Since the start of Covid-19’s contagion in Puerto Rico, our entire team at the SJU Airport has made it our top priority to reinforce preventive measures at our facilities. In addition, we launched the SJU Insider website with the intention of keeping our community informed about everything related to traveling to and from Puerto Rico in the midst of the new reality that we live in.
Recently, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) shared information related to the flow of passengers on the island in recent months. According to the PRTC’s executive director, Carla Campos, “there was a clearly evident directional change as of July 16, 2020: the number of passengers leaving Puerto Rico is greater than the incoming passengers. [...] This is a drastic change from what was reported in the first half of the month.” In addition, the data in the table presented by Campos indicates that between July 15 and 26, 45% of the passengers were residents.
The official also indicated that the information provided by the Health Department staff evaluating those who arrive at the airport maintains that the highest incidence of infections that were seen among travelers are from Puerto Rican residents who returned to the island - although she emphasized that information is still lacking to evaluate this data, the preliminary numbers indicate such.
Campos added that the DS Bioportal data also suggests that most of the people who traveled in that period are residents who most likely stayed with family or friends as 76% of the people from whom data was obtained remained on the island for more than five days.
Both the PRTC and the DS indicated that it is very likely that the increase in positive COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico is due mainly to community contagion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines community contagion as occurring when “people have been infected by the virus in an area, including some people who are not sure how or where they got infected.”
We’re counting on you
In this context, the call of the authorities is to vigilantly continue and intensify measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country. At the SJU Airport, we continue the efforts that we began in March to provide a safe and healthy environment for the entire airport community.
Below we have outlined the safety measures implemented thus far:
Installation of cameras that detect the use of a face mask or covering.
In compliance with the government’s Executive Order, we continue to enforce the policy that all visitors and airport personnel wear a face mask at all times.
Routine disinfection of all operating areas in the airport.
Implementation of signage in all terminals and common areas indicating the safety measures to be followed by all passengers.
We continue to assist the National Guard in the control of passenger flow in the Baggage Claim area to improve and speed up the arrival and departure processes.
Additionally, we again extend the call to travelers who have to visit Puerto Rico to comply with the requirements implemented by the authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As we continue to do everything in our power to ensure that all people travel safely, we also ask that the entire airport community aid us in this mission by staying updated on all procedures and safety protocols. We’re counting on you.