(Miami Herald) – For the third straight day, the pace of Puerto Rico’s infection rate from the coronavirus continued to accelerate, casting shadows over the healthcare systems’ ability to manage a potential spike in demand.
The Health Department on Tuesday said it had confirmed 65 new cases, taking the total number of those suffering with the novel and deadly virus to 239. There were also two additional deaths: a 53-year-old woman from Bayamón and a 66-year-old woman in Caguas.
Since the coronavirus was first reported in this U.S. territory on March 13, it has killed eight people.
It took 15 days for the island to register its first 100 cases of the coronavirus, but only three days to hit its 200th infection. Despite the uptick, health officials say the spread would be far worse if Puerto Rico had not taken measures to enforce isolation and social distancing.