Cuba bars tourists for 30 days over virus fears

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says the country is temporarily barring tourists in order to prevent the introduction of more cases of coronavirus.

Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said in an announcement on state television that only residents of the island would be allowed to enter for the next 30 days starting Tuesday.

As of Friday, Cuba had announced 16 cases of COVID-19 and one death, all in people who had traveled overseas or been in direct contact with a traveler.

Díaz-Canel and Marrero said exceptions would be made for people involved in commercial importation, like crews of merchant ships, and for tourism industry workers who need to help tourists leave the country.

Marrero said there were about 60,000 tourists in Cuba as of Friday evening.

The Cuban economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which had already slowed dramatically due to U.S. sanctions tightened by the Trump administration.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

The coronavirus has infected more than 271,000 people and killed more than 11,000. Almost 87,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.