Sanchez Ramirez has the fifth largest incidence of the Covid-19 virus per 100,000 inhabitants in the Dominican Republic. Cotuí has 754 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, as of the Coronavirus Epidemiological Bulletin #147 of 12 August 2020.
The Mayor of Cotui Bienvenido Lazala (Nene) ordered the shutdown of businesses at 2pm on Monday to Friday. Business are ordered to remain closed 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday. The measure starts on Friday, 14 August 2020.
Sánchez Ramírez is one of 15 provinces and the National District, where there are more than 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases reported. The northcentral province reported 1,147 confirmed cases as of 12 August 2020. But PCR testing is not readily available in the province, so the numbers of actual cases are expected to be much more. The restrictive measures seek to contain the pandemic that is spreading.
Cotui is now the second municipality that implements more strict restrictive measures than the National State of Emergency curfew orders. The curfew in effect as of 14 August orders shutdown at 7pm and at 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Mayor Bienvenido Lazala reported that he had been in a virtual meeting with 268 mayors and the Vice President-elect Raquel Peña and that as of Monday, 17 August 2020 more restrictive measures to contain Covid-19 would be announced. Peña is leading the Health Cabinet in the Abinader administration that starts on Sunday, 16 August 2020.
The population of Sánchez Ramírez is estimated at 151,978, according to the National Statistics Office (ONE). The positivity rate in the past four weeks for the province is 45.7%.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dinero
Minuto a Minuto
DR1 News
14 August 2020