Former Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rosselló (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
After massive protests erupted due to the #TelegramGate scandal that involved him and his administration, former Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló resigned last summer.
His political future? In shambles.
So what to do now? Provide scientific explanations about the COVID-19 pandmic.
In countless Facebook videos, the former governor argues how foresight will be critical to flatten the curve.
“Lack of diagnostic testing available, high incubation period for the virus, non-symptomatic or low symptomatic” people is what factors in, Rosselló says.
https://www.facebook.com/rrossello/videos/635140040380086/
He’s also published a video in which he proposes an “exclusive schedule period for the elderly [is] necessary actions to slow down the infection and reduce the stress on hospital/medical resources.”
https://www.facebook.com/rrossello/videos/2500894583465338/
Rosselló delves into a general overview of how to analyze and tackle a potential lifespan of COVID-19. He divides it in four stages: phase 1, containment/stopping the virus; phase 2, infection point; phase 3, post wave infection, and finally, other factors like, is this a seasonal virus? What about vaccines? Drug therapies?
https://www.facebook.com/rrossello/videos/2813271842082408/
Why is Rosselló even trying to explain the novel coronavirus? Some are probably asking, does he have credentials? Actually, he does.
He studied bioengineering and neuroscience going on to earn a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan and completed postgraduate work in stem cell research at Duke University, according to Fast Company. He’s even been published in various science journals.
“I was happily embarking on that journey,” Rosselló told Fast Company.
This isn’t the first time he’s written about a dangerous disease. Back in 2009, in the height of H1N1 Swine Flu, he wrote an article titled Preparándose para una Pandemia [Preparing For A Pandemic], detailing the power of viruses and the inevitable rise of a pandemic. Sounding alarms, but reamining calm.
Whether or not he’s genuinely offering his insight to help spread factual information in Puerto Rico or is using the pandemic to become relevant in hopes of making a political comeback down the line (yes, we are skeptical), those videos are actually quite informative.
In addition, Rosselló was highly critiziced for his administration’s mishandling of Hurricane María’s death count, and during that time, we didn’t see a lot of scientific explanations coming out of La Fortaleza.
What do you all think?
Stay as a doctor
Ricardo Rossello Nevarez has appeared as a “guest columnist” in the Opinion page of the Orlando Sentinel today Sunday May 3, 2020 titled “ Containing next wave of virus”. We do not need nor do we want his opinion in Florida. We have not forgotten what he did in Puerto Rico. He left the island in shambles after an uprising of the citizenship, something that had never occurred in Puerto Rico before. Florida does not need his opinion. Sincerely, Laura Silva Etze