Puerto Rico coronavirus statistics for April 6

According to the Puerto Rico Health Department, 513 people have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 339 since last week. Fifteen people died last week, bringing the current death toll to 21. The dead include two nurses.  A total of 4,951 tests have been performed.  

Puerto Rico’s Health Secretary Lorenzo González Feliciano has released a statement stating that “[the disease’s] impact on the Island has successfully been reduced, preventing chaotic scenarios seen in other countries. We cannot lower our guard; it is a time to redouble efforts, now that an increase in positive cases is expected. We must continue taking the necessary measures until we can successfully slow the virus’ contagion rate.” 

Puerto Rico restricts vehicular travel

In an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19, the Puerto Rican government established new restrictions on vehicular travel. Since March 31, travel in vehicles has been limited depending on the license plate’s last number. Odd numbers are only allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, even numbers are only allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No vehicles are allowed on the streets on Sundays. The order does not apply to those traveling to medical appointments, healthcare matters, or to or from work deemed essential.  

The current quarantine will now last until April 12. The extension also lengthened curfew hours— people may now only leave their house for essential tasks from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m— and closes grocery stores on Sundays. This has caused particular trouble for residents of the island of Culebra, which has no pharmacy or transportation to the mainland. Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced also called on for additional behavioral controls, for example, barring people with uncovered mouths from entering grocery stores, and ensuring that people wait in lines with six feet between each person. The governor has also signed into law a bill penalizing those who violate stay-at-home orders. 

Profiteering not among industries killed by coronavirus

A recent expenditure of $40 million to purchase rapid test kits was reportedly spent on tests of uncertain reliability provided by companies with little to no experience in medical technology, but with deep connections to the New Progressive Party, and whose prices were substantially above market rates. The first of the two companies, Apex General Contractors (whose stock in trade is construction, and whose previous dealings with the Puerto Rico Health Department involved air conditioning) secured a $38 million contract, half of which was paid before the contract was canceled. Not only did the company fail to provide the promised tests, but the tests had not been approved by the FDA. Apex has since returned the advance.

The second company, 313 LLC, had not been involved in medical equipment until the coronavirus hit, and sold 100,000 tests for $3.6 million; this purchase has not been canceled. None of these purchases had been approved by the Federal Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB), which found out about the sale from the press. The FOMB, which by law must approve all purchases over $10 million, has since declared the purchases “null and void from inception” and has asked Governor Vazquez Garced that the contracts be “canceled, provided they have not been already”, and that she “seek immediate reimbursement of all public funds disbursed in connection thereto” by tomorrow, April 8, 2020. 

Democrats demand accountability regarding Trump administration’s coronavirus response in Puerto Rico

Last week, several Democratic lawmakers—Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-NM) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX)—wrote to Vice President Mike Pence asking how the administration will ensure that Puerto Rico receives the resources appropriated by the CARES Act “on an equitable and timely basis.” Citing past Trump administration actions “to delay and impede the island’s economic and healthcare disaster recovery” after Hurricane Maria, including years-long delays in disbursing billions of dollars in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR), the lawmakers seek to prevent a repeat of “the federal government’s failure to respond adequately” to that crisis.  

The letter lists specific questions about the response, and calls for answers no later than April 17, 2020. It can be read here.