A healthcare worker administers a COVID-19 vaccination in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. Photographer: Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic--The COVID-19 curfew was lifted in the National District and La Altagracia province on August 9. Decree 477-21 that removes the curfew still establishes a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages every day in the capital city and La Altagracia from 12:00 midnight to 5:00am.
Ministry of Public Health permits are required for events where people agglomerate and public places and private places for public use are limited to 75 per cent of capacity. The decision to end the curfew is taken after around 80 per cent of the population in the capital city (DN) and La Altagracia (Higuey, Veron and Punta Cana) has been fully vaccinated and the positivity and active cases have been dropping significantly since early July 2021.
Decree No. 432-21 still sets the curfew from 11:00pm to 5:00am daily with a daily two-hour free transit period for all provinces other than La Altagracia and the National District.
The number of active cases is at a low since May 2020 when the pandemic just got its start in the Dominican Republic (DR). The number of reported active COVID-19 cases declined to 11,962 (-1,607), down from the previous day.
The national four-week positivity rate is 7.30 per cent, continuing on the downward trend. The 24-hour positivity for the day is a new low of 4.66 per cent, up from the previous day.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health is closely monitoring the new variants and their impact in the DR as curfew restrictions are reduced to a minimum. As of August 2, the National Dr. Defilló Lab has sequencing capacity to determine the variants that are circulating in the country for timely control of future outbreaks. The Ministry has announced a first report will be issued today, Wednesday, August 11.
The Health Cabinet has challenged the people in the DR to get fully vaccinated. The government has enough inventory of vaccines to apply at least 100,000 doses per day. The government has enabled night-time vaccination stations in movie theatres, shopping malls and in the Colonical City to make it easier for people to get vaccinated in August and September.
While La Altagracia (Punta Cana) and the National District are the first to be curfew-free, the Presidency says it is considering fully removing curfew restrictions in all municipalities where 70 per cent of the people have at least two doses.
The general vaccination drive is open to persons 12+ years old since Saturday, June 12, with the arrival of Pfizer vaccines to select vaccination centres. As of July 2, a third Pfizer booster shot has been available. As of February 2021, vaccines have consistently arrived to continue with the National Vaccination Plan as scheduled. The goal is to have fully vaccinated upwards of 60 per cent of the population in time for the start of the 2021-2022 school year in September 2021. As of mid-July, around 56 per cent of the population 18+ years old has had the first two vaccines.
The National Vaccination Plan recommends a booster shot different from the first two doses to be applied a month after the second dose of the Sinovac vaccine and three months after the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Pfizer booster vaccine is being applied to persons with co-morbidities and seniors, and at demand in select vaccination stations. As of August 9, the Ministry of Public Health reports that 476,682 people had received the Pfizer third booster shot.
The government has ordered that all private and public schools open for in person learning in September. It is likely private schools will open in August. Schools continue to be subject to keeping to health protocols. Universities say they will reopen in August but require students to have the full vaccination dose to enrol in in-person learning classes. ~ DR1 ~
