Puerto Rico limiting alcohol sales, gatherings as coronavirus cases rise

Puerto Rico is limiting alcohol sales and some gatherings of people as it deals with a surge in coronavirus cases on the island. 

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced Monday that alcohol sales after midnight will be banned from Sept. 2 to Sept. 23, The Associated Press reported.

Concerts, weddings and other activities that require groups to gather will be banned during that time. Elective surgeries that require the use of intensive care units will be delayed.

The island is also enacting an outdoor mask mandate for crowds of greater than 50 people for the next two weeks.

The new restrictions come after the island required employees to show proof of vaccinations to their employer at beauty salons, barber shops, nail salons, spas, gyms, casinos and other venues.

Businesses including beauty salons, casinos and gyms must also require customers to prove they are vaccinated or go down to 50 percent capacity.

The island has a 10 percent test positivity rate for the virus with the delta variant assumed to be the culprit for the sharp rise in cases.

Overall, Puerto Rico has reported more than 170,000 cases and almost 3,000 deaths from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.