PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2017-10-03 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did All of the Patients in a Puerto Rican Intensive Care Unit Die? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • In late September 2017, as accounts spread online about the scale of the devastation in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, a Chicago attorney shared a story his father told him about the deaths of every person in one hospital's intensive care wing there, which dovetails with reports that the official death toll on the island territory is likely to increase dramatically. On 30 September 2017, Nelson M. Rosario posted remarks on Twitter that he attributed to his father, who lives in the territory. According to Rosario, his father is helping with rebuilding right now and has friends who were both elected and appointed to the Puerto Rican government. Rosario said that he shared with his father U.S. President Donald Trump's online rant against San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz that day: In response, Rosario wrote in a series of tweets: The post containing his father's allegation has been retweeted more than 26,000 times: We contacted Rosario seeking more details about his father's anecdote. As of 30 October 2017, 51 deaths have been attributed to the hurricane. However, the local government reportedly allowed 911 bodies to be cremated and listed as deaths by natural causes without further investigation, prompting criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts): On 3 November 2017, Cruz called the amount of cremations in the Buzzfeed report an outstanding number during an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper. She also agreed with Tapper's estimate that the death toll was probably closer to 500 people. Puerto Rico Public Safety Secretary Héctor Pesquera said in an interview published by the nonprofit Center for Investigative Journalism on 2 October 2017 (when the death toll was at 16) that the number of dead is likely higher: According to reporter Omaya Sosa Pascual: Pascual Sosa has also reported, citing local sources, that bodies are piling up inside area hospital morgues. Reporter David Begnaud, who is covering Maria's aftermath from Puerto Rico, says that at least some of the deaths were oxygen related — in other words, people were unable to use breathing machines or oxygen tanks because they had no power after the storm: On 3 October 2017, Rosario again criticized Trump after the president told Puerto Rican officials they can be very proud that 16 people had died compared to the 1,833 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in August 2005. Rosario wrote: However, we have been so far unable to verify the specific story that Rosario first told. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url