“My mother had a health complication and my dad who was living in Florida, in Orlando, he got us a ticket for our entire family to leave the island,” said Nava Alsina. “We couldn’t stay in the island if my mom was not able to get the medicine she needed.”

Nava Aslina still remembers the day Trump visited the island and threw rolls of paper towels to hurricane survivors, an action that has snowballed along with the various negative comments Trump has said about the island, which left many Puerto Ricans unhappy with the Trump administration.  

“For us, it was a complete lack of respect to the people,” said Nava Alsina “It’s just something that you don’t do. I wasn’t expecting him to go that low.” 

The Category 5 hurricane tore through the island leaving it without electricity or water for months and an estimated death toll of 1,427.  But Hurricane Maria was just one of the many disasters the island has confronted in the past years. In 2019, the island was hit by governmental corruption and underwent a tumultuous transition in  after people took to the streets to protest against then governor Ricardo Roselló. Throughout the beginning of 2020, earthquakes began shaking different parts of the island, destroying homes and damaging an already fragile power grid.

With the Puerto Rican population on the island shrinking dramatically since the landfall of Maria, Florida has become a key battleground state for the 2020 presidential election. Both candidates have been competing to win over the Latino vote in the state and Puerto Ricans have proven to be a key demographic there, making up 27% of the overall eligible Latino voters in the state.  

Nava Alsina has been working with the Florida Democratic Party to mobilize the Puerto Rican vote in the state. As part of a group called Boricuas con Biden, Nava Alsina has helped make over 60,000 calls to Puerto Rican voters. The group, which is led by volunteers, has also relied on text messaging initiatives, zoom calls and Puerto Rican artists to motivate voters. 

While working on this initiative, Nava Alsina has had the chance to listen to what many Puerto Ricans have to say about Hurricane Maria and  the Trump administration handled the aftermath of the storm on the island. 

Natascha Otero, founder of Boricuas con Biden, said  that Florida is a key state for the Puerto Rican vote because most  have close ties to the island. Some have  family members who still live on the island or they fled to the state  after the hurricane. Otero said  these Puerto Ricans still recall what the island went through the past four years.

As part of the  group’s initiative, Puerto Rican voters speak with fellow Puerto Ricans who are still on the island over the phone. This process has been a key element when campaigning. Especially now that their efforts are limited to social media, texts and phone calls due to Covid-19. 

“As opposed to other groups, we know what Puerto Rico has suffered because of the Trump administration,” said Otero. “We don’t want four more years of that for the island.” 

But there’s still a group that favors president Trump’s reelection. Among them are top officials that form part of Puerto Rico’s local government.  The island’s appointed governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced, endorsed Trump during an interview with Telemundo. Nayda Venegas Brown, a conservative senator who’s a member of the New Progressive Party (PNP) on the island, participated in a caravan to support president Trump in Puerto Rico. 

Puerto Ricans participate in a “Puerto Ricans for Trump” rally held in Puerto Rico. Photo provided by Nelson Albino

But the efforts from the island to try and branch out to Puerto Rican voters in the diaspora has been from both sides. For the first time in 50 years, the island’s main newspaper, El Nuevo Día, endorsed a presidential candidate; it was Joe Biden. The editorial piece highlighted Biden’s plans for the island if elected and condemned the way President Trump has behaved towards the island describing the way Puerto Rico has been treated by his administration as, “an overwhelming amount of inattention, disdain and prejudice against our people.” 

But there is not much either of them can do except hope that the message gets through to Puerto Ricans who live on the mainland. Why? Because Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in the presidential elections due to the island’s territorial status.  However,  that  has not discouraged Puerto Ricans on the island to stand behind the candidates they support, especially in an election that puts so much at stake.

Nelson Albino, a co-founder of Puerto Ricans for Trump, has been clear in his support for president Trump’s reelection even though he cannot vote for him. Albino was also one of the organizers of the Puerto Ricans for Trump caravan in which Venegas Brown participated.

“I wanted to send a message to the political establishment in the island that there are Republicans in Puerto Rico who no longer believe the lies of the establishment and the media, and also to send a message to the national Republican leadership that there are conservatives in Puerto Rico,” said Albino.  

For Albino, the way the Trump administration managed the aftermath of Hurricane María was mostly influenced by  the island’s history with corruption, an ongoing problem. He said  that many politicians on the island have an axe to grind with president Trump because of the way he “drained the swamp” in the Puerto Rican government. Albino also believes that statehood for Puerto Rico is not an option for the island in the foreseeable future because Puerto Rico is simply not ready to become a state. 

But regardless of the opposition many Puerto Ricans have shown against the Trump administration, Albino is optimistic that president Trump will win the reelection and continue to do the work that he believes has helped the island progress and move forward. 

“I believe he will be elected,” said Albino

The post Puerto Ricans in Florida become key in the 2020 Presidential election  appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Despite being U.S. citizens since 1917, despite holding a U.S. passport and despite being able to join the U.S. army, Puerto Ricans who live on their home island do not have the right to vote in the U.S. presidential election. A study conducted in 2012 by economist Rosario Rivera Negrón, former President of the Puerto Rico Economists Association and a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, demonstrated that “in a typical year (2008), the Puerto Rican economy received a total of $4.6 billion in U.S. federal dollars, while contributing $71.6 billion dollars to the U.S. economy.” Despite all that and much more, unless they live in the U.S., Puerto Ricans can’t vote for “their” President.

