As of Saturday, 7 March 2020, there have been five cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the Dominican Republic. In all these cases, the virus has been imported by persons who have come from abroad. There are two cases of foreigners that came with the virus. These are that of a 62-year old Italian tourist and that of a 70-year old woman from Quebec who had arrived on an Air Transat flight from Canada on the same 22 February 2020. Both were staying at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach hotel. The husband of the woman did not test positive. No other cases have been reported at the hotel, which remains open. The hotel, as with others in the Dominicus-Bayahibe area, are operating at all-time lows after flights from Italy have been cancelled. Italy is a major source of clientele for the area hotels.
The Public Health Ministry reported the first cases of Dominicans who have tested positive. These are a woman in Villa Riva, Duarte province, who had arrived after a stay in northern Italy. In a follow-up story in Listin Diario, 56-year old Oraida Heredia Díaz said she flew in on 26 February 2020 and was released by the hospital and is recovering at home. Public Health Minister Sanchez Cardenas had initially said the woman “escaped” from the hospital in San Francisco, but he clarified on Sunday, 8 March, that the woman did not want to wait for the results to her test at the hospital and was allowed to go home to wait for the results. She lives alone. Her case is mild. Medical staff are supervising her at her home.
Another case involves a 29-year old who traveled from Milan, Italy who is hospitalized at the Ramón de Lara Air Force Hospital, and a 12-year old who had arrived recently from Barcelona, Spain after a tour in Spain and France and is being cared for at the same Ramón de Lara hospital.
The Ministry of Public Health continues to monitor other possible cases closely. A 60-year old Spanish tourist who arrived on 22 February 2020 is under surveillance at a special isolation hall at the Ricardo Limardo public hospital in Puerto Plata. The taxi driver who drove the Spaniard to Puerto Plata is also under isolation and surveillance. The authorities await the results of tests.
In the Caribbean, there have been cases confirmed in French Guiana, Martinique, St. Martin, Saint Barthelemy and the Dominican Republic.
Read more:
El Dia
El Nacional
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Diario Libre
El Dia
Miami Herald
9 March 2020