Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico – At a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Arturo Dávalos Peña announced strengthened security measures on the city’s beaches, which were closed to all tourist activity on March 30 to discourage travel to Puerto Vallarta during the Easter vacation period, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Dávalos’ original order included beach patrols by Municipal Police, Civil Protection and Fire Department officers, who urged vacationers to go ‘home,’ avoid all public spaces, and postpone all non-essential activities for as long as possible to prevent community-based transmission of the virus.
The decision to beef up security operations came after local reporter Doraliz Terrón was verbally and physically attacked by two foreign tourists while reporting on visitors and businesses not complying with the prohibition on recreational beach activities and services.
Dávalos Peña explained that, as a result of the aggression against the reporter, other law enforcement agencies are reinforcing the beach security operation.
Officers from the Police, Civil Protection and Fire Departments, the National Guard, Army, and Navy are now working together to ensure “the safety and, of course, health of all of us who live here in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta.”
All members of the beach patrol have been instructed to enforce the security measures more aggressively. If tourists ordered to vacate Puerto Vallarta beaches refuse to comply, officers are authorized to forcibly remove them.
Depending on the severity of the infraction, officers may also impose fines or even arrest those who refuse to abide by the city’s mandates to prevent contagion.
Sources: Vallarta Opina • Mexico News Daily