“If we die in the army for this country why shouldn’t we be able to vote for our Commander in Chief?” says Adriana Rozas, a Journalism graduate student in Syracuse who is voting for the second time in her life, but for the first time in the U.S. She was one of several Puerto Rican friends who I contacted to discuss voting as a Puerto Rican. She graduated from Amherst College in 2019 and just sent in her absentee ballot for Massachusetts, where she had worked on Ed Markey’s campaign. She explained, “It felt weird, knowing that I’m going to vote but not my parents. Honestly it hurt because yes I voted but there are three million people that aren’t going to vote for their president.”

It is a strange privilege that we don’t take for granted, not only having the right to vote in the U.S. but being able to choose whether to vote in the U.S. or in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico holds its election on the same day as the U.S. does and in fact, it’s a national holiday. María del Mar Fournier, a graduate student at Columbia’s Teacher College explains, “That was a very hard decision for me because I obviously want to get rid of Trump and I have a very clear idea of what I want in the U.S. but in Puerto Rico there is a lot more uncertainty.” Fournier is one of many who feel it is a tough and often unfair decision to have to make. Rozas agrees, explaining, “I feel very connected to Puerto Rico and when I moved, that connection became even stronger, I put more effort into that connection knowing I’m not on the island. It was a hard decision because it felt a little bit like I was betraying ‘la patria’ (Spanish for homeland) by not voting in Puerto Rico but I think the most important thing right now is to get rid of Donald Trump.” Tatiana Rotger, who graduated from Penn State and is currently looking for work in Chicago, chose to vote in the U.S. elections both in 2016 and 2020. She says one of her motivations is knowing that Puerto Ricans in the island can’t vote. “I feel like I have to represent [them].” she says.

Of the millions of Puerto Ricans who get to choose where to vote, not everyone feels that voting in the U.S. rather than in Puerto Rico is the obvious choice. Pia Montilla, who lived in New York City for nearly five years and is now temporarily back home in Puerto Rico, explains it can feel hypocritical “to vote somewhere that wouldn’t give you the right to vote if you didn’t live in mainland U.S.A. It feels like a business deal. Someone can convince you to vote for them but that very person won’t fight for your right to vote if you were in Puerto Rico.” However, at the end of the day, no matter where or for who they vote for, everyone I talked to has one priority in common: Puerto Rico.

Alejandro Auffant, who was working in sales for the Chicago Cubs and has come back to Puerto Rico during the pandemic says that, “Through all my actions I keep in mind that my end-goal is being back in Puerto Rico. For me the way to vote in the U.S. is about who would do better for Puerto Rico.” Rozas agrees, “As a Puerto Rican in the ‘diáspora,’ I vote based on the issues I care about but [being] Puerto Rican, I need to think about who is going to be better for Puerto Rico. I think about who would have handled Hurricane Maria better. What candidate is going to treat us better regardless of whether they give us statehood or independence?” Fournier reinforces the same feeling, that it’s Puerto Rico or bust. She says, “My priority will always be Puerto Rico, I consider myself Puerto Rican even if I’m living here, I feel like I’m on vacation here and my heart is always there. My priority will always be what benefits Puerto Rico.” states Fournier. Javier Álvarez, who attends Tulane Law School, explains, “For so many years we’ve been part of a community that has been marginalized and not been at the forefront of the national conscience. As a Puerto Rican it’s our duty to vote in order for those issues to enter the national conscience.”

Explaining Puerto Rico isn’t easy and the feelings that come with being Puerto Rican aren’t either. On one hand, it’s a relief to hear presidential candidates talk about Puerto Rico, to Puerto Ricans. But when they address Puerto Ricans, with the full awareness that island-dwellers cannot vote for them, it feels disingenuous. Although Puerto Ricans can’t vote in the U.S. elections, they can in fact vote in the primaries from the island, granting candidates much needed delegates. Although Puerto Ricans can’t vote for President, they can possibly influence their family members who are among the 1.2 million Puerto Ricans in Florida alone. The influence of the non-voter becomes almost as important as the vote itself.

At the end of the day, people in Puerto Rico don’t pay federal income taxes, which has landed us in a “no representation without taxation” situation. There is a Resident Commissioner, who is the equivalent of a non-voting member of Congress. But if the 15th Amendment to the Constitution is meant to protect U.S. citizens’ votes, can not paying federal taxes take away that protection? Is the Puerto Rican land that the American government uses for army bases not enough? Were the women left sterilized after birth control experimentation at the hands of U.S. doctors not enough? Are our soldiers not enough? Do we only get to be first-class citizens when our address has U.S.A. on it? Only when you need us?

The post Voting Puerto Rican appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Not anymore, though. 

Since Puerto Rico went into lockdown on March 15, days are tightly scheduled, and they never venture beyond the shelter’s gates. Up at 6 a.m., the boys bathe, eat breakfast and head to the library room for lessons and crafts followed by lunch. After school work is done, they play sports like soccer or volleyball in the yard, bathe again, eat dinner in their pajamas, play board games or watch a movie and go to bed by 8 p.m. Their caretakers read a bed-time story, play classical music and pray with them before the boys go to sleep in their own room, and repeat the routine the next day.

The strict routine is critical to help the 13 boys adjust to their new reality. Aged five to 10 and all survivors of neglect, physical and sexual abuse, they are no strangers to traumatic experiences. “They come from chaos,” said Sister Blanca M. Colón Rodríguez, executive director of the shelter Centro de Acogida y Sostén Agustino (CASA). 

