The price of condoms in Puerto Rico must remain low so that the island can protect itself from the Zika virus, Nery Adames Soto, Puerto Rico’s secretary of the consumer affairs, has said.
“Every local store, gas station or business that sells these items must know that [the department of consumer affairs] will be knocking on your doors and closely monitoring this, allowing the citizens to protect themselves adequately because now is not the time to raise prices,” Soto said earlier this month.
Puerto Rico has also frozen the prices of mosquito repellant, window screens and hand sanitizers. Stores found guilty of price-gouging could be fined up to $10,000 for each violation.
Condoms joined the list after reports emerged that Zika could be spread through sexual contact. In early February, officials in Texas reported the first case of Zika contracted in the US mainland and said that the virus was sexually transmitted.
Of the nine cases of Zika reported in Puerto Rico to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eight were locally acquired with one associated with travel. According to NPR, public officials in Puerto Rico have reported more than 60 Zika cases, including three pregnant women.
While most residents agree with price-freezing in general, some have expressed skepticism over the need to hold steady on the price of condoms.
“It’s stupid,” Coralis Ferrer-Marrero, a sales clerk at Condom World, said. “Just because Zika is here, doesn’t mean we’re going to raise the price. That’s something we just don’t do no matter what.”
If the price of condoms in Puerto Rico were to suddenly sky-rocket, it would not be the first time. A year ago, when there was a shortage of condoms in Venezuela, a 36-pack of Trojans sold locally for as much as $755.
According to the department of consumer affairs, the average price for one condom in Puerto Rico is currently $1.66 and $24.49 for a pack of 24.
