January 2020 Late January: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport becomes one of twenty U.S. airports identified by
U.S. Federal officials where travelers were to undergo additional screening. The screenings were to focus on passengers from
Wuhan and included a form to be filled out by the traveler stating their travel, contacts in Wuhan, and the presence of any possible symptoms. Travelers will have their temperatures taken.
February 2020 February 29: Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced establishes a coronavirus task force to track potential cases.
March 2020 March 4: A Panamanian doctor and four companions arrive in
San Juan, Puerto Rico after traveling to
New York,
Miami, and Panama. They attend the National Day of Salsa festival in San Juan on March 7 despite having a fever and feeling ill. On March 12, Vázquez requests all people who were in the VIP section of the Salsa venue to
isolate if they had flu-like symptoms because they may have been exposed to the virus.
March 8: A 68-year-old, Italian woman on the
cruise ship sailing from
Fort Lauderdale, Florida is put in isolation in a Puerto Rico hospital after showing symptoms of
pneumonia. A test is sent to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vázquez orders that all cruises arriving in Puerto Rico certify that no passengers meet the criteria for COVID-19.
March 10: The
Puerto Rico Department of Health reports that five cases are under investigation. According to the Secretary of Health,
Rafael Rodríguez Mercado, the CDC received tests on March 10.
March 11: There were 19 potential coronavirus cases after it was reported that a group of 16 students and 3 sponsors from Robinson School were required to isolate after arriving from a trip to
Mexico City, Mexico to attend a
Model United Nations competition. The country of Mexico had reported 7 cases of COVID-19 during their stay, starting on March 4. They arrived in Puerto Rico on March 9 and were allowed to attend school the next day, March 10. None of the individuals who traveled to Mexico City were infected upon returning, despite have traveled through
Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama.
March 12: As a preventive measure, Vázquez declares a
state of emergency and activates the
Puerto Rico National Guard. Puerto Rico has no confirmed cases of COVID-19. The
Government of Puerto Rico bars tourists from travelling to
Vieques and
Culebra, island municipalities popular with tourists. Only residents and those delivering supplies are allowed to travel to the islands. Vázquez declares a curfew
ordering people to remain in their home through March 30. People are only allowed out for emergencies. There are limited circumstances that people can come out to purchase essential items or obtain essential services from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Mid-march: Several universities including
University of Puerto Rico,
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón,
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico,
Ana G. Méndez University,
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, and
National University College cancel in-person classes and move to
remote instruction.
March 13: Puerto Rico has 17 suspected cases of COVID-19 and has sent tests to the CDC on March 9. Vázquez criticizes the CDC on March 13 for not having results in over four days. However, later in the evening of March 13, Vázquez announces, at a press conference, that three cases have been confirmed: the 68-year-old Italian woman from the cruise ship
Costa Luminosa and her 70-year-old husband (both tourists) are hospitalized in isolation at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in
Condado,
March 13: Plans to take people's temperature as they enter Puerto Rico at 7 different points of entry are pending the receipt of 50 no-touch infrared thermometers.
March 15: A fourth case of COVID-19 is confirmed and is an 87-year-old military veteran and
California resident who was transferred to the Mayagüez Medical Center by
United States Coast Guard helicopter after presenting symptoms on a cruise passing through the
Mona Passage.
March 15: A 65-year-old woman at an undisclosed location becomes the fifth confirmed case. Puerto Rico has 17 other suspected cases.
March 16: Vázquez discusses the possibility of declaring martial law should the population not heed the curfew and rules imposed with the state of emergency. The governor had mandated the closure of all non-essential businesses for two weeks yet some companies had gone about with business as usual, opening their doors, prompting Vázquez to say "we can be much stricter." Business owners are subject to a $5,000 fine and up to six months in jail if they don't abide by the curfew. On March 16, police fine a bar in
Orocovis and carry out over two dozen enforcement actions. Puerto Rican Police report making 36 arrests and filing 85 charges for violations during the three days since the curfew was enacted.
March 17: Vázquez sends a letter to the
Federal Aviation Administration with three independent requests. In a statement, she explained the letter seeks authorization to close airports without passenger screenings, limit
airstrips for
charter planes, and allow the island to limit air traffic to the military and vital services.