A routine creates a sense of normalcy for the children during the coronavirus emergency, believes psychologist Héctor Gómez Martínez. “It helps keep the mind focused on something,” said Gómez Martínez, a professor at Carlos Albizu University. “Having the mind too unoccupied can lead to them thinking things that are not positive. It’s important to keep them distracted by having a routine.”

In CASA, the boys adapted without a fuss because it is similar to what they tend to do during the summer. Perhaps the biggest disruptions in their routines are closure of their schools since March 16 and the suspension of visits from social workers and family due to quarantine measures. 

Gómez Martínez said cutting off visits could gravely affect children by restricting their social interactions. “Limiting visits from social workers or any other type of personnel will limit them in the improvements in their psychological and emotional well-being,” he said. “It is extremely detrimental that they cannot have visits from other people and that they don’t socialize.”

The 13 boys are among the 2,918 children under state custody in the U.S. territory. Puerto Rico’s Department of the Family is the agency in charge of protecting minors that have been removed from their homes. Some are placed with family members, foster families or therapeutic homes, while others live in shelters. 

Since 2013, CASA has been run by three nuns, members of the Saint Augustine order. Located in the laps of green mountains in the island’s central region, the shelter houses up to 15 boys under the age of 13 with the goal of preparing them for a permanent home. The staff comes and goes, so they take precautions to avoid bringing in the novel virus from the outside such as washing their hands regularly, taking their temperatures, using masks and disinfecting groceries. Twenty employees are caring for the children during the pandemic, with two caretakers staying at the shelter overnight. The nuns live in a convent, a few minutes away from the shelter and always on call. 

“The most important person in the life of a rescued child is the social worker,” said Colón Rodríguez, who has been working with children in state custody since 1995. “That child knows deep inside that that social worker saved him, and that bond that forms in the moment the child is rescued is a bond that lasts.”

Before the coronavirus crisis, social workers came to the shelter once a month, and walked with the child in the hills surrounding the four-story secluded shelter. They’d sit and chat in the boys’ individual rooms, with his own twin bed and a bathroom. Now, the visits have been replaced by weekly phone and video calls from social workers. 

Along with visits, court hearings have also been interrupted, so adoption and reunification processes are on hold until further notice. One of the boys at the shelter would be with his dad now if it weren’t for the pandemic. The reunification hearing was scheduled for early April, but it was cancelled due to the emergency. Now, father and son see each other through a screen by video calls as a social worker listens in nearby. 

“He doesn’t know that in April the hearing was going to be held to see if his dad would get custody,” Colón Rodríguez said. “Later, the time will come.”

The Department of the Family has equipped computers with video conference applications in preparation for virtual court hearings to resume adoption and reunification processes, said Glenda Gerena, sub-administrator of the Children and Families Administration, an agency within the department. 

“It’s been hard for everyone. We understand that it’s been harder for them, who have had various traumas in their lives,” said Gerena, pointing out that psychological help is available for the children. 

Many abused or abandoned children battle with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and behavioral disorders stemming from trauma, among other conditions. The pandemic exacerbates pre-existing mental health illnesses, said Gómez Martínez. The psychologist warned teletherapy may not be as effective as face-to-face sessions because telepsychology is not regulated in Puerto Rico and many mental health professionals do not have the training to practice telemedicine. 

The earthquakes that rocked the island earlier this year could make children even more vulnerable to the ongoing crisis. “The experience of the tremors gave a feeling of helplessness,” said Gómez Martínez. “That may also be impacting the experience of these children who are living in shelters: the feeling of instability.” 

One of the areas hit the hardest by the earthquakes is about 60 miles away from CASA in the southern coastal city of Ponce. The shaking hasn’t stopped since January, however, the 12 boys in the shelter are used to it. Aged eight to 18, all with special needs, they live in the shelter Hogar San Miguel Arcángel. 

“We have been able to manage the earthquakes,” said Jennifer Rodríguez, director of the shelter. “We keep all the boys together at all times in the shelter in case there’s an emergency.”

Like in CASA, the routine Hogar San Miguel Arcángel runs like clockwork. The boys wake up at 7 a.m. They eat breakfast, watch TV and do activities like painting. After lunch, they finish homework, talk to their social worker and play on the patio. The day ends between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. after a bath and snacks. 

“What has affected them a bit is not receiving visits and not having activities outside. We try to substitute external activities with things we can do here,” said Rodríguez, mentioning that they organized an Easter celebration, with a barbeque, an egg hunt and gifts. 

Hogar San Miguel Arcángel belongs to the Episcopal Church’s Puerto Rico dioceses and has provided services for 25 years. Most of the boys stay in the shelter for two years, as dictated by law. Some kids, however, have stayed on for four or five years because the Department of the Family can’t find anywhere else to place them.

Three caretakers, the director, the shelter’s social worker, the cook and the tutor work hands-on with the minors during the crisis, with two employees staying overnight. The staff wears gloves and face masks when interacting with the kids, and they change their shoes as soon as they enter the building to avoid infecting the boys with the coronavirus. 

The pandemic has changed even the little things. The boys used to enjoy helping staff unload groceries because the walk between the parking lot and the shelter was like an outing for them. Now, however, they’re not even allowed to touch the groceries until the products have been wiped down. “We explained that we can’t do that anymore, and they’ve understood,” Rodríguez said. “They’re calm because they know that, because of the current situation, they can’t go out.”

