Puerto Rico Travel During COVID-19

We noticed during our trip to Puerto Rico in the last week of April that most people in Puerto Rico are diligently following the rules and guidelines that are in place for dealing with COVID-19. This post contains some of our observations related to dealing with this coronavirus while traveling to Puerto Rico.

Getting to Puerto Rico: COVID-related Entry Requirements

Puerto Rico requires visitors to follow steps outlined in Travel Guidelines:

• Fill out the Travel Declaration Form
• Take a "PCR molecular COVID-19 test (nasal or throat swab)" "no more than 72 hours"
  • Cannot be "rapid" test
• Upload negative results from PCR molecular COVID-19 test to the Puerto Rico Travel Safe site
• A QR code is sent to the individual who filled out the Travel Declaration Form and uploaded results of a negative PCR molecular test and this QR code is shown to a member of the Puerto Rico National Guard at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport after picking up one's luggage.

Even those who are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are required to have the PCR molecular test performed and to upload the negative results to the website. Puerto Rico has also instituted a $300 fine for anyone arriving on the island without the negative PCR molecular test results.

Restrictions While in Puerto Rico

At the time of our travel to Puerto Rico, there were several restrictions in place related to COVID-19, but they were not overly limiting of what we wanted to do there for the most part. The rules and restrictions we noticed most were curfew related and capacity related.

We had a long and painful day getting to Puerto Rico that included an 11-hour layover (originally 6 hours plus 5 hours of delay) and arrived in San Juan with just about every food establishment in the airport being closed and all of the restaurants closing up due to curfew rules. Fortunately gas stations in Farjado were still open and I've never been so grateful for gas station food, though it was still a disappointment from the local restaurant dinner we had hoped to enjoy that first night in Puerto Rico.

We noticed that employees at restaurants and gas stations were very diligent about enforcing only a specific number of customers being indoor in their establishments at the same time. All of the proprietors and all of the tour operators we worked with required masks when indoors or in close quarters outdoors.

Just about every establishment we visited had an electronic touchless thermometer for us to put our palm in front of (or in some cases an employee scanned us) and had antibacterial dispenser to sanitize hands.

Closures

Although a large number of the activities we wanted to participate were available during COVID-19 (because so many were oriented to small groups and were outdoor activities), there were some things we missed out on in Puerto Rico due to COVID-19-related closures. In particular, we had hoped to participate in the Kayak Trip to Cayo Santiago ("Monkey Island"), but this was not operating due to COVID-19. We also noticed that some attractions were not open or closed early, especially in areas further from San Juan such as Ponce and Cabo Rojo. Some beaches on Vieques were also closed.

On Culebra, we headed to Dinghy Dock for lunch, but found a sign indicating that it's closed due to COVID-19.

Tour Precautions

The tour operators we encountered all seemed to take COVID-19 seriously and offered preventative measures in addition to the normal 6 feet separation and required wearing of face masks by employees and customers. They also offered temperature screenings and antibacterial mist or fluid for participants. Here are some particular additional precautions that select tour operators took while we were there:

• The Kayaking Mini Speed Boat Island Hopping tour included sanitized snorkeling gear (we brought our own that we know we like and that is the safest way of all)
• The Carabalí Rainforest Adventure Park's 2-hour ATV Tour sprayed the inside of each participant's helmet before putting them on.
• The large flashlights handed to each participant for the last stretch of the cave opening to Cueva Ventana were each individually sanitized before being handed to the participant.

Daily Sara Alert Texts and Responses

We received a "Sara Alert" text each morning from telephone number 844-957-2721 asking if we were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and we were requested to respond "si" or "no." The daily text message was in Spanish:

Este es el informe diario de Sara Alert para: DM-50. ¿Está usted sintiendo uno o más de los siguientes síntomas hoy?: Tos, Problemas para respirar, Pérdida reciente el olfato, Pérdida reciente del gusto, Falta de aire, Fiebre, Escalofrío, Tiembla repetidamente y tiene escalofríos, Dolor muscular, Dolor de cabeza, Dolor de garganta, Náuseas o vómitos, Diarrea, Fatiga, Congestión nasal o un exceso de moco en la nariz. Responda con "Sí" o "No"

Even though we've been home from Puerto Rico for several days, we're still receiving these daily Sara Alert texts and it reminds me of how much I miss Puerto Rico!

Advantage of Traveling to Puerto Rico During COVID-19: No Cruise Ships

Large cruise ships were not allowed to use United States ports while we were in Puerto Rico and this meant that Old San Juan was far less busy than it would have been if cruise ships were in port.

The streets were busier during the middle of the day and in the early evenings, of course, but we were surprised at how quiet it was in the mornings and after the restaurants closed.

Conclusion

The people of Puerto Rico seem to be working hard to ensure that travel there is as safe as possible and to improve their chances of keeping things open and running.