Ten Days Later, U.S. Department Of State Answers Reporter Question About Travel To Cuba: adding aware of issue and looking closely at it
/United States Department of State
Washington DC
11 February 2021
Briefing With Mr. Ned Price:
REPORTER QUESTION: Can I follow on that, on Cuba? And this is a very specific question, so if you could – if you don’t have an answer, I understand, but if you could take it. And that is that you probably know that the Cuban Government has introduced COVID restrictions requiring people coming into the country to quarantine in hotels. Well, Americans and Cuban Americans are not allowed under – or they can, I suppose, but then they’re subject to Treasury penalties – to stay in almost all Cuban hotels. So as part of the review into the Cuba policy, is this something that you guys are looking at with an eye toward perhaps doing it more urgently than in other parts? Or are these people who are going in just SOL?
MR PRICE: You’re right. Let me take that question back. I think that our review of our approach to Cuba is very much ongoing. But let me take that question back and see if we have anything we can add.
After repeated requests, on 19 February 2021, the United States Department of State shared the following statement which it confirmed is the response provided to Mr. Matt Lee, the reporter for Associated Press (AP) who asked the question on 11 February 2021:
“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. We are aware of this issue and are looking closely at the implementation of Cuba's quarantine requirements and how they may affect U.S. travelers. Our current Travel Advisory for Cuba is Level 4 -- Do Not Travel due to health and safety concerns and COVID-19-related conditions. If travel is necessary, we recommend travelers contact their travel agent to inquire about sanctions regulations and related license applications and refer further specific questions about U.S. travel regulations for Cuba to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.”
