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Showing posts with label cdc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cdc. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2016

Puerto Rico News Digest For June 13, 2016


CDC DIRECTOR VISITS PR OVER ZIKA

















From US News & World Report:

"The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in Puerto
Rico to discuss the U.S. territory's response to an outbreak of the Zika virus. Tom
Frieden met with Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla behind closed doors Friday. It is
his second visit to the island in recent months. Puerto Rico is reporting 149 new
cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the past week. The island has more than
1,500 cases, including 182 in pregnant women. A total of 40 people have been
hospitalized..."


MST CALLS FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE


From Caribbean Business:

"The Socialist Workers Movement (MST by its Spanish initials), the Work-
ing People’s Party Youth, the National Hostos Independence Movement and
other individuals on Monday were calling for civil disobedience against leg-
islation by the U.S. Congress that would establish  a financial oversight board
for Puerto Rico. “With this activity, we express our strong opposition to the fis-
cal control board that is cooking in the U.S. Congress,” the MST, which was
demonstrating across from the José V. Toledo Federal Building & U.S. Court-
house in Old San Juan, said in a statement..."


CAYEY PEAKS NOW NATURAL RESERVE


From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Gov. Alejandro García Padilla offi cially approved the demarcation of the
Planadas-Yeyesa natural reserve (known as las Tetas de Cayey) on Thursday,
thereby converting it into one of the largest protected areas in Puerto Rico with
great importance for the southern aquifer, animal species and cultural resources.
The natural reserve is so named after the names of its two large peaks -- Plana-
das and Yeyesa -- both of an approximate elevation of 2,559 feet (780 meters)
above sea level..."


WATER RATE HIKE COULD BE PUSHED BACK


From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority Executive Director Alberto Láza-
ro said Sunday the chances of an increase in water rates could be pushed back
with the approval of House Bill 2786, which seeks to address the public corpo-
ration’s funding needs for capital improvements. The so-called PRASA Revita-
lization Act is slated to be approved today, delaying the possibility of a rate hike
next month, as Lázaro had warned was a possibility earlier this year..."


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Puerto Rico News Digest For January 20, 2016


NO ANGLES RULED OUT IN PROSECUTOR MURDER

















From Caribbean Business:

"The Justice Department’s chief prosecutor, José Capó, is not ruling out
any angles in the investigation into the murder of Prosecutor Francelis
Ortiz Pagán, who was killed Tuesday morning when she arrived at her
home in Río Grande...Pagán Ortiz’s death occurred at around 1:30 a.m.
Capó said in a radio interview (WAPA) that the prosecutor received se-
veral bullet wounds while in her vehicle. The chief prosecutor said no
angle is being ruled out and that all the cases she had been working on
are being investigated. Capó explained that upon hearing the gunshots,
Fermín Arraiza came out of the house and fired at the attackers when he
saw his wife wounded. He then took her to the University of Puerto Rico
Hospital in Carolina. She was brought in dead..."


PUERTO RICO ON ZIKA WARNING LIST


From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Puerto Rico was among the 14 countries included in a warning issued by
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta over the presence of the
mosquitoborne Zika virus. The first case of Zika in Puerto Rico was recor-
ded in December. A second case of a woman possibly infected in the Ca-
guas region has been detected. The symptoms developed after the woman
returned from a visit to New York. The CDC, which issued a level 2 or
“enhanced precaution” alert emphasized that the risk was greatest among
pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant..."


CONGRESS TO HOLD ANOTHER PR HEARING


From News Is My Business:

"The Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs of the U.S.
House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 26, to ana-
lyze Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis. It will be the seventh hearing on the Common-
wealth in recent months. Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi
said Tuesday he expects a legislative package for Puerto Rico will likely be
unveiled after the hearing entitled “The need for the establishment of a Puer-
to Rico financial stability and economic growth authority...”


EMPLOYEES HAVE MORE SICK LEAVE OPTIONS


From JDSUPRA:

"Effective December 31, 2015, all employers in Puerto Rico with at least 16
employees must allow eligible employees to use up to 5 paid sick leave days
to care for an ill spouse, parent, or child. Eligible employees are those covered
by the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage, Vacation, and Sick Leave Act (i.e., non-
exempt employees and outside salespersons). This new leave is also available
to care for the following ill individuals who are under the caregiver’s legal cus-
tody or guardianship: minors, persons who are 60 years of age or older, and dis-
abled individuals..."