Puerto Rico’s coronavirus death-toll spikes – but it’s not as scary as it seems
Puerto Rico added nine new coronavirus-related deaths to its running tally on Thursday – the largest jump since the pandemic was first detected on the island and bringing the total death toll to 33, the Health Department said.
But the spike has more to do with new reporting guidelines than a deteriorating situation.
Starting Thursday, authorities began adding those who died with corona-like symptoms but did not have their cause of death confirmed through testing. As a result, seven people were added to the list.
The three men and four women range in age from 53 to 77 and all died in March. The U.S. territory of 3.2 million people reported its first suspected case on March 8 and confirmed it through testing on March 13. But there had been anecdotal reports of people dying with COVID-19-type symptoms days and weeks earlier.
Health Secretary Lorenzo González said the changes are part of the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that are being rolled out across the United States.
“By adopting these guidelines we hope to have a clearer picture of the evolution and behavior of the coronavirus on the island,” he said. And that should allow the authorities to fine-tune the measures they’re taking to slow its spread.
Flight halts?
In addition to the deaths, the island also reported 63 new cases of the virus, for a total number of 683.
The uptick comes as the island has been under a strict lockdown since March 16 that runs through April 12, but which is likely to be extended.
On Wednesday, Gov. Wanda Vázquez once again petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to block flights arriving from six mainland coronavirus hot-spots: New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Illinois.
Last month she had asked to halt all incoming flights, a request the FAA denied. However, the agency did allow the island to close all but its main airport in San Juan to commercial airlines – making it easier to screen incoming passengers. In addition, all those arriving on the island are required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Despite the measures, Puerto Rico has been having trouble ramping up its testing and contact-tracing programs. So far, the island has only tested 6,696 people for the novel coronavirus, one of the lowest per-capita rates of any U.S. jurisdiction.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 9:05 AM.
