Cuba Withdraws Mandatory Use of Masks in Public Spaces

Cuba's Health Minister Jose Portal announced that as of May 31, the use of face masks in public spaces will not be mandatory.

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However, he explained that the use of masks will continue to be mandatory in hospitals, health centers, and restricted areas during infection spot controls.

The relaxation in the use of masks has been possible thanks to the success achieved by local authorities in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination and other epidemiological measures.

"That has allowed us to find ourselves today in a scenario with a low level of virus transmission and with isolated cases," the Health minister said, recommending that people with respiratory symptoms or comorbidities continue to wear masks.

Portal also referred to Cuba's participation in the 75th World Health Assembly and the meetings held with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne and the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to the Cuban official, Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Etienne agreed to highlight the good performance of the Cuban nation in the fight against COVID-19 and the high levels of immunization achieved with the locally produced vaccines.

Currently, 90 percent of the Cuban population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and continues to receive booster doses with the Soberana and Abdala vaccines. Daily cases of new infections and deaths are extremely low.