Cuba will restrict flights from U.S. and five other countries to limit spread of COVID-19
The Cuban government has announced it will cut down on the number of travelers allowed into the island from the U.S. and five other countries as of Jan. 1 to avoid an increase in the number of coronavirus infections.
It is not clear how the authorities plan to implement the measure, but a government statement alludes to a reduction in the number of flights. “The Civil Aeronautics authorities of Cuba are dealing with the airlines on the necessary details,” the statement said.
Several owners of Miami agencies that deal with travel to the island told el Nuevo Herald that Cuba will possibly restrict the number of flights to “a single flight per day for each charter” airline.
“They also reduced the frequency of [commercial] airlines,” said an executive who asked to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals from the Cuban government. “The availability of tickets and prices will be affected by this measure. Prices go up when there is no supply. It is the law of the market.”
Another manager at a charter agency told el Nuevo Herald that Cuban officials had raised the idea of limiting Cuban-American travel to only those who wish to spend more than 10 days on the island.
“It has not yet been approved, but Cuba raised that idea because Cuban Americans are not respecting the mandatory quarantine, and if they are sick, they spread COVID throughout the country. The idea is to force them to respect the law,” said the manager, who also asked not to be identified. “The officials also said that they would be more rigorous in imposing fines of up to 5,000 Cuban pesos on those who break the law, and that they would be prosecuted for the crime of spreading epidemics.”
Cuba’s penal code says a citizen can be jailed for as long as a year and fined up to 300 pesos for the crime of “propagation of epidemics,” although fines of up to 3,000 pesos have been reported during the coronavirus pandemic.
American Airlines told el Nuevo Herald that it will operate one daily flight between Jan. 1-6, increasing the frequency to four daily flights starting Jan. 7. Southwest Airlines said it has made no change so far in the number of its departures to the island.
The government statement said the restrictions would affect travelers from the U.S., Mexico, Panama, Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
As of Monday, Cuba had confirmed 229 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of
11,434 cases, 1,486 active. Cuba says it has nine people in critical condition and 10 in serious condition. Since the pandemic began 143 people have died of the disease on the island.
International travelers’ contacts with other people represent “71.5% of the total cases detected in recent weeks, mostly associated with Cuban citizens” from the countries that will be restricted, authorities said.
Cuba announced last week that travelers from abroad will be required to show a negative PCR test as of Jan. 10, as well as taking another COVID test on the island and maintaining quarantine.
“As soon as the epidemic situation allows it, the frequency of flights will gradually be restored,” the statement from the island’s ministry of health said.