Casinos in Puerto Rico re-shutter as COVID-19 cases surge

Content Team July 20, 2020

Casinos in Puerto Rico ordered to close doors after an expressive increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the country

Casinos in Puerto Rico were witnessing high flow of visitors, reaching maximum capacity since the return of activities. New restrictions have therefore been applied by the Government, including the closure of casinos premises again.

The Government of Puerto Rico announced on the 16th of July new restrictions on the island due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes the closure of casinos in the country until the 31st of July.

Since the reopening of the establishments in the country, casinos in Puerto Rico have been reporting high number of visitors daily, reaching the maximum capacity of the premises. However, Puerto Rico reported an increase in the rate of COVID-19 cases.

The first positive COVID-19 case identified in casinos premises was confirmed in Casino del Mar, based in the Hotel La Concha, two weeks ago, which was ordered to close by the Health Secretary, Lorenzo González, the day after the case was identified.

New restrictions applied by the Government determine the closure of all bars, gyms, marinas, theaters and casinos in the country again, and it also includes limitation to the use of beaches.

Casinos in Puerto Rico Casino del Mar General Manager, Sigfrido De Jesús, affirmed in an interview to the local , El Nuevo Dia, that all the protocols for Covid-19 prevention have been followed properly by the company, and as soon as they detected that one of the employees had possible symptoms of the virus, the employee was immediately sent home, and had both the serological and molecular tests done.

In addition, he said that another four employees who had direct contact with the positive case were identified and tested, however, they all presented negative results.

According to the new restriction measurement, casinos, clubs, bars, cinemas, theatres, beaches, gymnasiums and amusement parks are to remain closed up to the 31st of July, and the return of tourist activities on the island will be postponed to the 15th of August. Wanda Vázquez Garced, the Governor of Puerto Rico, also highlighted that the Government in Puerto Rico inquired the United States Federal Aviation Administration to suspend flights from Texas and Florida in a temporary manner.

Puerto Rico has 3.2 million inhabitants and has reported more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases and 172 deaths, as reported by Yogonet Gaming News. Also, since the end of June cases have increased significantly, and as mentioned by Vázquez Garced, restrictive measures must be applied in order to stop the rise in cases.