Havana (AFP)
The sun is shining in Havana, but it is forbidden to enjoy the pool or the beach: Cuba has instituted a strict quarantine at the hotel for all visitors from abroad, in order to fight against the rebound of coronavirus cases .
"The hotel is full, but when you walk around here, it looks like a cemetery," sighs an employee as she walks past the lounge chairs in a corner of the Hotel Comodoro, located by the sea.
Since February 6, it is the rule: any foreigner or non-resident Cuban arriving on the island goes directly from the airport to one of the six hotels designated in Havana to accommodate their quarantine ... at their expense. .
If it is one of the countries least affected by the pandemic in Latin America, Cuba is worried to see the number of contagions increase sharply, with now 36,595 cases including 257 deaths for 11.2 million inhabitants, and has therefore decided to strengthen the measures.
"Several offers are available at the airport" or via the internet, Isabel Docampo, marketing director of the state tourist agency Havanatur, told AFP.
Visitors have the choice of staying in three- or five-star hotels, for a bill that ranges from $ 240 to $ 500 for six days and five nights, the usual length of quarantine.
- Cuban Americans -
Not many tourists among them: these are usually Cubans living in the United States, according to Ms. Docampo, and coming to see their families despite the recent reduction in flights between the two countries due to the pandemic.
As soon as they arrive at the airport, they undergo a first PCR test.
At the hotel, a second will be made for them on the fifth day.
If it is negative, they can finally come out.
In the hotel, ban on leaving his room: "Protocols have been established for isolation, (clients) cannot cross paths with each other, they must remain isolated and health personnel monitor their condition," Omar said Milian Torres, General Manager of the Hotel Comodoro, which currently houses between 80 and 100 travelers.
Since March, 21 cases have been detected in this hotel, used in particular for the quarantines of employees of certain foreign companies, but none during the last five days, welcomes the director.
At midday, the pool would normally be full.
There, we see a client coming out, wearily, on the balcony of his room.
Another is drying his wet laundry on an improvised clothes line.
Madeleine Hernandez, 49, Cuban, had left for her work in the Dominican Republic.
When she returned on Tuesday, her company sent her to this hotel.
At the door of her bungalow, with a mask on her face, she recounts spending her days working and reading, alongside her daughter and her husband, who were part of the trip.
- "Stuck" -
Theoretically, as a Cuban resident, she should have gone to one of the free isolation centers set up for Cubans returning from abroad, also subject to quarantine.
But "in my case, as I was traveling for the company, she pays us the accommodation", she rejoices, even if "of course, nothing beats the house".
At the reception, other Cubans from Florida, where most of the Cuban expatriate community resides, wait to check in.
They will respect the quarantine because "it is the rule" but confess not to like the idea of remaining thus "stuck" for five days.
If they do, it is only to be able to see their families afterwards.
The Melia Habana hotel, usually popular with tourists, is less crowded: only 28 people undergo their quarantine.
They have the option of a personalized menu and receive a visit from a doctor twice a day.
Mariano Elorza, general manager of the hotel, ensures that the protocol is very strict: the waiters wear gloves and have the minimum of interactions with the customers.
"Now, the one who orders at the hotel is the one who wears the white coat," he says.
© 2021 AFP