The Department of Health urged citizens to register the results of Covid-19 home tests on the agency's website, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, in order to have greater transparency in the figures provided.

San Juan, January 22 (RHC)-- Puerto Rico registered a record number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic for a single day, according to data released by the Department of Health on Friday, bringing to 38 the number of deaths from the disease during the last 24 hours.

The 38 deaths from the disease represent a number not previously reported since the pandemic began on the island, a colony of the United States, in March 2020, almost 2 years ago.   The new deaths bring the cumulative death toll to 3,631. The number of deaths from COVID-19 so far in January is now 312, a month marked by a wave of infections linked to the Omicron variant, considered the most contagious.

In recent days, Puerto Rico had been reporting an average of 15 deaths due to the COVID-19 virus.  The report of the last 24 hours indicates that there were 1,307 new cases confirmed by molecular testing and another 2,376 probable cases by antigens.

The good news came in relation to hospitalized cases, which according to the Health Department this Friday stood at 786, up from 798 on Thursday.  However, the Health Department urged the public to register the results of the COVID-19 home tests on the agency's website, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, in order to have greater transparency in the figures offered.

In Puerto Rico, there are currently a total of 2,820,137 people vaccinated with at least one dose, which represents 91.7 percent of the population. Since December, the authorities have imposed a series of restrictions such as banning mass events and limiting the capacity of enclosed places to try to contain contagions.