And while those are yesterday's numbers, Yhony Rosado, the outspoken independent tour operator, told us this evening that he and his employee are among the face mask violators who were charged today. And, he's disputing the police's strict application of the law.
He told us that at midday today he was on his private property, in an open-air space when police passed by and saw that his employee wasn't wearing his mask properly. The employee was only covering his mouth with his mask.
It's a private property - not a public space - and no one else was around. So, Rosado and his employees believed that they didn't have to be as rigid about the face mask rules. But, the police decided to charge his employee for his mask which wasn't covering his nose. Rosado made a point to volunteer himself for a face mask charge also.
He spoke to us via teleconference this evening, and here's how he explained why he thinks that the officers were being overly strict:
Yhony Rosado - Charged for Face Mask
"I'm open a business at the Econo Tires, which used to be closed. I am trying to do a little car wash. I've been home locked up without a job, without tourism from March, obeying all laws, no socializing, nothing."
Reporter
"Did you have on your mask? Explain that, and why you dispute them asserting that you were breaking the law."
Yhony Rosado
"Mr. Ortiz, I'm not disputing anything. I'm saying that the police are doing their job. One thing about any employee, any police is that God has given us wisdom, and police can use discretion. If they would have seen I was doing other business the public or endangering the public, and my mask is on my chin. Wearing the mask, you can't breathe properly. Everybody who has the mask, we only use it when meeting other people that we are protecting or for the protocol. The protocol is two simple things that I understand as a human being. Keep your distance, or put on your mask."
"My mask was off - was hanging on my ears because there was no one around. So, the police saw me from far, and they came around. They were not taking me, you know. They were taking my employee with his mask covering his mouth, not his nose. I follow injustice of the law, so I said, when I was climbing into the truck, the police said, not you, Mr. Rosado. Your employee will be taken. I said, no, no, take me also. My mask is worse than his one."
Reporter
"The area that they caught you and your employee with your masks down, is it private property?"
Yhony Rosado
"It is my private property, and that's why they were not taking me because I'm the owner. But, they claim that we were running a public place. The timing that we got arrested is lunch hour. So there was no public, and the business is not opened yet. We're just preparing, cleaning up, and what's not."
Rosado also pointed out that the police station's holding area, where he and other persons were asked to wait while the charge sheets were being prepared, isn't strictly following quarantine rules of social distancing.