The post When the pandemic hits a shelter for abused boys  appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Businesses will be required to provide protective equipment to their employees and to establish occupational safety measures, in accordance with the guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“This is about establishing an agenda that allows us a gradual transition within the quarantine to gradually reactivate those activities that, without neglecting protection measures and maintaining physical distancing, represent low risk of contagion for Puerto Rico,” said Vázquez Garced during a televised message.  

As countries and states consider lifting restrictions, the World Health Organization recommended that “health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.” But the U.S. territory, as of last week, had the lowest coronavirus testing rate in the country, performing an average of 15 tests a day for every 100,000 people.

Vázquez Garced said the plan to reopen the economy was approved by the medical and economic task forces, but did not mention if the island has reported a downward trajectory of cases or positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period as established by White House guidelines. 

Secretary of Health Lorenzo González Feliciano has said the island expects to reach its apex between May 4 and 8, when the new executive order goes into effect. He acknowledged yesterday that there have been problems tracing passengers that arrive to the island through its main airport. 

Puerto Rico has been on lockdown and under an overnight curfew since March 15 to contain the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The island’s Department of Health has reported 1,539 cases and 92 deaths as of Thursday.

Vázquez Garced said she will extend the 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew until May 25. People should only leave their house for essential services like medical appointments, grocery shopping and visits to the pharmacy, and they must wear masks when they go outside. But the new executive order will allow citizens to walk dogs, run, ride bicycles and perform other activities outside from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., maintaining at least six feet apart between each person.

Starting next Monday, lawyers, engineers and accountants can reopen their offices, working with one client at a time and by appointments, and dentists, optometrists, can provide services again. Doctors and mental health professionals can continue to use telemedicine, but will now have the option to see patients in their offices. Meanwhile, moving, laundry, transportation, limited to taxi drivers and public carriers, financial, mortgage, insurance, real estate notary services will be allowed to reopen. 

Services in hardware stores, maintenance, repair, inspection and sale of vehicle parts can open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., following preventive measures and working by appointment.

Pharmacies and gas stations will continue to operate regularly seven days a week, and supermarkets and grocery stores will open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., allowing delivery services until 10 p.m., as established in previous executive orders. 

On May 11, construction and manufacturing industries can begin to operate again. Employers, in these cases, must develop specific plans to prevent infections and issue compliance certifications to the Department of Labor and Human Resources.

Vázquez Garced said she will evaluate the possibility of reopening retailers, barber shops, beauty salons, restaurants, among other businesses, between May 18 and 25.

“Little by little we are going to continue evaluating the reactivation of the economic movement, with mechanisms that allow the operation of more industries and services,” Vázquez Garced said. “But the health of all the families that live in this land is the priority.”

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Menegatto, a retired nurse, knew how fatal the disease caused by the novel coronavirus can be, but the message she received on April 11 at 7:51 a.m. still came as a shock. What pains her the most is the thought of her aunt dying alone, away from family and surrounded by strangers. 

“She went to the hospital, and her daughter never saw her again,” Menegatto, 64, said in Spanish. “Dying alone in that environment, with people dressed all in white… It’s difficult, it’s absurd. It hurts.”

Pieropan started exhibiting symptoms around March 10, a few days after she left her house in the province of Vicenza to do some shopping. It started with a fever and what seemed like a cold. A doctor visited her home and prescribed antibiotics, but she didn’t get better.

On March 25, the doctor referred her to the hospital and she was tested for Covid-19. The result came back positive. Pieropan was admitted to San Bortolo Hospital, in Vicenza, that same day, and she was placed in an isolated area, where only patients and staff were allowed. 

“My friend told me the area was shielded,” said Menegatto, who contacted an old friend who works at the hospital to let her know her aunt was there. “If you die there, your family will never see you again.”

On March 31, Pieropan was transferred to the intensive care unit and intubated. Menegatto’s cousin told her Pieropan’s phone was taken away when she was transferred to the ICU. A doctor called every day to give updates, but the outlook was not good. Menegatto prayed with her cousin for Pieropan’s recovery, hoping the strong woman could defeat the virus.

But despite doctors’ efforts, Pieropan passed away almost two weeks later. 

“I cried for two days,” Menegatto said. “Everything happened so fast.”

Vicenza yesterday confirmed 160 coronavirus-related deaths since the beginning of the crisis. Italy has reported the third-highest number of Covid-19 in the world at 183,957 and the second-highest death toll at 24,648, only behind the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. Italy saw the lowest daily number in coronavirus deaths in a week on Sunday. On Monday, the amount of people identified as infected with the virus dropped for the first time since the country’s outbreak started. 

More than 4,700 miles lie between San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital, and Vicenza, in the northeastern Veneto region of Italy. The last time Menegatto, who moved to the island 36 years ago, traveled that distance and saw her aunt was in October. 

Menegatto described her aunt as a smart, kind and generous woman. She was an active member in her community, and neighbors knew her as a caring person who participated in local festivals. She used to enjoy going out into the woods to collect fungi as her pastime. 

Pieropan was a beautician by profession, but her passion was embroidery. She taught the art and took courses in her free time to perfect her process. She even traveled three hours on a train to Bologna to take a half-hour class to master a specific stitch. Menegatto recalled Pieropan used to read a crochet and knitting magazine called Mani Di Fata (Fairy Hands) since she was a teenager. 

“She always loved to crochet,” Menegatto said. “The magazine arrived at the house every month.”

