While Dominicans follow photographs of an empty Plaza San Marcos in Venice and Times Square in New York, local media is showing what Av. Duarte and the Av. Duarte con Paris intersection look like without people and traffic. After those who could had stocked up with food, most living in the Dominican Republic are following government guidelines to stay home to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
On Thursday, 19 March the government did not announce the new stats of how many had tested positive. Instead the government said that as of Monday a website would be available to share the information. Previously, the government had been carrying out press conferences to announce the most recent data on confirmed cases and their details. As of 18 March 2020, the government had announced there were 34 confirmed cases and two deaths.
The grim reality is setting in after hard felt lessons are suffered. Dominicans followed the case online of a large luxury wedding of affluent Dominicans in Punta Cana area, where many at the wedding are said to be infected with Covid-19 after sharing with guests who had flown in for the wedding. The lesson of the wedding is even more impactful because the “hora loca”, the party time of the wedding, was dedicated to mock the coronavirus!
The Dominican Republic is now under a 25-day emergency state that includes the shutdown of air and maritime passenger traffic and limits to transit within the Dominican Republic.
While most businesses are closed, the government has authorized that banks, supermarkets, colmados, pharmacies and gas stations remain open with limited hours.
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Diario Libre
20 March 2020