Puerto Rico battles COVID-19 surge, imposes new measures

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is imposing new measures to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed medical staff in the U.S. territory and led to temporary shortages of testing kits. Starting Tuesday, all private businesses that cater to the public must close from midnight to 5 a.m., no alcohol will be sold during those hours and gatherings of more than 250 people are banned. The measures will remain in place until Jan. 18 and come as the island of 3.3 million people reports a more than 30% positivity rate, the highest since the pandemic began.