To create the Puerto Rico Human Trafficking Observatory under the Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission, to dispose of its powers and prerogatives, to provide for its organization, to create the position of Director of the Puerto Rico Human Trafficking Observatory, to grant it functions and duties, to require the creation and development of a Strategic Plan to combat human trafficking in Puerto Rico, as well as to establish the public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico; and for other purposes.
April 8, 2020: In view of the non-compliance with the submission of data on COVID-19 in Puerto Rico and in accordance with Act No. 209-2003, as amended, known as the Statistics Institute Act, the executive director of that entity, Dr. Orville M. Disdier, made a formal request to the Secretary of the Department of Health (DS), Dr. Lorenzo González Feliciano, to provide the necessary data. “Although the Institute's Information Requirements Regulations state that, in response to an Official Information Request, the agency has up to 20 days to provide it, we ask the DS to do so immediately, as this is a matter of the highest priority, given the likelihood that infections and deaths will continue to increase in Puerto Rico,” said Disdier.
The Law that created the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) states that its purpose is to promote changes in data collection and statistics systems so that they are complete, reliable and accessible quickly and universally. To this end, the Institute has the primary mission of coordinating the Statistics Production Service of the Government of Puerto Rico, of requesting information, both from the public and private sectors, and of developing the policy for the development of the public statistical function. According to Disdier, although most agencies comply with this, unfortunately there are others that do not do their duty.
“Since long before this COVID-19 emergency began, the Institute has been communicating, through official email and phone calls, with the Department of Health to offer collaboration and request that they provide us with detailed data on cases of COVID-19 in Puerto Rico. In addition, we have held communications and meetings with staff from Fortaleza and with some members of the Task Force that advises the governor on this pandemic. They repeatedly state that they will provide the data, but the reality is that they arrive late, incomplete, in inadequate formats or there are days when they simply don't arrive,” he said.
Specifically, the Institute has requested the following information and detailed data, for each individual being tested for COVID-19 in Puerto Rico: Case number (Unique ID), sex (M, F, or other), region of residence, municipality of residence, age (in years), test results for COVID-19 (positive, negative, pending, undetermined, or other), date of onset of symptoms (day and month), date of sample collection or date of submission of the sample (day and month), and if the person died.
Disdier highlighted that, in order to promote greater collaboration, the Institute served as a facilitator and for a few days now, the project to implement a rapid system for the daily collection of data on COVID-19 in hospitals has been successfully completed. As a result, every day the Department of Health receives data from hospitals, in a fast, simple and standardized way.
“It is now up to the Department of Health to share the revised and official data with the Institute. That is, right now we should be receiving these official data on a daily basis and that is not happening. These data are necessary so that the Institute can keep citizens informed and to develop action plans that make it feasible to control this pandemic,” concluded Disdier.
To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
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Contacts:
Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200
Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932
Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (Institute), reported that the Institute, in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Task Force Physician, the design, development and implementation of a system for the daily collection and consolidation of data on COVID-19 in hospitals was completed. Through this system, epidemiologists at each hospital can easily and quickly enter basic data on suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As explained by Disdier, the data required by the system are those necessary for the so-called rapid surveillance system. The content and logistics of this rapid surveillance system were designed and approved by doctors Cynthia Pérez and Enid García, in collaboration with other members of the Task Force and the Department of Health. The variables collected by the system are the following: Gender, age, municipality of residence, date of onset of symptoms, type of exposure, if the person was admitted to the hospital, if the person is on mechanical ventilation, if the person is in intensive care, date of taking the sample, type of test, result of the test, if the person died, and date of death, if that were the case.
“Faced with the urgent need for the Department of Health to have a rapid epidemiological surveillance system in hospitals, the Institute offered full assistance to the Department of Health and the Task Force Doctor. We are very grateful that they have accepted our collaboration. In just one week, we were able to implement the system and at this time hospitals send information in a fast, complete and standardized way about COVID-19 to the Department of Health. Rapid surveillance systems are essential to combat any epidemic or pandemic,” he argued.
The data that hospitals enter into the system is consolidated every day, at approximately 12:00 noon. After consolidation, epidemiologists from the Department of Health verify the quality of the data and make any necessary edits in consultation with hospital epidemiologists. Finally, the consolidated and verified data will be used by the Department of Health to generate daily statistical reports and for other epidemiological surveillance activities. It is also expected that this will help the Department of Health to comply with Act No. 209 of August 28, 2003, which requires them to share the official data generated with the Institute, an aspect with which the Department of Health has not fully complied with until now. In fact, this law establishes that the Institute is a co-owner of all the information and statistical product that government agencies develop, and that it can add and disseminate such information as it deems appropriate. “We urge the Department of Health to comply with the law and to send these and any other data related to COVID-19 to the Institute on a daily basis and promptly so that we can provide citizens with complete, reliable statistics with quick and universal access,” emphasized Dr. Disdier.
Disdier explained that this system of data collection and consolidation did not involve the use of additional funds, since it based its structure on other tools already existing at the Institute and on free-to-use programming languages, such as Python. The Institute's work team dedicated many hours of work to this project, despite all the challenges that COVID-19 represents for everyone in Puerto Rico and the fact that they are currently working remotely from home. The quality, efficiency and effectiveness of this new system is being verified daily by Institute personnel in collaboration with doctors Pérez and García, who have demonstrated a genuine commitment to overcoming COVID-19.
