Puerto Rican Neighbors Take Action on Coronavirus Amid Government Testing Failures
"To wait is to risk our lives," said Luis Omar García Mercado, a community leader in Arenas, Guánica
By Bianca Graulau | LX •
Volunteer Heidy López Castañón
The aftermath of Puerto Rico's twin recent natural disasters, Hurricane Maria and the string of earthquakes this past January, if nothing else taught communities on the island an important lesson: to look out for each other. That’s why when a group of neighbors in the quake-devastated southern town of Guánica learned that the new coronavirus had reached Puerto Rico, they started planning to bring tests to their neighborhood.
"To wait is to risk our lives. To wait is to not do anything and die, unfortunately. And we decided to take action from the beginning," said Luis Omar García Mercado, a community leader in Arenas, Guánica.
When the conversations about how to prevent the virus from spreading started, there were no reports of coronavirus cases in Guánica, but the volunteer organizers figured it would be a matter of time. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans in other towns were telling stories of the obstacles they faced when trying to get a test, from doctors unwilling to order a test to the sticker shock of $150 per test for those who could secure one.
The group of volunteers, called the Community Response Network, secured a grant of almost $25,000 from the non-profit Puerto Rico Community Foundation to offer the test for free.
"We're talking about Guánica, the town with the highest poverty rate in Puerto Rico,” García Mercado said. “The vast majority of people were not going to be able to afford a test."
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
Cars drive through an area heavily affected by a landslide after a powerful earthquake hit the island in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Jan. 12, 2020. A 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico on January 11, the latest in a series of powerful tremors that have shaken the U.S. territory in recent days.
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People arrive with supplies for affected residents in Guanica, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 12, 2020, after a powerful earthquake hit the island. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico on January 11, the latest in a series of powerful tremors that have shaken the U.S. territory in recent days.
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A person inspects rubble and destroyed power lines in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. Puerto Rico was hit by a series of earthquakes over the past 15 days, leading to a state of emergency, various power outages and millions of dollars of damage.
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A Caterpillar Inc. excavator sits on a destroyed bridge in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. Puerto Rico was hit by a series of earthquakes over the past 15 days, leading to a state of emergency, various power outages and millions of dollars of damage.
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A barber gives free haircuts to people at a shelter in Guanica, Puerto Rico on Jan. 12, 2020, after a powerful earthquake hit the island. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico on January 11, the latest in a series of powerful tremors that have shaken the U.S. territory in recent days.
Carlos Giusti/AP
William Mercuchi’s house sits damaged after a 6.4 earthquake hit Yauco, Puerto Rico, the day before, as seen in this Jan. 8, 2020, photo.
Carlos Giusti/AP
A building collapses after the previous day’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Yauco, Puerto Rico, Jan. 8, 2020. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water on Wednesday and another half a million without power.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Maritza Quiñones Rodriguez, 51, cries as she and other neighbors remain outdoors using camping tents and portable lights for fear of possible aftershocks after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Paramedics assist a man suffering from seizures as he and neighbors remain outdoors using camping tents and portable lights for fear of possible aftershocks on their first night after an earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Volunteers distribute food to neighbors who remain outdoors using camping tents and portable lights for fear of possible aftershocks after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 7, 2020.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Neighbors place Martin Velez, 96, on a bed outside a shelter after an earthquake struck in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Store owners and family help remove supplies from Ely Mer Mar hardware store, which partially collapsed after an earthquake struck Guanica, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn on Tuesday, killing one man, injuring others and collapsing buildings in the southern part of the island.
Ricard Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
The Inmaculada Concepcion church, built in 1841, is seen partially collapsed after an earthquake hit the island in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 7, 2020. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the island – the latest in a series of tremors that have shaken the island since December 28.
Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view of damages at Guanica town after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico on Jan. 7, 2020.
Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A view of damages at Guanica town after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico on Jan. 7, 2020.
Ricard Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
The Inmaculada Concepcion church, built in 1841, is seen partially collapsed after an earthquake hit the island in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 7, 2020.
