Puerto Rico governor is asking the U.S. to suspend all incoming flights to the island
People are seen on balconies of an apartment building in El Condado tourist zone in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 15, 2020. - On Sunday March 15, Puerto Rico's Governor Wanda Vazquez imposed a curfew and ordered the shutdown of most businesses in ho (RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)
PUERTO RICO - In order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Puerto Rico, the governor of the U.S. territory is asking the U.S. to suspend all domestic and international flights for 14 days, reports the Miami Herald.
Gov. Wanda Vazquez released a letter she submitted to Federal Aviation Administrator Stephen Marshall. The newspaper reports she asked the FAA "to close all airports where local authorities aren’t screening incoming passengers, limit the air-strips where charter planes can land."
The island would only allow air traffic for "vital services and the military."
The goal is to lockdown Puerto Rico to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
"Each of these requests is independent of each other," Vázquez said in the letter. "We’re asking the FAA to allow one of them, or all of them, simultaneously."
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Puerto Rico has five confirmed cases. On Sunday, the island went on a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The governor ordered all non-essential businesses to close through March 30.
Visitors and residents are advised to not leave their homes unless it is necessary.
"Puerto Rico is an island. Just a few days ago, we didn’t have cases of coronavirus [and] COVID-19, and now, due to the arrival of tourists by boat and plane, we have five positive cases," Vázquez said, according to Miami Herald. "We don’t want more cases in Puerto Rico."
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