SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — All of Puerto Rico’s 911 call centers were shut down Wednesday night after several employees tested positive for the coronavirus, officials announced.
Public Safety Secretary Pedro Janer said people should call the island’s emergency management agency at 787-724-0124 or police at 787-343-2020 in an emergency. He said both agencies are operating 24 hours a day.
However, people calling the first number that Janer provided get a recording asking them to call 911 for an emergency. Then the recording provided callers with a directory.
“This is serious,” Nazario Lugo, president of Puerto Rico’s Association of Emergency Managers, told The Associated Press. He said he was shocked at the government’s temporary plan to handle emergencies in the U.S. territory of 3.2 million people.
Lugo said officials should patch 911 calls through to another number, rather than forcing people to call a long number that they would have to read read or hear about on the news.
“Response times will definitely be affected,” he said.
It is the first time Puerto Rico has shut down its primary and secondary 911 call centers. Janer said the buildings will be thoroughly cleaned and that he will soon announce when operations at the 911 call centers will resume.
It was unclear how many employees tested positive. A spokeswoman did not return a message asking for comment.
Puerto Rico has reported more than 29,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections. It has had more than 770 deaths from COVID-19, the disease that can be caused by the virus.
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