Havana (AFP)

Sitting on the terrace with two friends facing scoops of ice cream, which she had dreamed of for nine months, Himilcie Ruiz shows a big smile: "We are very happy with the reopening" of restaurants in Havana, she assures us.

Thursday evening and almost by surprise, the Cuban authorities announced the "gradual" reopening, the next day, of restaurants and bars in much of the country, as well as legal and notarial services, all closed since January due to the pandemic of coronavirus.

Himilcie, a 22-year-old dental student, wanted to take advantage of it on Friday morning.

"With these new measures, we can enjoy a little more, always being careful, protecting ourselves with a mask and keeping our distance", she rejoices, dressed in her white coat like her comrades, a usual practice of doctors and medical students in the streets of Cuba.

This reopening is justified by the "successful vaccination process", underlined the Minister of Internal Trade, Betsy Diaz, but also the need for "economic recovery", added the governor of Havana, Reynaldo Garcia Zapata.

It is a first step before Cuba reopens its doors to foreign tourists, from November 15.

- Glacier stormed -

Cuba, faced with an increase in Covid-19 contagions for two months, has accumulated 839,981 cases including 7,695 deaths.

Already 42.8% of its 11.2 million inhabitants are immunized with locally developed vaccines, not recognized by the WHO, the goal being to exceed 90% by November.

In 18 months of pandemic, the country went through several phases of closure then reopening of public places.

But everything has remained closed since January 14, with curfew included, enough to tire the population.

On Friday, the island's most famous ice cream parlor, Coppelia, in the Vedado district, was stormed by customers, many in line.

Cubans on the terrace of a restaurant, the day of their reopening, September 24, 2021 in Havana YAMIL LAGE AFP

In recent months, they could only buy take-out, now they can sit on the shaded terrace ... if they have booked by phone first, a mechanism that surprises then that the place is a classic place improvised meetings between the students of the nearby University of Havana.

Restaurants and bars authorized to reopen must comply with a sanitary inspection and can only accommodate customers at 50% of their capacity.

They must also respect sufficient space between the tables and maintain the obligation to wear a mask, which also remains mandatory in the streets.

In the state restaurant "Mi Jardin", the employees clean and prepare the tables before opening.

Eduardo Carbonel, 49, the butler, explains to employees the sanitary measures to be respected but also "the new prices" to apply.

- "Everything is complicated" -

Because Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis since 1993, due to the absence of tourists and the strengthening of the American embargo.

This forced it to drastically reduce its imports, exacerbating the shortages of food and medicines.

Added to this is a monetary reform that has caused inflation to soar, a blow to Cuban families.

A street in Havana, September 17, 2021 in Cuba YAMIL LAGE AFP / Archives

"Here, everything is complicated because of the situation in the country, but we are trying to overcome that as much as we can," says Yurisbel Paneque, 40, one of the managers of the private restaurant Rey & Gaby, where Himilcie and her friends are seated at the table.

"We tried to find by all means, by signing contracts with state enterprises so that they provide us with products" for the restaurant, he says in the middle of tables full of customers.

Monday entered into force the law authorizing small and medium-sized enterprises, public and private, awaited for years.

Many of these restaurants should take the plunge, and must file papers with the notary for this.

A Cuban carries bags on his bicycle in a street in Havana, August 30, 2021 YAMIL LAGE AFP / Archives

At the notarial office of streets 23 and J, the largest in the capital, "the influx (of the public) has already resumed", notes Alexis Sanchez, 51, the administrator.

"Here we provide all the notarial services: wills, powers, purchases and sales of housing and vehicles, declarations on honor", so many procedures paralyzed for months and which finally restart.

© 2021 AFP