The director of the National Health Service (SNS) says that the government chose not to advance with the reopening phases because the authorities “sought to care that they were issuing a message for people to be alert all around the country.” Interviewed by Mariasela Alvarez and Diana Lora for the “Esta Noche con Mariasela” TV show, Chanel Rosa Chupany said the government understood that if the country moved to Phase 3 of the reopening plan, there would be a relaxing of preventive measures. These measures are keeping social distance, wearing protective masks and hand hygiene.
He admitted the government statistics overall show that the positivity rate and lethality rate in the country have been consistently declining. He argued, nevertheless, the government is concerned about demands on hospitalization capacity. During the interview, he only presented statistics for the central government hospitals and did not include private hospitals and the large decentralized hospitals, such as Cedimat, Plaza de la Salud and Cecanot. Yet even in those, demands for hospital beds and ICU are well below capacity.
Rosa Chupany said that demands on the hospitalization are rising due to the pent up demand of three months of delays in normal health care services, with most seeking health services postponing their doctor visits until now.
Rosa Chupany said the number of hospitalizations is key to opening the next phase.
During the interview, Rosa Chupany confirmed that the number of deaths included in the daily statistical report does not correspond to the day’s deaths, but rather when the death is registered. He acknowledged that there is an accumulation of deaths that occurred several months ago that now are being recorded in the Covid-19 tally. Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas has also admitted to this. Recently, large numbers of deaths have been added to the system, giving a false impression there are more people dying now than at the start of the epidemic.
Gustavo Montalvo, the coordinator of the High Commission for the Prevention of Coronavirus, had announced on Tuesday, 16 June that the government would not be advancing to the third phase of the Covid-19 reopening schedule. The government would take a week to review whether to move ahead. Furthermore, this opened speculation as to whether the government would authorize Phase 4 that calls for opening airports, hotels and restaurants, under new Covid-19 hygiene and safety guidelines. The independent press and the tourism sector have been critical of the delays in government acting on approving protocols. Medical associations and private sector have criticized the government has not been sharing the parameters for its decision-making.
On the TV show, Mariasela Alvarez asked if the cases are concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo, why didn’t the government authorize the advancing of the phase for the other provinces. She spoke of the generalized perception that the government’s actions are not based on statistics, but rather on a strategy to create fear in the population and motivate a greater abstention among voters. For a candidate to win in a first round, a 50%+1 vote is needed, which requires a large voter turnout. If voters are scared into staying home, the vote may need to go to a second round, at a high cost to the nation’s already stretched finances.
Independent polls in March 2020, before the lockdown showed the leading opposition party candidate, Luis Abinader easily taking the election in a first round. During the National State of Emergency, the media has reported on how the ruling Dominican Liberation Party candidate, Gonzalo Castillo has been taking advantage of the situation. The Gonzalo Castillo teams have been openly violating the curfew and social distance rules with the distribution of food, appliances, propane gas, creating major agglomerations to motivate voters.
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Esta Noche con Mariasela
Esta Noche con Mariasela
Ministry of Public Health press briefing
18 June 2020