Pieropan was 14 years old when her older sister, Menegatto’s mother, brought her to live with her to help raise Menegatto and her sister. She spoiled her niece, giving her money to go to the movie theater and cooking whatever she craved. 

“My mom was the serious one, the one that scolds,” Menegatto said. “My aunt was a person who smiled, who didn’t have to talk much because she told you everything with her eyes.”

Menegatto’s mother, who is 84 years old, traveled to Puerto Rico on March 5 and hasn’t been able to return to Italy because the airline has cancelled flights from the island to the European country. 

“Her instinct pushed her to come here, and she was saved,” Menegatto said. “She can’t believe what’s happening.”

On the day her aunt died, Menegatto’s mother told her to call Pieropan’s daughter: “I feel that my sister died.”

She was right.

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Vázquez Garced said only pharmacies and gas stations will operate over the weekend, and warned people will only be allowed outside if they need to seek medical help or an essential service. She ordered businesses to bar anyone not wearing some sort of face mask from entering until further notice, and said scarves wrapped around the face would be admitted.

“From Monday to Thursday, the order will continue as it is,” said Vázquez Garced during a press briefing last night. “From Friday to Sunday, you can only travel on public roads for emergencies or essential services.”

The government’s latest measure to try to contain the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel virus, gives Puerto Ricans only two days to stock up on food for Easter weekend, as a previous executive order limits the amount of people that can transit the roads according to their license plate number. 

Drivers with licence plates ending in even numbers can transit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while those with uneven numbers can do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No one is allowed to drive on Sundays.

The curfew imposed on March 15 has closed most businesses except supermarkets, gas stations and banks and forced citizens to stay in their homes unless they need to seek an essential service, with a curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. The lockdown runs through April 12, and the governor did not say last night if she will extend it. 

The governor today announced she signed into law a bill that punishes people that violate any executive order that imposes a curfew with six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Vazquéz Garced’s executive order already punishes violators with a six-month jail term or a fine for the same amount. So far, according to Vázquez Garced, the police have arrested 275 people for violating the curfew. 

Puerto Rico has reported 513 cases of Covid-19 and 21 deaths as of this morning. Earlier today, Health Secretary Lorenzo González Feliciano said “our worst moment hasn’t arrived.” The island expects the apex between April 15 and May 8. 

Last night, local newspaper El Nuevo Día yesterday reported the government committed more than $40 million to buy Covid-19 rapid tests from a company with no experience producing medical equipment and led by people with close ties to the ruling party, the New Progressive Party.

The government cancelled the orders, and Vázquez Garced last night denied having any knowledge about the purchase. 

ACLU challenges the lockdown

The American Civil Liberties Union on Saturday filed an injunction to ask the court to declare parts of Puerto Rico’s curfew unconstitutional, arguing the executive order violates the right to intimacy in the home. It is the first coronavirus curfew lawsuit the ACLU files in a U.S. jurisdiction.

The lawsuit, presented in Puerto Rico’s Court of First Instance challenges provisions of the order that punish violators with up to six months in prison and prohibit people who are not part of the “nuclear family” from entering houses. ACLU also argues the executive order favors religious activities on Sunday, while restricting commercial activity that is permitted during the week.

The lawsuit names three Puerto Ricans who leave their homes every day to care for their mothers. They ask that the executive order be amended to clarify whether they are exempted from the curfew and the transit restrictions when travelling to their mothers’ homes.

“It is in times of crisis when the rights enshrined in the Constitution are most protected; a crisis is not nor can it ever be an excuse to violate them or create exceptions not contemplated neither in the Constitution nor in its interpretative jurisprudence,” the lawsuit states.

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Lorenzo González Feliciano said he ordered an investigation into the hospitals, including one designated by the government to care for Covid-19 patients, and assured the institutions will be referred to Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice.

“There was an investigation,” said González Feliciano during a press briefing. “The paramedics in question are interviewed, the relatives are interviewed and I think the patient, and a determination is made. The two facilities will have penalties, both a fine and a referral to the Department of Justice.”

Puerto Rico has reported 286 cases of the coronavirus and 11 deaths as of Wednesday. 

González Feliciano said early yesterday that preliminary estimates indicate the peak in coronavirus cases in the island will be on May 8. He added that Puerto Rico’s Department of Health will track people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in order to have a clearer projection. 

The secretary said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 200,000 rapid tests for coronavirus acquired by the local government. Puerto Rico bought the test kits before confirming they met the agency’s approval, and the rapid tests have been sitting in an airport in the U.S. mainland. These tests require a prick of the finger and can deliver results within an hour.

Wearing a blue surgical face mask, González Feliciano warned that Puerto Rico lacks ventilators, heeding that the island is competing with the U.S. mainland for the crucial equipment. He said there “is no guarantee” that the ventilators will arrive. 

“It’s important to know that, regardless of what has been ordered, very little, if not nothing, has arrived to Puerto Rico because a lot is in the production process and the other thing is that there is significant demand from all 50 states for this type of equipment,” he said. 

He said Puerto Rico has about 500 ventilators available, and the costs of the ventilators bought by the local government range from $18,000 to $30,000. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced yesterday ordered an audit in Puerto Rico’s Department of Health after González Feliciano informed her about the discovery of expired medication. Vázquez Garced did not detail the quantity or what type of medication was found. 

