Puerto Rico implements airport protocol that requires negative COVID-19 test results
In the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases, Puerto Rico has reopened to inbound tourism and implemented a new airport protocol to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The new protocol, implemented on Wednesday, requires travelers to present a negative molecular COVID-19 test result taken no more than 72 hours before they reach the island. Passengers are also required to complete a travel declaration form. If they do not comply, they will face a mandatory quarantine for 14 days.
If an asymptomatic traveler arrives on the island and is awaiting the molecular COVID-19 test result, the person is required to quarantine for 14 days or until test results are provided to the Puerto Rico Health Department. If an asymptomatic traveler lands and is not awaiting test results, the person will receive a voucher to get tested locally and will need to quarantine for 14 days.
Meanwhile, if an asymptomatic passenger arrives, the Puerto Rico National Guard will conduct a rapid COVID-19 test at the airport. The person, however, must quarantine even if the test results are negative. The quarantine is mandated until they present a negative molecular COVID-19 test result. If the traveler tests positive, the person will get a molecular COVID-19 test on-site.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has previously put Puerto Rico on a level three travel warning due to the coronavirus emergency, and urged travelers to avoid nonessential travel to the island.
Confusion and long lines at the airport
Most travelers who landed in Puerto Rico on Wednesday did not know about the new requirements, according to local newspapers El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora. A video posted on Twitter by Puerto Rican journalist Walter Soto León shows a long line of people at one of the airport’s terminals waiting to comply with the new protocol.
“We are aware arriving passengers had to wait in line longer than expected, but that is because new health and safety measures came into effect with Puerto Rico’s reopening for inbound tourism,” said Brad Dean, CEO of the destination marketing organization Discover Puerto Rico. “The government of Puerto Rico, along with the Puerto Rico Health Department, established additional screening and protection measures to safeguard the health and safety of residents and visitors and with that comes added wait times to ensure protocols are being successfully implemented”.
Given passengers’ confusions on Wednesday, Dean urged people who will visit the island to review the travel advisory on the Discover Puerto Rico website.
On Wednesday, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, in Carolina, received 4,503 people, according to Damarisse Martínez, spokesperson for Aerostar, the company that runs the airport. On the same day last year, Martínez said, 18,458 people traveled to the island.
In Puerto Rico, executive orders signed by Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced mandate people to use masks in public places and impose an overnight curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until July 22.
Puerto Rico has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases for several consecutive days. The Puerto Rico Health Department on July 16 reported 3,119 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 7,455 possible infections, 172 deaths and 280 hospitalizations.
The island receives significant air traffic from Florida, the epicenter of the pandemic. Florida on Thursday reported a fatality record of 156 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 4,677. So far, the state has confirmed a total of 315,775 coronavirus cases.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 5:20 PM.