March 18: The sixth confirmed case is announced by a Veterans Hospital spokesperson. State epidemiologist
Carmen Deseda reports there were 26 possible cases at the Veterans Hospital, 10 of which tested negative.
March 21: The first death due to COVID-19 is recorded- the 68-year-old Italian woman who had been on the Costa Luminosa cruise ship from Florida, and who had underlying health issues. Also, on March 21, in response to fake news that begins circulating from
WhatsApp, people run to the streets, en masse, for mass shopping and hoarding. The fake news stated that the island's grocery stores would close shortly. The March 15 two-week curfew by Vázquez was defied by many due to the fear caused by the fake news, prompting an investigation by the FBI into who initiated the panicking news. In other news, the
2020 Puerto Rico Democratic primary, originally scheduled for March 29, is postponed until April 26.
March 25: The island announces death of a resident due to COVID-19. A 48-year-old female teacher from
Rincón dies and because she was the wife of a police officer, all 30 officers on the force are quarantined at home. The curfew is extended to April 12. There are 60 confirmed cases and two deaths.
March 30: The sixth death is recorded.
March 31: The seventh and eighth are deaths recorded. Confirmed cases rise to 239.
April 2020 April 2: Police are enforcing the curfew by arresting drivers and towing cars. By this date, 507 people have been arrested for breaking the island-wide curfew.
April 6: Reports indicate that 10 doctors have tested positive for the coronavirus.
April 9: Seventeen businesses have lost their
business license for failing to adhere to the island-wide curfew.
April 10: Medical personnel in hospital emergency rooms in Yauco, Bayamón, Fajardo, and Humacao are using a clear plastic box around the head of the patient when patient is being tested for COVID-19, in order to protect personnel from contamination.
April 21-April 24: The numbers being reported by different agencies in Puerto Rico came into question and on April 21, Orville Disdier Flores, the executive director at the (PR Statistics Institute), stated that some of the numbers being reported were incorrect, that some cases had been double-counted and that they were working on correcting the errors. On April 23 the numbers were 12680 conducted tests, 1416 tested positive, 69 deaths, and 1940 pending results
September 2020 Videos of a party at a private location in
Unibón (a barrio of
Morovis) showing hundreds of attendees who were not following social distancing protocols nor wearing masks went viral in early September. The event was organized by an investors group called Forex. The governor stated these people had violated the executive order she signed. Many of the attendees where travelers from outside of Puerto Rico. On September 8, 2020, three people related to that event were detained at the Luis Muñoz Marín airport in San Juan, two of whom were headed to
Baltimore, Maryland.
October 2020 In October, news sources showed pictures of an illegally operated dumpsite at Aguas Buenas, leaving the mayor of the municipality to explain that the pandemic's lockdowns had caused more people to do home remodeling projects and that his municipality had requested a permit to operate the location as a landfill. He stated there weren't the resources for garbage pickup of the many large household items that were being discarded and that he had had to wait five months to finally receive approval for the dumpsite.
December 2020 On December 5, a woman and her son were stopped from boarding a flight from
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Puerto Rico, preventing a potential superspreader event. The nine-year-old boy had tested positive on November 24, and the quarantine and travel prohibition order arrived just 30 minutes before they boarded the flight. In December, authorities were searching for a tourist who refused to wear a mask and was seen on a (viral video) assaulting someone.
January 2021 In January 2021, Discover Puerto Rico, the tourism campaign for Puerto Rico began hosting journalists and
influencers back to Puerto Rico in an effort to restart its tourism industry.
March 2021 March 23: In March, about 12 tourists were arrested in a matter of six days when the government of Puerto Rico began to crack down on tourists who arrived but did not follow the measures that are in place. The measures are to show a negative test or to quarantine for 14 days.
April 2021 April 1: The
Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla and the
Mercedita International Airport in Ponce which had remained closed since the beginning of the pandemic resumed commercial flights.
August 2021 The department of health reported that August has been the deadliest month of the year with 306 deaths of which 73% (223) were unvaccinated. In order to reduce friction between tourists and Puerto Rico's residents a public campaign to educate tourists on correct, safe behavior was launched.
September 2021 September 4: The family of retired reporter
Efren Arroyo of
WAPA TV confirms he was unvaccinated and died of COVID-19. == Government response ==