“The secretary of the Department of Health, Lorenzo González Feliciano, today informed me about an inventory of expired medications in the department,” Vázquez Garced said in a written statement. “As soon as we became aware of this today, I instructed the recently confirmed Secretary of Health to carry out the required forensic audit and refer it to the appropriate authorities.”

Puerto Rico’s Department of Health is embroiled in controversy amid the coronavirus outbreak. Concepción Quiñones de Longo, González Feliciano’s predecessor, revealed federal authorities are investigating the agency for contract management and the acquisition and distribution of Covid-19 tests, according to local newspaper El Nuevo Día. Quiñones de Longo singled out an executive assistant in the agency as the person responsible for the mismanagement of hundreds of tests. 

González Feliciano on Monday fired Mabel Cabeza and yesterday assured she “has no place in the system.” Cabeza was chief of staff while former Secretary of Health Rafael Rodrígurez Mercado served. Rodríguez Mercado resigned last month after facing criticism over the distribution of tests.

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For reporter Gerardo E. Alvarado León, the biggest challenge of covering the coronavirus is working from home, away from the newsroom and without face to face interactions with interviewees.

“As journalists, we always want to be out on the street,” said Alvarado León, who has been a journalist at El Nuevo Día for 14 years. “The precautions one takes aren’t the same as a hurricane or an earthquake. The last thing one thinks about when reporting is that one might catch something.”

As Puerto Rico tightens containment efforts, local journalists work from home, planning coverage and reporting through Slack, Whatsapp, phone calls, emails and videoconferences. El Nuevo Día emptied its newsroom last week, shortly after Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced placed the island under lockdown until March 30.  But journalists are exempt from the mandatory overnight curfew. 

Puerto Rico has confirmed 39 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and two deaths, according to the island’s Department of Health. As of Tuesday night, cases of Covid-19 around the world top 417,000, with more than 18,600 deaths, according to John Hopkinks University. 

Alvarado León covers science and environmental news, but he is working as a content producer for the paper’s site to keep the page as up-to-date as possible. He’s also writing profiles on Puerto Ricans who are quarantined in different parts of the world like Italy and Spain. 

“I work earlier now, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” said Alvarado León, who used to go in to work at 11 a.m. “But I almost never finish working at 5 p.m.”

Reporter Keila López Alicea begins her day 8 a.m. by consuming news online, on television and on radio, but she doesn’t start working until 11 a.m. She switched beats from education to handling official government data on the coronavirus, from number of cases to measures taken to contain the outbreak. 

“I rely exclusively on official sources,” said López Alicea, who has been a reporter at El Nuevo Día for 13 years. “Access to information has been a challenge.” 

As cases of the coronavirus surge in Puerto Rico, the government has taken steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus like suspending in-person news conferences. To compensate, the government held last week two virtual press conferences with several officials through Microsoft Teams. 

“Not everyone has the same reception quality,” said López Alicea. “There are problems listening to each other. The signal freezes.”

The virtual press conferences, she said, lasted two hours, and the officials were unable to answer several questions and repeated the same information over and over. “It was a test of tolerance,” she said.

For López Alicea, covering the pandemic implies the challenge of acquiring certain scientific and medical knowledge in order to inform readers on a novel coronavirus that scientists are still trying to understand. 

“We can’t write in a vacuum,” she said. “It’s important to give context.”

With information changing almost by the hour, the coronavirus newscycle seems endless. And readers are hungry for news. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a spike in traffic in new sites across the United States. El Nuevo Día’s site registered 50 to 60 percent more page views yesterday compared to a normal Monday. 

“We can’t see each other, we can’t touch each other,” said digital sub-editor Janelyn Vega Medina. “The internet turns into something even more important because everyone is looking to create a connection with the world.” 

Vega Medina said El Nuevo Día’s web team constantly communicates through different mediums, such as WhatsApp and emails, to stay connected as content producers and editors work remotely. 

“Effective communication is important to keep the webpage operating and not compromise the work,” said Vega Medina, who has been an editor at the news site since November 2016. “Not just the technical work, but the job of informing in such a vital moment.”

But as the coronavirus spreads, so does disinformation. Last weekend, an audio shared through Whatsapp falsely said supermarkets and pharmacies in Puerto Rico would close, causing hundreds of panicked citizens to go out to get supplies.

For editor Israel Rodríguez Sánchez, journalism plays a crucial role in stopping the circulation of false information and clarifying myths on the coronavirus. 

“It becomes more important than ever to provide people with correct, verified information that can be useful to people,” said Rodríguez Sánchez, who has edited the paper’s breaking news section, Puerto Rico Hoy, since April 2017.  

Rodríguez Sánchez said the coronavirus pandemic shares one particularity with Hurricane María in 2017 and the earthquakes that rocked the island earlier this year: it affects journalists’ lives. The hurricane, he recalled, ravaged reporters’ homes, and the earthquakes affected reporters’ families living in the southern region of the island. 

“These three situations we have experienced back to back have that complexity: the journalist is affected by what he or she is covering,” said Rodríguez Sánchez. “We have to take that into consideration and give another kind of support so the coverage comes out as it should.”

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For women who are experiencing gender-based violence, a mandatory lockdown traps them with their abusers, giving them less opportunities to escape physical and verbal abuse. 

“The home, if you have to share it with your abuser, turns into a place of risk,” said Vilma González, executive director at Coordinadora Paz para las Mujeres, a coalition against domestic violence and sexual abuse. “Most women in Puerto Rico die in their homes.”

