Havana, Sep 7 (IANS): Cuba is set to relax pandemic border control measures for in-bound international travellers starting from November 15, the island's Ministry of Tourism announced.

"The Caribbean nation will relax Covid-19 hygiene and sanitary protocols for incoming travellers," the Ministry said on Monday, adding new measures will focus on monitoring symptomatic patients and temperature checks.

It added that Cuba will no longer demand a PCR test upon arrival and Covid-19 vaccination certificates issued abroad will be accepted by customs authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.

Additionally, the domestic tourism market will gradually reopen depending on the pandemic situation in each region.

The decision to spur international tourism was made on the grounds that "more than 90 per cent of the country's population is expected to be fully vaccinated by November", the Ministry said.

Cuba registered 7,230 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 85 deaths in the last 24 hours, which increased the overall infection tally to 696,904 cases and 5,788 fatalities.

The island resumed scheduled commercial flights in November 2020, when Havana's Jose Marti International Airport restarted operations after having been closed for more than seven months due to the pandemic.

At present, international passengers who arrive on the island are required to quarantine either at hotel facilities allocated by the government or isolation centres.

In pre-pandemic times, the tourism industry in the Caribbean nation accounted for more than 10 per cent of Cuba's hard currency earnings.

The tourist peak season in Cuba runs from mid-November to April.