The Cuban government announced this Sunday the suspension of all non-essential administrative activities and teaching for the next three days, due to the imminent passage of Hurricane Oscar through the eastern part of the country and the efforts to restore the national electrical system, which has been completely collapsed since last Friday.
In a brief statement published on the official website and social media of the Presidency of Cuba, the government announced the decision to suspend both non-essential administrative activities and teaching on Monday, October 21, Tuesday, October 22, and Wednesday, October 23, while "maintaining vital services for the population."
The regime justified this measure by the proximity of Hurricane Oscar to the eastern region of Cuba and the efforts to restore the National Electric System (SEN) following its total collapse last Friday morning, which has exacerbated the already dire energy crisis that the country has been experiencing for months.
The official communication specified that "the workers who are mobilized under these circumstances" will receive their average salary payment, and those who do not attend work due to this suspension will receive "payment of a salary guarantee equivalent to the scale salary of the position they hold."
Hours before the general blackout that has left Cuba without electricity since Friday, the Cuban government had already paralyzed the country due to the energy emergency, implementing measures that took effect that same day, with the stated goal of reducing electricity consumption and "preserving" the service to the residential sector as much as possible.
Among the provisions, all non-essential services that generate energy expenses were suspended, while vital centers such as hospitals and food production facilities remained operational.
The Ministry of Education (MINED) also suspended teaching activities from Friday to Sunday at all levels of education.
Similarly, cultural activities were canceled, both in the state and non-state sectors; including nightclubs, recreation centers, and others that generate large concentrations of people.
Only essential staff will remain working at the centers, emphasized the statement from the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE).
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz appeared on Thursday night in a troubled presentation on national radio and television, alongside executives from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, to report on the current energy crisis in the country.
Marrero made it clear that the situation is extremely critical and revealed that a short-term solution is not anticipated.
The SEN had been showing signs of general collapse for several days, and as a consequence, the prolonged blackouts exceeded 15 hours in many provinces, until this Friday morning when the total disconnection of the system occurred, which remains 48 hours later without an effective and definitive solution in sight.
Meanwhile, the anguish and uncertainty of the population due to so many hours without electricity and the consequences that this entails were compounded by the threat of Hurricane Oscar, which will hit the eastern region of the country.
The first effects of the category 1 hurricane have already been felt in the city of Baracoa, in Guantánamo, with the sea entering and flooding along the seawall.
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