In Puerto Rico, 65 percent of femicides in 2018 ocurred in the victim’s residence, the abuser’s or in a house they both shared. Last year, at least 10 women were murdered by an intimate partner or ex-partner, according to Puerto Rico’s Police Bureau. 

More than 30 organizations led by Coordinadora Paz para las Mujeres on Tuesday demanded Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced take concrete actions to address gender-based violence during the pandemic. In a letter addressed to Vázquez Garced, who was head of the island’s Office of the Procurator for Women, the groups urged her to recognize shelters for domestic violence victims as essential services, define how the government will administer Covid-19 tests in shelters, guarantee shelters will have access to cleaning products, and divulge government agencies’ plans to protect victims. 

González said abusers could take advantage of social distancing measures to exert further control over women and their children. She said the pandemic provokes stressors that tend to trigger violence. 

“Under mandatory quarantine, the risks increase because we have more stressors,” González said. “Women are facing difficulties with their jobs or their partners are facing economic concerns, plus children are in the home. One stressful situation is being added over another and another.”

Globally, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence, according to the World Health Organization. But during times of humanitarian emergencies, the risk of gender-based violence grows due to increased stress and feelings of powerlessness, scarcity of basic provisions and destruction of social networks. 

In China, activists say domestic violence cases rose dramatically during the enforced lockdown meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The founder of an anti-domestic violence nonprofit located in the Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus in China, said reports of domestic violence have nearly doubled since cities were put under lockdown. 

González said the spike in cases of violence against women in China should serve as a warning for other countries to take preventive measures so “no one has to die because of domestic violence.”

On Monday, a woman was killed by her ex-partner in a psychologist’s office in Aguada, a town in the western region of the island. The man died by suicide. 

Vázquez Garced issued an executive order on Sunday to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. until March 30 to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Puerto Rico, where there are eight confirmed cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel virus. The governor also ordered a two-week closure of non-essential businesses, excluding supermarkets, pharmacies, banks and gas stations. 

Social worker Larry Alicea-Rodríguez said the lockdown puts domestic violence victims at risk by minimizing their visibility. 

“If a woman has a bruise but has to go to work, if a woman has a bruise but has to interact with her family, it’s likely that those persons outside the house will realize something is wrong,” said Alicea-Rodríguez, president of the International Federation of Social Worker’s Latin America and Caribbean region. “By being confined to the house, the possibility of the abuse being visible reduces and the security risk increases.”

He said the government has failed to implement plans to address the social problems caused by the measures taken during emergencies. Alicea-Rodríguez pointed out that Spain’s Ministry of Equality, for example, promoted resources to minimize the risk of assaults during the country’s lockdown. 

“These things are foreseeable,” Alicea-Rodríguez said. “At a macro-policy level, there is no social policy system that guarantees the continuation of essential social services, and one of them is the protection of victims.”

The Office of the Procurator for Women, a government institution dedicated to advocating for women’s rights, said on Tuesday its confidential hotline will continue operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Madeline Bermúdez, interim head of the agency, said the office will also provide counseling, and psychological and legal aid. 

Courts, meanwhile, will continue to issue restraining orders and will extend restraining orders that expire between March 16 and 30. 

For social psychologist Mercedes Rodríguez, gender-based violence is usually absent from public discussions when addressing a crisis. She recalled the island experienced a similar situation after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. 

“After the hurricanes, the crisis situation was terrible,” Rodríguez said. “There were less police officers, they weren’t answering calls. The chaos prevented victims from getting access to the justice they’re entitled to.”

Organizations reported an increase in violence against women after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island. More than two years after the hurricanes, the government lacks protocols to aid women who experience gender-based violence during an emergency. 

Rodríguez said domestic violence shelters are usually not on the government’s radar during crises and are provided little to no resources. During the outbreak, she added, shelters should be guaranteed access to essential supplies, considering several women and children are sharing a limited space and have nowhere else to go. 

Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos, the first domestic violence shelter established in Puerto Rico, has taken new precautions against the coronavirus. Lawyer Olga López-Báez, chair of the shelter’s board of directors, said they are screening new arrivals and will follow recommended guidelines if someone presents symptoms. 

López-Báez said nonprofits like Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos, opened 40 years ago, have stepped up to provide services to women who are experiencing gender-based violence in the face of the government’s inaction. 

“Just like Covid-19, domestic violence is a matter of high priority and it is a matter of public health,” López-Báez said. “We see an absence of policies that comprehensively respond to this social evil.”

Since 2018, women’s rights advocates in Puerto Rico have demanded the government to declare a state of emergency because of gender-based violence. Between 2014 and 2018, 266 women were murdered in Puerto Rico, or one every seven days, according to a report by anti-police brutality organization Kilómreto Cero and feminist group Proyecto Matria. 

López-Báez advised women who are experiencing gender-based violence to contact organizations during the lockdown via social media or over the phone. The shelter offers orientation through several hotlines in different areas of the island.

Hogar Ruth, a domestic violence service shelter, has been offering some services remotely. Lisdell Flores, the shelter’s director, said lawyers are on-call 24 hours a day and seven days a week to provide aid and the shelter’s doors will remain open during the pandemic. 

“The shelter is still operating,” said Flores. “It’s a space we can’t shut down. We habilitated an isolated space just in case we receive someone who was exposed to the virus.”

Flores said the shelter has been able to buy cleaning supplies, but is worried a total closure of stores could limit access to basic necessities. She said categorizing domestic violence shelters as essential services would be vital to continue doing work. 

