Puerto Rico’s governor on Thursday announced stricter measures to fight COVID-19, including a lockdown on Sundays and the closure of all marinas as the U.S. territory grapples with an increase in cases and deaths.
Gov. Wanda Vázquez also tightened an ongoing curfew, with businesses now ordered closed at 8:30 p.m. and no one allowed on streets from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. except for essential workers and those delivering food until 11 p.m.
Only gas stations, pharmacies and hardware stores will be allowed to open on Sundays, though restaurants can offer delivery or carry-out. In addition, alcohol sales will be banned from Saturdays at 5 a.m. until Mondays at 5 a.m.
The new measures run from Dec. 7 to Jan. 7, the height of the island’s holiday and tourism season. Beaches also will remain closed except to those doing exercise.
“We have to pause to save the lives of our old people mainly,” Vázquez said after she read the names and ages of those reported dead on Thursday.
The governor warned that if the number of cases and deaths keep increasing, she would implement a total lockdown, but she did not approve other recommendations from independent health experts, including opening beaches under certain requirements and closing commercial businesses and allowing them only to sell online.
The island of 3.2 million people has more than 52,000 confirmed cases, more than 41,600 probable ones and more than 1,150 deaths. More than 100 people are connected to an artificial respirator, the highest number since the pandemic began. November also was the month with the highest number of deaths, with at least one major hospital at capacity.
“This is not acceptable for any government the values life,” she said.
Health Secretary Lorenzo González said more than 500 new cases are being reported daily, adding that the new measures are needed because health care workers are exhausted and the island’s health system heavily burdened.
“We need to give them a breather,” he said.
Officials have said they expect the first of some 1 million vaccines ordered to arrive in mid-December, with health care workers and certain public employees taking priority.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — An armed man standing atop one of the historic Teotihuacán pyramids opened fire on tourists Monday, leaving one Canadian tourist dead and six people injured at the archaeological site an hour north of Mexico’s capital, authorities said.
The shooter later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement.
The local government said four people were wounded by gunshots and two were injured from falls. The victims were taken to hospitals for treatment. They include Colombian, Russian and Canadian tourists, the local government said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
Video and photos published by local news organizations show a man standing with a gun on top of a pyramid while people duck for cover. A number of gunshots ring out in the videos.
A tour guide, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to put his job at risk, said he was leading a group down one of the pyramids around 11:30 a.m. when the man began to shoot, and a number of people stumbled in fear and fell down the stairs.
“When he saw that we were descending he began to shoot downward,” the guide said, adding that the shooter seemed to fire alternatively into the air and then at people's legs.
He said he heard between 20 and 30 gunshots ring out before security officials arrived.
In past years, staff at the archaeological site carried out security scans before people entered the area but has since stopped doing this.
The guide showed a video that he took showing a woman limping and her back covered in blood and another man’s arm being bandaged.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media that the shooting would be investigated and that she was in touch with the Canadian Embassy.
“What happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us. I express my most sincere solidarity with the affected individuals and their families,” she wrote.
Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, said on X that as a “result of a horrific act of gun violence, a Canadian was killed and another wounded in Teotihuacán” and that her “thoughts are with their family and loved ones. ”
The Teotihuacán pyramids are a series of massive structures on the outskirts of Mexico City built by three different ancient civilizations. As one of Mexico's most important touristic destinations, the site drew more than 1.8 million international visitors last year, according to government figures.
Security officials found a gun, a knife and ammunition after the shooting.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Police patrol the pyramids after authorities said a gunman opened fire in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Forensic workers carry the body of a victim down a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Police and forensic workers stand on a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Forensic workers remove a victim's body from a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
FILE - The Pyramid of the Moon, left, and the Pyramid of the Sun, back right, are seen along with smaller structures lining the Avenue of the Dead, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, March 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
