March 15, 2020

Puerto Rico Is Shuttering Non-Essential Businesses and Imposing a Nighttime Curfew

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Puerto Rico will shutter non-essential businesses and impose a nighttime curfew across the US territory of 3.2 million people until the end of March, in response to the spread of the coronavirus. The announcement was made in a televised Sunday address by Gov. Wanda Vázquez.

According to Miami Herald:

Under the new decree, the island will be under a curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. that runs through March 30. The only exceptions are those who are working or in cases of emergency.

In addition, all non-essential businesses, including theaters, malls, casinos, bars, gyms and “any place that promotes the gathering of citizens in one place” will be closed starting at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Gas stations, pharmacies, banks, and supermarkets will remain open, according to the New York Times.

The island currently reports four cases of the virus, according to the Herald, with many more suspected awaiting results.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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