Man wearing a face mask walks past a hotel/restaurant in Santo Domingo. File photo courtesy Anadolu Agency.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic--Just when restaurants and bars are starting to recover from the days of COVID-19 lockdown, they are now being told they need to shut down by 7:00pm on weekdays, again.
Small business owners in the Colonial City say the extension of curfew hours announced by Vice President Raquel Peña on Tuesday, December 14, is a big blow for them. Health authorities had stretched the curfew hours on weekdays from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, but now businesses are ordered to close by 7:00pm and people must be home before 9:00pm.
Grey Heyaine of the Association of Bars and Restaurants of the Colonial Zone complained that businesses were just adjusting to the new schedules. She said the way things are going, the bars and restaurants will have to close permanently, leaving thousands of employees without work. She said already more than 50 restaurants have closed permanently due to the restrictions imposed by the government.
The new curfew is 7:00pm to 5:00am every day for Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Vega, Duarte and Puerto Plata. People are allowed two hours of free transit to get home. Metro and Omsa buses will operate until 8:00pm daily.
Health Minister Plutarco Arias attributes the recent spike in cases to the social gathering of the young set. While Dominicanos regularly wear masks and keep a social distance, all that seems to be forgotten when meeting with friends. ~ DR1 ~
