Puerto Rico coronavirus cases pass 1,000 mark amid testing woes
Puerto Rico hit a grim milestone Thursday, confirming that it now has more than 1,000 cases of the novel coronavirus.
In a statement, the Health Department said it had detected 69 new cases on the island and that 1,043 people are now affected. It also added five deaths to its running tally, for a total of 56 fatalities related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The latest deaths include a 55-year-old woman from the southern city of Ponce and four others who had died of COVID-19-like symptoms but had never had never received tests.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory of 3.2 million people, has run 9,829 tests since detecting its first case on March 13. Of those, 7,315 have been negative and 1,465 are still pending.
The island has the lowest per-capita testing rate compared to any U.S. state, undermining Gov. Wanda Vázquez’s support at a time when Puerto Rico has been under a strict lockdown and curfew that runs from March 16 through May 3.
Vázquez, who is seeking reelection in November, is facing a primary challenge from Pedro Pierluisi, who briefly held the governor’s position in August 2019, after Ricardo Rosselló stepped down.
Amid the growing frustration with the slow pace of testing, parts of the capital erupted with the banging of pots and pans Wednesday night. Vázquez is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday where she will be providing updates about the government’s response to the pandemic.
