SAN JUAN: The Department of Health in Puerto Rico reported 11 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, while 42 new confirmed cases, 11 probable cases and 20 suspected cases of the virus were registered.
The drop in the number of cases could be related to the fact that during the holidays the tests for the disease are lower.
According to the Department of Health, nine of the recent deaths were listed as confirmed, while two are probable.
New confirmed deaths
73-year-old man from the Ponce region
65-year-old woman from the Metro region
89-year-old man from the Ponce region
52-year-old woman from the Bayamón region
56-year-old man from the Metro region
76-year-old man from the Bayamón region
93-year-old man from the Caguas region
61-year-old woman from the Arecibo region
62-year-old woman from the Metro region
Probable new deaths
65-year-old woman from the Metro region
85-year-old woman from the Arecibo region
“With these additional deaths, the confirmed deaths add up to 1,205 and the probable deaths are 251, bringing the accumulated total number of deaths to 1,456,” health reported
With the new COVID-19 infections reported, the confirmed positive cases amount to 69,661, the probable positive cases to 3,997 and the suspected positive cases to 55,046, revealed the health department.
Despite the drop in recent numbers, the total confirmed cases was adjusted after the Health Department added 354 cases that had not been reported with sampling dates of September 21 to December 2.
Likewise, all the probable cases were adjusted after adjusting after subtracting 12 cases that had a positive molecular test and adding 36 cases with sampling dates from October 30 to November 24.
Health also adjusted the total suspected cases by subtracting 103 cases that had a positive molecular test and seven cases that had a positive antigen test. It also added 565 cases that it had not reported with sampling dates recorded between July 31 and December 9.
From the 447 hospitalized persons, a total of 80 persons are held in an Intensive Care Unit and 93 are connected to an artificial respirator. To date, the country’s hospitals have 261 intensive care beds and 841 artificial respirators for adults.
According to Health, the term confirmed positive case refers to infections whose result was validated by a PCR (molecular) test. The probable case is one whose positive result for the disease was obtained by antigen testing. Meanwhile, suspected cases, also known as antibody results, are those that were positive in the serological test, and do not have a positive molecular or antigen test.
In addition, a death confirmed by COVID-19 corresponds to the death of a person with one or more positive molecular tests. Probable death is the death of a patient who was diagnosed with COVID-19 through an antigen test or whose clinical picture meets the criteria to believe that he had COVID-19, but never had a molecular or antigen test to detect the virus. Meanwhile, suspicious death refers to the death of a person in which a specific antibody is detected in serum, plasma or through a serological test with their blood.
