (ACN) The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the country, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, stressed today that in the face of the new strain of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19, called "Omicron", the country is reinforcing its control of international travelers.

We are not closing borders, said the president in a message on Twitter, and stressed that Cuba will adopt measures to preserve what we have achieved in terms of COVID-19 control.

On Monday, the Cuban ministry of public health (MINSAP by its Spanish acronym) announced that "Omicron" has been classified as a variant "of concern" by the World Health Organization (WHO), and in view of this scenario, Cuba decided to apply new measures to reinforce the control of international travelers.

As of next December 4, travelers coming from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), will have to comply with the requirements established upon entry into the country, presenting a complete vaccination scheme, as well as the negative result of a PCR performed no more than 72 hours prior to travel.

Likewise, a PCR sample will be taken at the point of entry; a mandatory quarantine will be applied for seven days in a hotel designated for this purpose, with the traveler assuming the costs of lodging and transportation; and a new test will be done on the sixth day, and if it is negative, the traveler will be discharged from quarantine the day after.

With the exception of the quarantine and the PCR on the sixth day, the same measures will be applied to travelers coming from Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, Egypt, and Turkey.