The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is extending a two-week curfew to April 12 and warning residents that new restrictions are on the way to help curb coronavirus cases.
Gov. Wanda Vazquez said beginning Tuesday, nonessential workers will have to be home by 7 p.m., two hours earlier than the current curfew.
She also said vehicles with license plates ending in even numbers can only be on the road Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Vehicles with tags ending in odd numbers are only permitted to move about on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Vazquez said the new restrictions come in response to hundreds of people being cited for violating a curfew imposed nearly two weeks ago.
The leader of Puerto Rico’s coronavirus task force, Dr. Segundo Rodriguez, estimates that there are more than 600 people infected on the island, with more than 60 already testing positive.
Authorities also reported two tourists on the island had died of the virus.
Meanwhile, there has been a shake-up in the territory’s health department over the handling of the coronavirus.
The governor Thursday announced appointment of Lorenzo Gonzalez as Puerto Rico’s third health secretary in less than two weeks. Gonzalez was health secretary during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. The move came hours after former health secretary Concepcion Quinones resigned for unclear reasons; her appointment followed the resignation of Rafael Rodriguez over complaints about the department’s handling of COVID-19.
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