Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he has traded in his comfortable house in Havana for his roadside, tiny wooden juice shack out by the fortress overlooking the city bay to self-isolate. The 55-year-old considers that up on the sparsely populated hillside from which Spanish soldiers used to fend off pirates, he is safe from the highly contagious virus that has infected around 2,000 in the city sprawling below. The suspension of public transport means his night custodian cannot make it to work and he is worried about vandals. "I feel protected here in my little home," said Viguera, who usually lives in a residential, western Havana district with his sister and nephew. Now he struggles to live off his savings as there has been no financial aid for those who are self-employed.

Source: The Star August 21, 2020 15:00 UTC