Puerto Rico is close to an influenza epidemic after 5 consecutive weeks above the threshold

The governor Jenniffer González declares the epidemic in an executive order.

San Juan.- Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Health, Víctor Ramos, reported this Tuesday that 3,383 cases of influenza were reported on the island in the week of January 4-10, the fifth consecutive week above the epidemic threshold, one more for a local epidemic to be determined. These cases were about 183 more than the previous week of 3,200, according to details in the document Influenza Surveillance of Puerto Rico on the website of the Department of Health.

“The call to the people is that the Festivals (of San Sebastián Street) are over. If you have symptoms for three to five days, don’t go to work, don’t go to school. Go to the doctor,” Ramos exhorted.

To declare an influenza epidemic, Puerto Rico must be for six consecutive weeks with a record above the epidemic threshold. While the head of health explained that 30 additional deaths from influenza were recorded on the island due to this virus in the first week of 2026.

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Ramos also said that the agency expects a report to arrive next week from a New York laboratory that would certify whether the influenza affecting Puerto Rico is H3N2, which began in August in England and already affects some 48 states and jurisdictions of the United States. The headline commented that the under 0 to 9 year olds are still the most affected group with this disease, and that the regions of Ponce, Caguas and Bayamón have the most cases. The symptoms of the flu include fever or feeling feverish and chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, as well as vomiting or diarrhea.