Travel Updates
Canada has grounded planes, brought in quarantine in hotels and extended lockdown till 30 April 2021. UK is still on lockdown, Australians still can't travel, 90% of Europe is back on lockdown. I am starting to sound like a broken record...
At same time Cuba has brought out new measures for travelers as well. Please see below the latest update kicking in from 6 February:
Once again, the regulations regarding all types of travel to and from the island of Cuba have been modified given the serious epidemiological situation in the country due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Passengers entering the Cuban national territory as of February 6, will have to adjust to the new stipulated measures.
Cuban international airports will remain open to commercial flights, but the frequencies of flights arriving and departing from Cuba to the United States, Panama, Mexico, Bahamas and the Dominican Republic will be further limited, in addition to adding Jamaica and the Dominican Republic to the list. Colombia.
Flights from almost any country are currently allowed in, with the exception of Nicaragua, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Haiti.
The requirement to enter the territory of the negative result of a PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours before the flight and issued by a certified laboratory of the country of origin will be maintained, so that the initial cost of the plane ticket will be charged $ 30 extra for sanitary fee (basic hygiene benefits upon arrival).
The basic mandatory health protocols to be carried out at the airport, just before going through immigration controls, are the submission to a PCR test at the airport facility itself, the measurement of body temperature and the signing of a legal document that endorses the state health with which he arrived in the country.
The traveler must go immediately, after arrival, to the state isolation centers that the Cuban Government has set up for this purpose. There you will wait a maximum of three days to receive the result of the first PCR, two more days to then undergo a new antigen test, and another three days to receive the result of that second PCR; about 8 days in total.
This stage of preventive quarantine will be carried out in government institutions for Cuban permanent residents on the island, while Cubans residing abroad will have to isolate themselves in hotels enabled for that purpose, which will have to be paid for by travelers. The stay in private homes, whether for rent or family, will no longer be authorized. This period will also be mandatory for people who arrive vaccinated.
No person will be allowed to enter the airport other than the traveler himself with a ticket on the date set in hand, except the driver. This means that the entrance (or waiting outside the facility) will not be accepted from relatives or close friends.
Neither will the collection of luggage be allowed upon arrival of the passenger (by another person). This will be transferred to the isolation centers along with all their bags.
Current legislation establishes the authorization of entry of two 32-kg suitcases each and another 10-kg hand luggage. This aspect depends on the capacity of the airline with which you travel.
Due to the new baggage regulations together with the stay in isolation centers, waiting for late baggage will not be allowed, so all passengers must travel on the same plane as all their bags. Cargo flights will not be accepted either.
The corresponding isolation center will depend on the category of the traveler: foreign students who return to the island will be isolated in facilities of the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Higher Education; Cubans residing in the country will be isolated in authorized centers in their provinces (at no cost for any procedure); and foreigners or Cubans residing abroad will be isolated in hotels, but paying the fees related to stay and transportation.
The names and other information of the hotels authorized for the confinement of international travelers and the cost corresponding to their quarantine stages are not yet known.