Ricard Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
The Inmaculada Concepcion church, built in 1841, is seen partially collapsed after an earthquake hit the island in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 7, 2020.
RICARDO ARDUENGO
Paramedics carry away an injured patient after a earthquake hit the island in Ponce, Puerto Rico on Jan. 7, 2020. Eight people were hurt from the latest quake, with one man dead.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
A man carries a St. Jude statue from the Inmaculada Concepcion church ruins that was built in 1841 and collapsed after an earthquake hit the island in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 7, 2020. A strong earthquake struck south of Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning – the latest in a series of tremors that have shaken the island since December 28. The shallow 6.4 magnitude quake struck five miles south of the community of Indios, the USGS said.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Debris from a collapsed wall of a building litters the ground after an earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Carlos Giusti/AP
Amir Seneriz, president of the Logia Aurora Organization, inspects damages after an earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Courtesy Fabián Torres
A damaged wall crumbles in Yauco, Puerto Rico, following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Tuesday morning on Jan. 7, 2019.
Courtesy Fabián Torres
Cracks appeared on a damaged building in Yauco, Puerto Rico, following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Tuesday morning on Jan. 7, 2019.
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
San Juan is plunged in darkness after a 6.4 earthquake rattled Puerto Rico early Jan. 7, 2020, leaving the island largely without power.
Courtesy Jesus Ramos
San Juan sits in darkness after power is knocked out following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Puerto Rico Tuesday morning on Jan. 7, 2019.
Courtesy Jorge Torres Ramos
Products scatter on the floor of a damaged grocery store in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Tuesday morning on Jan. 7, 2019.
Telemundo Puerto Rico
A damaged house sits in Guanica, Puerto Rico, after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit off the southern coast of Puerto Rico on Monday morning, Jan. 6, 2019.
Telemundo Puerto Rico
Guanica, Puerto Rico, residents survey a felled utility pole after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit off the southern coast of Puerto Rico on Monday morning, Jan. 6, 2019.
Organizers divided the neighborhood into sections and assigned volunteers to call everyone in their community to ask how they were feeling and if they had any coronavirus-related symptoms. The activists also gave neighbors the number of a nurse who would screen them over the phone and refer them to a doctor if they had symptoms.
"We lead by example,” said Dr. Yadira Vázquez, the general medicine physician in charge of ordering coronavirus tests to community members. “How do I think this should be done? Let's monitor the entire community. Let's run the available tests and have someone check on any changes on people's normal physical state."
Healthcare experts have long been calling for more coronavirus tests to be made available in Puerto Rico. The island's largest newspaper El Nuevo Día revealed that the government had attempted to buy 1 million rapid tests from a construction company with no experience selling medical products, but with ties to the New Progressive Party (PNP), the party in power.
The island’s new Health Secretary Lorenzo González said the order was canceled after they learned the tests were not FDA-approved and were sold to the government above market price.
Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans are under one of the strictest lockdowns in the U.S. Most people can only leave their homes to get food or medicine on certain days of the week based on their car’s license plate number.
On March 15, the government not only closed non-essential businesses but ordered a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. home curfew. Police have fined hundreds of people for violations which could cost $5,000 or lead to a six-month jail sentence, The Associated Press reported this week. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit to block part of Puerto Rico’s curfew rules.
As of Tuesday, there have been 23 COVID-19-related deaths on the island and more than 573 confirmed cases, according to a count by The New York Times.
Life in the time of social distancing is harder for those living in southern Puerto Rican towns like Guánica, where earthquakes haven’t stopped and some people are still living in tents. It’s that kind of need that motivates those who can to lend a helping hand.
Volunteers of the Community Response Network have created recordings with coronavirus-related information that they blast on the streets. They also have a Facebook page that they update with advice from healthcare experts. And they’ve offered to do grocery store and pharmacy runs for those who are high risk or elderly and can’t leave their homes.
"We have to do it, we have to do it, we don't have a choice,” García Mercado said. “This is about our lives. When you asked me 'why?' Well, because we don't have a choice but to move forward.”
