The rapid surge of cases comes after multiple events, concerts and holiday festivities had been held on the island. Many of these events required proof of vaccination to be able to attend. The island has seen an uptick in hospitalizations as well.
The omicron variant in Puerto Rico account for 92% of the COVID-19 cases, according to the island's health department.After cases started to increase, Puerto Rico’s governor implemented new restrictions including limiting capacity in restaurants, bars and theaters, requiring domestic travelers a negative test within 48 hours and demanding international travelers proof of negative test 24 hours prior to arrival even when the person has been fully vaccinated.
According to scientist Mónica Feliú-Mójer from the organization Ciencia PR, which focuses on scientific education in the island, the case increase in Puerto Rico reported such a rapid increase in cases is attributable to several factors, including people's behavior. “The holidays are culturally very, very important and everyone thought this would be a different Christmas. People were eager to get together,” Feliú-Mójer told ABC News.Amid the surge in cases, the island’s health department announced they will not follow the new CDC guidelines that shorten the isolation period for asymptomatic patients.
Puerto Rico’s healthcare system is still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Maria, the 2020 earthquakes and the ongoing economic depression. Some municipalities still don’t have functional clinics.
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