Residents In Puerto Rico Report Foul Odor Coming From FEMA Trailers, Raising Concerns It Could Be From Dead Bodies
While it was unclear what the smell was, the reports prompted a visit Thursday from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A spokesperson for OSHA said the bodies remaining in the trailers are waiting to be claimed by family members. In other news, more of Puerto Rico's physicians are fleeing to the states.
Bloomberg:
Foul Odor Reported From FEMA Trailers Holding Post-Maria Dead
Residents and visitors to one San Juan neighborhood recently noticed an alarming new smell coming from a parking lot near Puerto Rico’s forensic sciences department, raising concerns that it could be the bodies of those who perished in the tumultuous months after Hurricane Maria. "It smelled like dead rat," said Wilfredo Ortega, who occasionally comes to an area restaurant on breaks from his job as a clinical assistant at a nearby hospital. (Rivera and Levin, 7/19)
Kaiser Health News:
Long Waits To See Doctors In Puerto Rico, Where Medical Needs Are Great Post-Maria
Physicians are in short supply in Puerto Rico. From 2006 to 2016, the number of doctors on the island declined from 14,000 to 9,000, according the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Puerto Rico. And Hurricane Maria has helped fuel the exodus.Dr. José Cruz, a pediatrician with a practice in Ponce, said the island’s ongoing financial crisis and low payments from health insurers drove many physicians to seek work in the States. (7/20)
