Puerto Rico hit with COVID-19 case surge

A Bad Bunny superspreader concert three weeks ago helped usher in an explosion of COVID19 cases in Puerto Rico, which until then had been celebrating one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the United States.

The concert was one of a series of business events, company holiday parties and family gatherings that fueled a 4,600 percent increase in cases on the island, a surge that public health officials worry could linger into the new year; the Puerto Rican holiday season stretches to Three Kings Day on Thursday.

While the omicron variant has besieged the entire country, it is especially worrisome in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory already overwhelmed by government bankruptcy, an exodus of health professionals and a fragile health care system.

Rafael Irizarry, a Harvard University statistician who keeps a dashboard of Puerto Rico COVID-19 data, posted the daunting facts on Twitter: One-third of all coronavirus cases the island has recorded since the start of the pandemic occurred in the past month. The number of cases per 100,000 residents jumped to 225, from three, in three weeks.

In December, the number of hospitalizations doubled — twice.

Without the polarizing politics that have plagued the debate over vaccines in other parts of the country, nearly 85 percent of those in Puerto Rico have received at least one vaccine dose, and about 75 percent have gotten both shots.

But in the face of a highly contagious new variant, a high vaccination rate is not that meaningful anymore, Irizarry said.

Most in Puerto Rico have passed the six-month limit beyond which the vaccine’s effectiveness begins to wane, yet at least 40 percent have yet to receive their booster shots, health officials said.

There are currently 317 people hospitalized with COVID-19, more than a quarter of whom are children, according to the island’s Department of Health. That’s about half the number of people who were hospitalized with the illness at this time last year, before so many people were vaccinated.

Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi has ordered lower capacity limits in restaurants. To attend large public events, people now have to be vaccinated and present a negative COVID-19 test.

Passengers arriving on domestic flights must show a negative test taken within 48 hours before arrival, regardless of their vaccination status.