San Juan, October 12 (RHC)-- In Puerto Rico, officials are warning the island’s health system is in dire condition as the island still has severely limited electricity and running water, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm. 

The New York Times reports one teacher, named Harry Figueroa, died after he went a week without the oxygen needed to help him breathe.  He was only 58 years old.  His corpse then went unrefrigerated for so long it was impossible to embalm his decomposed body.  His daughter, Lisandra, said: “Because of the electricity situation, a lot of people died, and are still dying.  You can’t get sick now.” 

Other residents have contracted bacterial diseases, likely as a result of their exposure to contaminated flood waters.   The official death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria has now risen to 43.