To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
For the year 2019, 176 cases of suicide were reported, 67 cases less than in 2018
Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) reported that a collaboration with the Commission for Suicide Prevention (CPS), attached to the Puerto Rico Department of Health, resulted in the “Annual Statistical Report on Deaths by Suicide 2019”.
“This report is of great importance for citizens, since it presents data on suicide for 2019 and draws comparisons with previous years. In addition, it collects data not only on fatal suicide events, but it also presents information on calls to the ASSMCA PAS line and, for the first time, includes data on suicide attempts and contemplations attended by the Emergency Medical Corps,” said Myribel Santiago, manager of statistical projects at the Institute and co-author of the publication.
The publication of this report underlines the importance of the Institute in coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. The Institute has the capacity not only to request statistical information from executive branch agencies, but also to provide them with collaboration, advice and the necessary tools to improve the quality of the statistics they produce.
“Despite the extraordinary circumstances we currently live in, we hope to continue collaborating. Today, more than ever, we need reliable and accurate data to facilitate the implementation of a responsible, informed and sensitive public policy to the complex reality we live in,” said Dr. María Isabel Coss, educational coordinator of the CPS and lead author of the publication.
For his part, Dr. Disdier argued that “the results of this collaborative report reflect that in 2019, a crude suicide rate of 5.5 per 100,000 inhabitants was observed, which is the lowest rate since 2000. Without a doubt, this is very positive and it also demonstrates the enormous importance of continuing to support the preparation of this type of report, since it is only with data that we can know if the prevention measures are giving the desired results”.
The CPS is responsible for promoting, developing, implementing, coordinating actions and strategies for suicide prevention, adopting an integrative and interdisciplinary approach aimed at individuals, families, communities at risk, and helping professionals. In addition, it emphasizes research, the development of prevention and intervention programs and
in raising public awareness of the magnitude and seriousness of suicide in Puerto Rico. For its part, the Institute is a governmental entity whose mission is to guarantee Puerto Rico that it has complete, reliable statistics, and quick and universal access.
You can access this annual report and other related reports through the following link: Suicide Statistics.
To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
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Contacts:
Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200
Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932
The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute created a new section with graphic representations or Dashboard on its website, called “COVID-19,” in which citizens will have access to official data on the impact of this virus in Puerto Rico, according to data provided by the Department of Health, said the Institute's executive director, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.
Among the data that users will be able to access in the Dashboard the following are included: the total number of people evaluated or under evaluation, their average age, number of positive, negative and pending cases, as well as the distribution by sex and health region. In addition, raw data can be obtained through this section, so that researchers could carry out their own statistical analyses. It is expected that as the Department of Health provides more information, the tool will continue to be updated and improved.
“Having a detailed, up-to-date statistical tool accessible to all citizens is crucial right now. We urge that the Department of Health continue to provide us with updated data on a continuous and expeditious basis to, in turn, make them accessible to all citizens,” said Dr. Disdier.
The new Dashboard about COVID-19 can be accessed through the following link: COVID-19 Indicator Platform
To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
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Contacts:
Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200
Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases Map & Statistics by Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering
(Map and statistics on global cases of Coronavirus COVID-19)
Note: This link, its data and its content is a tool for informational purposes and such content has not been evaluated by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute; the content does not necessarily represent the opinion or approval of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director, the employees or any affiliate or partner of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute. The information has been produced by an entity external to the Institute.
Access this map and its contents through the following link: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
Learn more about the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at JHU at: https://systems.jhu.edu/
Free admission to Caguas on Thursday, February 27, 2020
Make Puerto Rico count! is an initiative of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics to publicize, through an entire day of conferences, the processes of the Decennial Census that is being carried out during this year 2020, the methodology, the importance and the purpose of the data. This will take place on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the Criollo Center for Caribbean Science and Technology in Caguas from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free and includes lunch and poster presentation.
“The census is much more than just a count of people. It provides us with an image of our society that is useful and necessary in decision-making, in effective planning and in the distribution of funds, among other actions. In addition, it helps us to see how our communities have changed over time,” said Alberto L. Velázquez-Estrada, Manager of Statistical Projects at the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.
With the participation of census data experts and key field operations personnel from the U.S. Census Bureau, topics related to the census operation and the importance of official population enumeration will be presented, which is considered a unique opportunity in every decade. The topics to be presented are: Decennial censuses and aspects to consider in the current demography of Puerto Rico, by Dr. Judith Rodriguez, former professor of the Graduate Program in Demography of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico; Census Operation 2020, by Jeff Behler, director of the New York Regional Office (NYRO) of the U.S. Census Bureau; The Complete Enumeration Committees in Puerto Rico, by Giselle Laffitte, partnership specialist (NYRO) of the U.S. Census Bureau; and Visualization of census data, by the Mr. Gerson Vázquez from Data Viz CMLSO Specialist.
In the same way, the activity will present the panel: Use and relevance of census data for public policy and research, with the participation of Dr. María E. Enchautegui Román from the Youth Development Institute, Dr. Viviana De Jesús Monge from the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras campus and Medical Sciences campus, demographer Raúl Figueroa, and planner Yoel Velázquez from Albizu University.
“During the past decade, Puerto Rico experienced a variety of economic, social and natural situations, whose impact and consequences will undoubtedly be reflected in this 2020 Census. This is why it is important to educate ourselves on this topic, so that, when the time comes, an informed analysis of the results can be made. At the Institute, we are 100% committed to the work of the Census,” said the Acting Executive Director of the Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico, Dr. Orville M. Disdier.
Those interested in participating must register at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haz-que-cuentes-puerto-rico-censo-2020-tickets-76454612805
To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
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