Cuba’s top epidemiologist has said irresponsible partying over year-end, often with relatives from abroad, fuelled a surge in coronavirus infections and he warned of a crackdown to prevent the spread of the disease.

Authorities in the capital at the same time announced new containment measures including suspension of interprovincial transport, cultural activities and the use of public spaces such as the famous Malecon boulevard during night hours.

Francisco Duran, head of epidemiology at the Ministry of Public Health, resumed his daily televised news briefings this week as a result and said Cuba had registered 365 new infections over the previous day.

That brought the total for the first eight days of 2021 to 1,767, of which about 80 per cent related to rule violations by travelers, and Cuba was on track to break its December record of 3,675 cases.