Home » World » Wanda Vázquez warns that it will toughen the curfew if “they don’t see it seriously”

Wanda Vázquez warns that it will toughen the curfew if “they don’t see it seriously”



The governor Wanda Vázquez Garced warned this Monday that it will make the curfew more restrictive if it is not taken seriously and as a real threat to health the coronavirus that so far it has infected five people in Puerto Rico and keeps four others waiting for the test results for diagnosis.

“If people do not respect and people think that this is a joke and they do not see it seriously, everything is closed. I cancel your business license, patents. You cannot sell alcoholic beverages and you expose yourself to the fine ”, said the governor in an interview with The new day.

Somehow people have to understand the danger that is above us, that we have been able to control it. But an irresponsible person who beats the disease to a member of his family … there is still watering and we have no way to control it. And it becomes what has happened in other countries ”he added.

Possible fines

The governor recalled that Law 20 of 2017 allows the government to fine – for up to $ 5,000 – and even impose a six-month detention on those who violate a curfew in the middle of an emergency. The statute allows both to be imposed: fines and imprisonment.

However, Vázquez Garced said he has seen, so far, that the vast majority of businesses and Puerto Ricans have obeyed the executive order he issued yesterday. The decree establishes a curfew in which no one can be out of their homes by 9:00 p.m. at 5:00 a.m. until March 30 as a preventive measure to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus among the population.

Meanwhile, all businesses in Puerto Rico that are not related to the food and health sector must close operations until March 30.

The commercial activities subject to a total closure until March 30 are: shopping malls, cinemas, discotheques, concert halls, theaters, game rooms, casinos, amusement parks, gyms, bars or “any similar place” or event ” that encourages the meeting of a group of citizens in the same place. ” The two-week shutdown will also apply to all government operations, except for essential services.

He pointed out that those who have failed to comply with the decree are the minority and “I am going to think that since it is the first time that we have a measure like this, which is drastic, (we must) give them the opportunity to guide themselves.”

“I am giving that opportunity for today. Tomorrow everyone has to be on their property. Except those officials and those companies that are exempt by executive order. We cannot give room for contagion and spread, “said the governor.

They are only exempt from the curfew, between 5:00 a.m. at 9:00 p.m., people who are going to acquire supplies such as food, pharmaceuticals and basic necessities; go to medical appointments or hospitals; go to your workplace in those public agencies or private entities that provide essential services; care for the elderly or go to financial institutions.

The governor recognized that COVID-19 will have an economic impact on the island, the amount of which she could not specify at the time. He said that later state and federal aid will be provided for businesses and employers, so he urged them to keep evidence of their expenses and losses.

Call to private companies and closure of schools

Vázquez Garced urged private companies to pay their employees even when they are not working and as long as their finances allow it.

“In the case of government employees, (the absences) are not charged to any leave,” he said.

“There will be measures later to compensate for the losses, but if citizens and companies do not see the danger, we are going to take measures such as (eliminate) internal revenue licenses, patents. (We would impose) fines. And we risk having a closure without exceptions. There are going to be losses and it is very drastic. I don’t want to get to that, but if it is necessary to save our people, I will do it, ”he reiterated.

He said that, if necessary, he will create an “impact group to verify that the executive order is being followed.”

Vázquez Garced also did not specify how many people will eventually be infected. I highlight that, at the moment, there are five confirmed people and five other suspects waiting for the results of the diagnostic test, which is already available on the island.

“We are going to see how these results evolve. If we see that the results are mostly negative, then perhaps we are softening the rules. But if there are positives in these samples, we have to strengthen measures to protect citizens, “he said.

Possible closure of airspace

The governor announced that she is working on a draft to request the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow the government of Puerto Rico, if necessary, to close the airspace. Since Friday, the island’s government prevents cruise ships from entering its docks, the first executive recalled.

“Airspace is more difficult. It is controlled by the federal government. But that is why we activated the National Guard to create these medical screening stations to evaluate all the arriving passengers, ”he explained.

The National Guard officers will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, with the screenings since today they placed the necessary scaffolding to carry out this work, said the governor. He estimated at $ 7 million the expense that the government – the Emergency Fund that has $ 160 million – has incurred to deal with the threat posed by COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Vázquez Garced emphasized that hardware stores, agricultural stores, fishing shops, as well as businesses linked to the automotive industry should be closed.

“All of those, the vast majority, have to be closed,” he said.

He held the same about private schools.

“The potential (of contagion) is all over the world,” emphasized the governor, who acknowledged that her main concern is to avoid contagion with the virus.

“That’s life. The economic thing we can work with the Board (Fiscal Supervision), with balancing the budget, but after you lose a family member, we cannot recover that. I want to avoid a single death ”, he maintained.

The governor said that amid the threat posed by the coronavirus, she is evaluating several people as candidates for Health Secretary.

“That is pressing,” he said.

After asking Rafael Rodríguez to resign for his poor performance with the emergency that the coronavirus has unleashed, the governor left the undersecretary of Health, Concepción Quiñones de Longo.

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