Coronavirus and the Aging Population in Puerto Rico

This article was originally published on May 29, 2020

The Coronavirus (COVID-19), a virus notorious for attacking people with compromised immune systems, arrived in Puerto Rico last March after having swept through the old world and the east, threatening the island with immeasurable death figures due to the high population of elderly people on the island.

Who is most at risk from the virus on the island?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vast majority of deaths caused by the Coronavirus have been people over 45 years of age or older.

This is alarming for the population of Puerto Rico, as about 50 percent of the country's population is over 40, and the average age on the island is 43, which means that more than half of the country is more susceptible to the virus.

The background of the Virus

Over the past 70 years, the world has been rocked by several large-scale political and natural events that have threatened the world, but none have managed to affect the global economy and society in recent times as much as the Coronavirus pandemic.

Having swept through Eastern countries, the virus spread throughout the rest of the world, putting the world's great economies on the sidelines, infecting nearly 6 million people and killing nearly 400,000, according to official figures.

Originally discovered in China after an epidemic of pneumonia, the virus was officially renamed SARS-COVID-19 in order to distinguish it from the other varieties of the Coronavirus and highlight its symptomatic similarity to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which has been the cause of epidemics before due to its high capacity of transmission from body to body.

The primary symptoms of the virus are fever and cold, and in severe cases it can induce pneumonia and SARS, both of which can lead to permanent damage to the respiratory system or death.

It should be noted that most people infected with the virus do not show symptoms for a certain time, usually from 5 days to a week, or simply may never have symptoms, but they can still suffer from lung damage caused by the virus.

The virus on the island

After Coronavirus arrived on the island of Puerto Rico, a curfew and a social distancing program were established to reduce the spread of the virus on the island.

Social distancing programs are of high importance here on the island, as much of the population lives or has regular contact with elderly relatives, and being exposed to the virus puts at risk the lives of not only the person who is infected, but also their older relatives.

This has led to several of the citizens becoming inmates in their homes without any contact with the outside world, except when immediately neccesary, which can lead to the deterioration of their mental state.

According to several studies, it is important for the elderly to remain socially active, as this promotes stimulation of the brain and helps prevent depression and anxiety.

Since the majority of the island's population is an aging population, it is important that they maintain some form of social contact for their mental and emotional well-being, but due to the pandemic there are a large number of elderly people who do not leave their homes because they fear for their health or that of their family.

"It's affected my dad quite emotionally, as he's an extremely active person. He's always walking around town, meeting people and socializing, going to other towns to shop, seeing new places, new shops and the such. Being locked up all day in the house has him depressed," said Iris Rivera Torres, a 59-year-old government retiree.

"My daughter lives far away, but we see each other from afar [sic] and we can't have contact, she can't come often. It's affected us a lot. My niece, who also lives far away, I've only been able to see her two or three times since this started," Iris added.

It's clear that this situation has affected older people emotionally, but how has it affected them in their daily lives?

Juan Rivera Pedroza, an 88-year Korean war veteran, said that "Since this started I haven't been able to go to town, I've been here at home working. The two times I was able to go out, I couldn't get out of the car."

Iris explained that, due to the situation, she has had to take care of her parents' daily tasks such as going to the mail, shopping, looking for medicines and any other order or need that arises.

On how the government is helping the aging population, Iris commented that "Just look at the people from the south, adults who still live in tents. I know people who sleep in their cars, these are people over 70 years old. They have definitely not taken into account any of that, those who are well off do not care about the people. There's one or another who helps, but what about the rest? They don't help them. I'm not happy with them."

Sources: Johns Hopkins University (2020, May 29). COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Salo, J. (2020, March 27). Covid-19: Lung damage in coronavirus patient who had ‘no symptoms’. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/covid19-lung-damage-in-coronavirus-patient-who-had-no-symptoms/news-story/9395dc5b02e59cd390565d9d766cbe50 CDC. (2020, May 28). Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics - Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#AgeAndSex

CIA (n.d.). CIA World Factbook: Puerto Rico. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rq.html

Armendáriz, A. R., & Hernández, E. S. (2017, January 1). Informe de la Salud en Puerto Rico (2016). Retrieved April 20, 2020, from http://www.salud.gov.pr/Estadisticas-Registros-y-Publicaciones/Estadisticas%20Vitales/Informe%20de%20la%20Salud%20en%20Puerto%20Rico%202016.pdf