(ANSA) - HAVANA, SEPTEMBER 17 - Faced with concerns about a possible increase in coronavirus infections due to the long lines for shops, supermarkets and banks that have been registering for days in Havana, the Cuban authorities analyzed the results obtained by a digital application that wants to "guarantee the discipline" of people who find themselves waiting to buy food or other products.
The Provincial Defense Council of Havana has analyzed the use of "Cola.cu" which is already active in the capital, the city of the island most affected by Covid-19.
Cuba has so far recorded 4933 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 109 deaths.
The queues, according to the warnings of the health authorities, can become a dangerous outbreak if those in line do not keep the necessary physical distance and do not respect the sanitary measures against the pandemic.
Since last September 1st, the cola.cu application has been distributed in 186 points of sale in the capital, which has two million inhabitants.
The application "records purchase history and identifies how often people visit facilities, as well as the products they buy," as described.
The app is considered by the authorities as part of the mechanisms "to limit inter-municipal traffic" in the face of the "urgent need to reduce the flow of people in banks" and other businesses.
Cola.cu was developed by the José Antonio Echeverría University of Technology in Havana (Cujae).
Its creators describe it as a way to offer greater access to food or hygiene items and also "avoid the hoarding of basic necessities".
In the case of Havana, where the inhabitants of one municipality of the capital cannot make purchases in the others, Cola.cu also allows to "confirm compliance with the provision", which has been applied since 1 September.
In the city, the transit of public buses is suspended and there is a curfew from 7 pm to 5 am the following day.
(HANDLE).