Taller Salud, a feminist community based organization, operates hotline 787-697-1120 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Lourdes Inoa Monegro, director of the organization’s Women and Health Programs, said Taller Salud’s hotline services towns in the northeastern region of the island: Loíza, Río Grande, Fajardo, Luquillo, Carolina and Canóvanas. 

“We are the only therapeutic service provider in the east that is free of cost,” said Inoa Monegro, who has been with Taller Salud for 10 years. “We were concerned that all 24/7  services be accumulated or directed from San Juan. We are trying to be part of this collective effort in the area as an organization that adressess violence against women.”

Inoa Monegro said staff has been working remotely. She added that the organization’s personnel and psychologists have been checking-in via telephone with women who receive services from Taller Salud and have gone through the women’s security plans and making sure they have enough supplies for two weeks. 

“It doesn’t matter if a call doesn’t come in one day, it doesn’t matter if a call doesn’t come in another day, it doesn’t matter if a call doesn’t come in a week,” said Inoa Monegro. “The important thing is that, the day a call comes in, help is available.”

The advocates urged domestic violence victims to elaborate security plans, maintain a support system and reach out to organizations that service women who have survived violence or abuse. Their message to women experiencing gender-based violence: You are not alone. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact any of the following resources:

Office of the Procurator for Women at (787) 722-2977

Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos at (787) 723-3500 in San Juan, (787) 284-4303 in Ponce, and (787) 891-2031 in Aguadilla

Hogar Ruth at (787) 883-1884 and (787) 792-6596

Taller Salud at (787) 697-1120

Hogar Nueva Mujer at (939) 255-9800 and (787) 202-4634

Casa Pensamiento de Mujer del Centro at (787) 686-2000 in Guayama and (787) 735-6698 in Aibonito

You can download  a directory  compiled by Coordinadora Paz para las Mujeres that includes organizations and government agencies that will service women who are experiencing gender-based violence during the lockdown. 

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And every business that deals with tourism are on the front lines of  the fight.

Fortaleza Suites in Old San Juan will not allow guests to put their belongings at the front desk. 

“We ask guests to have their IDs and wallets ready when they check in,” said Elizabeth Nolasco, 24, a receptionist at Fortaleza Suites. “We don’t let people take out their stuff and put it on the front desk while they search in their bag. If they need to open their bags, we ask them to do it outside.”

The hotel staff said they work for tourism, but they can’t sustain their business if the virus overwhelms the island. 

“This is more dangerous than the earthquake and Hurricane Maria,” said a hotel housekeeper as she scrubbed the floor on her hands and knees. 

La Fortaza Suites is a hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Shanila Kabir

The Dreamcatcher Hotel in San Juan changed their hospitality services to keep their employees and guests safe. 

“We used to have a communal space with lotion and sunscreen for our guests and we will never offer these services again,” said Andrea Otero, 24, manager of the Dreamcatcher Hotel. “We have improved our health measures on everything. The housekeepers work longer hours and we restock towels and kitchen supplies more often instead of reusing them.”

According to NBC News, three out of the five confirmed cases on the island were tourists.

“The virus will make its first steps here in a hotel,” said Otero. “People who are infected interact with other guests and the locals.”

She said the host position at the hotel has been discontinued.

“Our goal right now is to limit those numbers,” she said.

Jordan Acosta, 23, the chef at the Dreamcatcher who runs their vegetarian/vegan restaurant  created a new menu to try and strengthen the guests immune system. 

“Health precautions and dietary changes are two ways our hotel is combatting this,” said Acosta. “I only prepare meals that will boost people’s immune systems. In case one of our guests has the disease, the ginger and coconut in my food will make she/he healthier faster and that can save hundreds of lives.”

The Dreamcatcher Hotel has a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. Their new menu aims to boost guests immune system during the coronavirus outbreak. Photo by Shanila Kabir

Restaurant workers at Cueva Del Mar are requiring customers to sanitize their hands at the host’s table before being seated. 

“We sanitize everything, if it is not molded down, we deep clean it,” said Luis Sanchez-Longo, 24, a server at Cueva Del Mar “We used to have ketchup bottles at the table and now we serve sauces in small plastic cups. Small sanitation methods will make a difference. We even wash our menus before and after they’re used.”

Uber drivers are also taking precautions. Recently Uber  suspended its pool service.  Drivers are also  limiting contact with riders. 

“I don’t help anyone with their luggage,” said Goma Alberino, 27, an Uber driver. “I disinfect my car after each stop and ask passengers to grab one of my sanitizing wipes before getting in.”

Alberino has even declined giving rides to passengers that look sick.

“The slightest cough makes me turn down rides,” said Alberino. “I can’t take the risk of driving a sick person to an area with a sensitive population. This is a responsibility of anyone working during this time.”

There are about 200,000 cases of Coronavirus globally and  close to  8,000 deaths.

There are 17 potential cases of Covid-19 on the island.

Governor Wanda Vazquez implemented a 9 to 5 curfew Sunday and a two-week shutdown of most businesses until March 30. 

“This is bigger than me and my job, said John Santana, 25, a bartender at Acapulco Mexican Restaurant. “I know many people who are still recovering from the earthquake and now they have to worry about this new disease. I can go without money for two weeks if it means I’m helping anyone who needs to be protected.” 

Puerto Rico will survive this, he said.

“There will be always be visitors here. This is paradise,” said Santana. “But we have to do what it takes to make sure we are safe living in paradise.”

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