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Residents of Puerto Rico are exasperated at the “sense of entitlement” shown by recent American arrivals to the overseas territory, some of whom were seen breaking Covid rules.
The complaints come amid a surge in tourists to the Caribbean island for spring break, and a year of Americans being banned from flying internationally.
According to a number of reports, recent arrivals to Puerto Rico were spotted without masks, while a series of viral videos showed tourists destroying private property in recent days.
Other videos show tourists, many of whom appear to be from the US mainland, fighting on the streets of Puerto Rico’s capital, Old San Juan, or jumping on top of cars.
“They were behaving as if no one else existed in Old San Juan,” a resident of the city told NBC News this week.
“I don’t have a problem with people trying to have a good time, but they have to be respectful. We’re still living in the middle of a pandemic,” said Israel Meléndez Ayala.
“People can’t come here and act as if the virus doesn’t exist … They have a sense of entitlement and apathy I don’t understand.”
Puerto Rico, in comparison to most of the US mainland, was one of the first US jurisdictions to order a public mask mandate in March last year.
And as Covid-19 spread throughout the US and its overseas territories, the government of Puerto Rico introduced a curfew and other restrictions to contain the virus, many of which remain intact.
Residents, including Ms Meléndez Ayala, are concerned that tourists acting aggressively, and ignoring those rules, will subject Puerto Rico to a second wave of infections it has so far avoided.
According to NBC News, police in Old San Juan issued 500 fines for incidents involving Covid in the past week, of which 110 were for not wearing a mask.
In response to concerns from residents and business owners, the island’s tourism board this week launched an English language information campaign to remind visitors from the US mainland of restrictions in Puerto Rico.
Of 55 states and US territories, Puerto Rico currently has the fourth lowest figures for cases of Covid, and the fifth lowest figures for deaths, according to figures from The New York Times.
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