Cuba's bars and restaurants, closed since January, will gradually reopen from Friday, September 24 in a large part of the country, including Havana, authorities announced, highlighting the good progress of the coronavirus vaccination campaign.
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This reopening of 533 public and private establishments responds to the
“successful vaccination process”
on the island, Minister of Commerce Betsy Diaz explained on television. The idea is to
"begin the reopening of gastronomic services gradually"
in eight of the 15 Cuban provinces, said the governor of Havana, Reynaldo Garcia Zapata.
"It's no secret that we need the reopening and economic recovery,"
he added, as Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis since 1993, due to the absence of tourists and the strengthening of the American embargo.
The curfew imposed at 9 pm since the beginning of the year will be pushed back to 10:30 pm Business hours will be extended and legal notarial services will be able to operate again.
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Faced with a sharp increase in cases for two months, with a total of 832,286 cases including 7,048 deaths for 11.2 million inhabitants, Cuba has accelerated its vaccination campaign in recent weeks and now has 42.2% of its population immunized with local vaccines, not recognized by the WHO.
Restaurants authorized to reopen will only be able to accommodate customers at 50% of their capacity, must respect sufficient space between tables and maintain the obligation to wear a mask, which is also obligatory in the streets and in closed public spaces everywhere on the premises. 'Isle.
The country also plans to reopen its doors to tourists from November 15 and its schools gradually between October and November, once the vaccination of children from the age of two is over.
