COVID climbs to 1,306 weekly cases in Puerto Rico as children lead infections

COVID-19 is accelerating again in Puerto Rico just as kids head back to the classroom. During epidemiological week 33, from August 16 to 22, the Department of Health reported 1,306 COVID-19 cases, a 35% jump from the 968 cases the week before, Health Secretary Dr. Victor Ramos Otero announced Monday, August 25, at the government's biweekly En Record press briefing ¹. And the number that matters most for families: children ages 0 to 9 are the hardest-hit group, with a rate of 91.65 cases per 100,000 residents ¹.

The good news is that the hospital system is not under unusual strain. COVID hospitalizations stand at 34 — rising, but far from overwhelming — and deaths so far in 2026 total 27, dramatically fewer than the 285 recorded by the end of 2025 ¹.

COVID on the island moves in cycles, and right now we are riding the crest of one. This summer peak mirrors what is happening in the mainland United States and the rest of the world, Ramos Otero explained: 'COVID is periodic and we are in a high period, not only in Puerto Rico... Hospitalizations have gone up, but we are at 34; it is not that we are overwhelmed with cases' ¹. August's return to school adds the classic ingredient: packed classrooms, respiratory viruses circulating, and kids carrying infections home.

The regional numbers tell their own story. Ponce has the highest COVID rate, at 48.92 cases per 100,000 residents ¹. For influenza, Bayamon leads with 375 cases this season ¹.

The flu, meanwhile, is staying quiet — for now. The current season began July 5 and has accumulated 1,573 cases, with 342 new cases in the latest week, figures that keep it below the epidemic threshold ¹. Type B accounts for 54.4% of cases, something the secretary called normal for this time of year ¹. Children ages 0 to 4 concentrate 246 cases, the hospitalization rate is holding at 6.1%, and while the season has recorded six deaths, none occurred in the latest week ¹. One warning sign: there is already a flu outbreak at a school in Arecibo — Salud defines an outbreak as two or more cases in the same classroom ¹.

On mpox, Salud reported no active clade I cases this week, after confirming the island's first two cases of that variant the week before — the deadlier strain in countries where the virus is endemic ¹³⁴.

What it means for you

If you have school-age kids, this surge hits close to home: they are the group with the most infections for both COVID (ages 0-9) and flu (ages 0-4) ¹. A cold that comes home from school can end up as COVID in grandma or grandpa. If you live in Ponce, the zone with the highest COVID rate, or in Bayamon, the flu leader, take extra care ¹. This is not panic time — hospitalizations are low — but it is time to bring back the basic habits we all know, especially if your household includes anyone over 65 or with chronic conditions.

How to do it / Checklist

1. If your kid wakes up with fever, cough, or a sore throat, do not send them to school. Run a home COVID test before deciding.
2. Check that any home tests you have stored are not expired; they are available at any community pharmacy.
3. Get the whole family up to date on COVID and flu vaccines. Ask at your pharmacy or health center, or call the Department of Health at 787-765-2929 for guidance ².
4. If you are over 65 or have chronic conditions and test positive, contact your doctor right away and ask about antiviral treatment — it works best in the first days of symptoms.
5. Bring back the basics: frequent handwashing, ventilation in closed spaces, and a mask if you have symptoms or care for someone vulnerable.
6. Track the official data at covid19datos.salud.pr.gov to see how your municipality is doing ².

What's next

Salud will keep reporting surveillance figures at the biweekly En Record briefing, so by mid-September we will know whether this COVID peak has turned the corner or keeps climbing ¹. The agency is also following the flu outbreak at the Arecibo school, and the question now is whether classroom transmission multiplies outbreaks with the semester in full swing ¹. If influenza were to cross the epidemic threshold — as it did earlier this year — Salud would formally declare it. Meanwhile, clade I mpox surveillance remains active after the island's first two detected cases ³⁴.

Sources

1. El Vocero — Covid-19 mantiene alta transmision mientras influenza sigue bajo umbral epidemico (August 25, 2026)
2. Puerto Rico Department of Health — COVID-19 in figures
3. Presencia PR — Salud reporta primeros dos casos de viruela simica en Puerto Rico (August 18, 2026)
4. NotiUno — Detectan variante mas severa de viruela simica en la Isla (August 19, 2026)