It has almost been a month since Hurricane Maria swept through the island causing mass destruction. The damage incurred is estimated to be in billions and it will take Puerto Rico quite some time to get back up on its feet. Numerous people lost their lives and thousands are forced to live in shelters.
Unavailability of treatment reason for recent deaths
The Death Toll in Puerto Rico has risen by three to 48 now. This was announced Sunday by the Puerto Rican authorities after reviewing the medical records. The three deaths occurred due to the lack or unavailability of medical treatment.
One of the patients lost their life after being unable to get dialysis treatment and another lost their life due to lack of treatment after a heart attack. Puerto is facing a humanitarian crisis after the onslaught of hurricane Maria. Most of the island is without a power supply which has brought life to a standstill, ABC News reported.
Puerto Rico's Secretary of Public Security Hector Pesquera said in a statement that they are reviewing each and every case, whether direct or indirect, to see if the storm was the cause of the recent deaths. He also said that he highly doubts that the hurricane would be the direct cause at this moment. According to the report, about 85 percent of the island was still without power.
People have to stand and wait in long lines to get gas, which is the reason why they can't even go to work, exacerbating an economic crisis in Puerto Rico.
Residents living without basic amenities
Millions of the residents are even deprived of clean drinking water. The people of people are living without basic amenities like food and shelter and thousands are forced to live in shelters.
Many houses are flooded, which can cause infections. The authorities have requested that people do not use unclean water for drinking or bathing purposes. There also have been about four cases of Leptospirosis, which is a disease caused by the urine of animals.
The main reason for this the lack of sanitation on the island caused due to the stagnant polluted waters.
The officials are treating the sick using antibiotics. The conditions in Puerto Rico are still not good enough after almost a month since the hurricane made landfall. The relief work and search and rescue operations are being carried out with full force. Thousands of federal emergency responders are helping the people recover from this disaster. The governor said that the goal was to restore electricity to half of the island by mid-November and 95 percent by mid-December.
