What’s Opening in PR Next Week

Beaches, Restaurants, beauty salons, car dealerships, and dry cleaners will be able to reopen starting Tuesday with limited capacity.

Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vázquez announced the changes to the coronavirus curfew during a news conference held on Thursday at the Pedro Rosselló Convention Center in Miramar, San Juan.

This latest executive order will go into effect from Tuesday, May 26, to Monday, June 15. Curfew hours will remain in place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. 

Vázquez said the new measures are based on COVID-19 data and a consensus between the medical task force and the economic and religious sectors. 

But as of today, close to 3,000 positive cases have been reported and 126 people have lost their lives to COVID-19.

RELATED: How Puerto Rico Can Avoid a Spike in New COVID Cases

The secretary of the local health department, Lorenzo González, was absent from the news conference. Later, a press release confirmed he is on quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The executive emphasized how the government has taken the necessary actions and now depends on citizens to keep the spread under control. The use of masks will be mandatory for everyone.

“The use of masks will make all the difference as to whether we open more businesses on June 15 or have to take additional measures. We have flattened the curve; we have delivered a Puerto Rico with COVID-19 under control. It is up to each of us to follow the safety measures for a better Puerto Rico under COVID-19,” Vázquez said.

All of the reopened businesses will operate with limited capacity. 

Beauty salons and barbershops will be able to offer services by appointment from Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Restaurants will be allowed to reopen at 25% dining-room capacity. The delivery services or restaurants and supermarkets will be extended until 12 a.m.

Real estate agents, information-technology businesses, car dealerships, dry cleaners and laundromats, pet-grooming services, and travel agencies will all open for business by appointment with safety measures in place.

Small and medium businesses will also be opening. Funeral homes may operate with a maximum of 10 people per wake.

Also, the measure allows for the reopening of university laboratories as well as the partial opening of private schools so administrative staff can tend to their duties.

Only virtual summer camps will be allowed.

Shopping malls will resume operations on Tuesday, but only to train employees on how to handle the pandemic and prepare for the reopening.

Malls will be open to the public on June 8.

The economic advisory team recommended limiting the occupancy of buildings and premises to 50 percent capacity.

Recreational facilities like golf courses, nature reserves, and beaches will be open on a limited basis as spaces for fresh air and exercise. Picnics and gatherings will not be permitted.

“We are going to allow people to use beaches for walking and swimming, but not for spending the day at leisure. Not at this stage. We are taking into account what happened in places like Florida and California. Without measures in place, the contagion becomes exponential from one day to the next, and we do not want that to happen in Puerto Rico,” said Vázquez.

Religious services may resume, but only on Saturdays and Sundays, following extremely strict protocols.

Related: COVID-19 Cases Are Spiking In Puerto Rico. Curfew Orders Were Loosened Anyway