Taking into account the increase in international travel since last November 15, it has been decided to modify the international sanitary control measures in Cuba and adopt others of a general nature.
With information and photo from Granma newspaper.
Measures maintained in international sanitary control:
For travelers from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi and Eswatini.
It will be mandatory:
-Present a complete vaccination schedule at the point of entry.
-To show a negative result of a PCR-RT, carried out, at the latest, 72 hours before the trip.
-At the point of entry, a sample will be taken to perform PCR-RT to SARS-COV-2.
-They will undergo mandatory quarantine, for eight days, in a hotel designated for this purpose, with the traveler assuming the costs of lodging and transportation.
-On the seventh day, a new sample will be taken which, if negative, will allow the quarantine to be discharged on the eighth day.
Measures incorporated for international sanitary control:
In the case of travelers coming from the rest of the world, whether or not they are residents in Cuba:
-It will be mandatory to present a complete vaccination schedule at the point of entry.
-It will be mandatory to show a negative result of a PCR-RT, performed at the latest 72 hours before the trip.
Random surveillance will be increased, starting with the performance of PCR-RT at the border for travelers coming from high-risk countries.
In addition to the above measures, Cubans residing in the country who do not have a vaccination schedule, in order to enter the national territory, will be obliged to:
-To undergo, at the point of entry, a sample collection for PCR-RT to SARS-COV-2.
-To comply with a compulsory quarantine, for eight days, in a hotel designated for this purpose, with the traveler assuming the costs of accommodation and transportation.
-On the seventh day, a new sample will be taken which, if negative, will allow the quarantine to be discharged on the eighth day.
All crew members and passengers of merchant vessels intending to enter Cuba, and coming from foreign ports, must present a complete vaccination schedule and, in addition, a PCR study will be carried out at the point of entry.
Aircraft and cruise ship crews staying less than 48 hours in the national territory will be exempted from these measures. In both cases, they will have to present their complete vaccination schedule.
In order to enter the country, passengers of cruise ships and pleasure boats will have to present an international certificate of vaccination against COVID-19.
Foreign travelers who arrive in Cuba and are part of the enrollment of international schools, scholarships in Cuban institutions, technicians and foreign collaborators who are hosted, will undergo a quarantine of eight days in their respective centers, and a PCR-RT will be performed on the seventh day of their arrival.
They will not require a complete vaccination schedule:
-Children up to 12 years of age, of any nationality or origin.
-Adults who for medical reasons, and duly certified, cannot be vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved to date by the corresponding regulatory agencies.
Proposed other measures within the country:
-Any traveler arriving in Cuba who tests positive for COVID-19 will be admitted to the Health institutions designated for this purpose in each territory.
-All direct contacts of these travelers will be isolated in centers designated for this purpose in each territory, or at home, provided that the necessary conditions exist and compliance with this measure is guaranteed.
-Confirmed autochthonous cases that are at risk, or the seriousness of their condition warrants it, will be admitted to health institutions designated for this purpose. The rest may be admitted at home, according to the conditions of each territory.
-Direct contacts of confirmed autochthonous cases will be isolated in their homes and, if necessary, they will be institutionally isolated for eight days.
-Pregnant women and children under ten years of age confirmed will be isolated in health institutions designated for this purpose.
The study of first-order contacts of confirmed cases will be carried out as soon as their contact status is known.
-In order to identify suspected cases, the screening of the population will be reorganized in all the territories, prioritizing the areas of highest risk.
-Considering the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant and its presence in the country, mass activities that generate conglomerates of people will not be carried out. Small-scale activities will be maintained, in compliance with the established sanitary measures.
-All territories in the country will send to the national reference laboratory of the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine the identified positive samples selected for sequencing.
-Accelerate the application of booster doses throughout the country, in accordance with the availability of existing vaccines.
In view of the presence of the virus, it continues to be vital, in order to maintain control over the epidemic, to act responsibly in all scenarios and thus accompany the enormous efforts being made to advance an unprecedented vaccination campaign in Cuba.