Photo provided by Tricia Ortiz
Covid, pandemic, masks, vaccination, are things that are on everyone’s mind lately. For this story, we revisited Tricia Ortiz an IT consultant living in the Washington DC area to find out how the dip then subsequent spike in COVID cases has affected her business and social life.
Ortiz takes the pandemic seriously. She got vaccinated as soon as she was able to, but she tells us that she still chooses to wear her mask to protect others from the spread of the virus. If asked, she describes her approach to the virus as a conservative one. “I have a social responsibility to stay healthy for myself and for the country,” says Ortiz.
Photo provided by Tricia Ortiz
Staying engaged during the pandemic, Ortiz started work on a Master’s Degree in Photography. Even when working on her assignments she is cautious. “I take pictures outdoors, all my pictures are outdoors, and if I do any indoors it’s because I’m doing a self-portrait,” says Ortiz. The same philosophy applies to her pandemic work, where dog walking keeps her socially distanced outdoors.
A major part of being Puerto Rican is our emphasis on family. Pandemic restrictions currently affect Ortiz in a very personal way. Since the last time we met, Ortiz’s brother passed away. The family was unable to gather together for a memorial and vowed to do so in the near future. That was a few months ago and the resurgence of COVID in the form of its new variants have caused new restrictions that once again postponed a memorial service for Ortiz’s brother.
There may be a silver lining for the Ortiz family in the way of vaccination. Puerto Rico Department of Health statistics show that as of October 3rd, 2021, the population in that territory has 87.4% of people vaccinated with at least one dose, and 78.9% are fully vaccinated against the disease. With total US statistics being at 64.8% and 55.9% respectively, Puerto Rico is well ahead of many other jurisdictions in protection from COVID.
For now, her family is maintaining the hiatus on her brother’s memorial but Ortiz is hopeful that they will be able to carry it out in the near future. “Knowing that Puerto Rico is doing such a great job at getting everybody fully vaccinated with such a high number, I think by the end of the year or early next year things will be in a better shape.”
The District of Columbia’s vaccination numbers are also pretty encouraging with 70.6% of residents receiving at least one dose of the vaccine and 59.9% being fully vaccinated. However, even Washington D.C. has quite a few doses to administer before it starts reflecting the successful vaccination numbers Puerto Rico is reporting.
Photo provided by Tricia Ortiz
Meanwhile, Ortiz will remain cautious at home until the numbers look a little better and she is feeling more comfortable that her traveling will not negatively affect her family and others.