Puerto Rico to Provide Free COVID-19 Rapid Test at Toll Booths to Control Asymptomatic Spread

By Neil P. First Posted: Nov 08, 2020 05:36 AM EST

Puerto Rico's Health Department announced on Friday that they will provide free COVID-19 rapid tests across the island in an effort to curb the COVID-19 cases in the country.

(Photo : Reutersconnect)

One of the ways to determine the number of infections is through the COVID-19 test. This will help give the exact number of infected persons and help both the local and national governments to properly implement COVID-19 measures to slow down the infection.

The Health Department of Puerto Rico announced on Friday that they will provide free rapid testing toll booths across the island in an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus.

According to NBC News, health officials said that they target to test asymptomatic persons who do not know if they are infected.

Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Center listed that Puerto Rico has more than 71,500 infections while it has recorded more than 800 deaths. These numbers are still expected to increase as the free rapid testing will start this weekend.

Booths will give out results in 15 minutes

One of the best features of the island's free COVID-19 rapid test is that it will give a result within 15 minutes. This means that those who will test positive for COVID-19 can easily be determined and will be advised to isolate for 14 days.

Only those who are developing symptoms and are experiencing severe illness are typically admitted to the hospital. Most of them needed to have air ventilation to support their breathing and are taken into the Intensive Care Unit for serious medication.

Puerto Rico is under U.S. territory and has a population of more than 3.2 million. It is still not clear until now if the 71,500 infections are accurate or just lower due to the lack of COVID-19 testing across the island. Others claim that the number could be higher.

Puerto Rico's Health Department officials once again reminded the Puerto Ricans and other residents on the island that the test is free. This will occur on weekends only and is not yet clear if there will be another rapid test after the scheduled dates.

Contact tracing to follow through

If a person will test positive through a rapid test, he or she will be then advised to isolate for 14 days and a contact tracing will be done. This is to make sure that the virus transmission will be controlled and to avoid contagion that may create a bigger problem on the island.

As of this time, the World Health Organization set the threshold of five percent daily positivity rate. This means that if a place exceeds this threshold, it is not a good sign as the number of infections is too high.

However, WHO recommends safe economic reopening if the positivity rate is below five percent.

The world still continues to battle the global pandemic and without the COVID-19 vaccine, the number of infections is expected to swell. This will negatively impact the world's economy, health system, and financial stability.