The Cuban government has recovered the figure of mandatory quarantines given the rapid expansion of omicron, the new variant of the coronavirus identified in South Africa that has begun to cause alarm in the international community.
As of December 4, the Ministry of Public Health will impose new restrictions on travelers from some African countries where the variant is already present, among which is the mandatory seven-day quarantine and paid for by the traveler in a Cuban hotel that will be destined to this type of case.
Travelers from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi and Eswatini (Swaziland) are obliged to comply with this measure in addition to presenting their complete vaccination schedule upon arrival on the Island, a negative PCR of the last 72 hours carried out at origin and a sample collection for testing at destination that will be repeated on the sixth day at the quarantine hotel. Only with the two negative tests will he be able to move freely around Cuba.
The ministry statement also mentions a group of countries for whose travelers the same rules apply, although they are exempt from quarantine and the second PCR.
Those affected are those from Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, Egypt, Turkey and all sub-Saharan African countries that are not on the most restrictive list
Those affected are those from Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, Egypt, Turkey and all sub-Saharan African countries that are not on the most restrictive list.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the new variant “of concern” and has asked all governments to accelerate vaccination against covid-19 and strengthen surveillance.
The WHO considers that, taking into account the speed with which the variant develops new mutations that are potentially more resistant to vaccines and more contagious, the risk of transmission is “high”, which requires intensifying prevention strategies.
This Monday, Cuba has added 130 new infections detected in the last 24 hours, for a cumulative of 962,350 since the start of the pandemic, according to official data. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 8,300 people have died on the island due to covid-19, most of them between the months of June and September 2021. The mortality rate has dropped sharply from almost a hundred daily victims ago two months to zero that have been reported in recent days.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
