Health Minister Plutarco Arias is outraged with the flagrant violations of physical distancing. He spoke of thousands that go maskless, drinking alcohol and congregating even after curfew hours. He said the curfew sacrifice is of little value if people do not become aware of the risks they are undertaking and how they contribute to spreading the disease with their reckless behavior.
The positivity rating in the Dominican Republic has been around 30% over the past two weeks. Dr. Arias said that for in-person learning to be reinstating at schools, this would need to drop to 10%.
In an interview on Esta Noche con Mariasela, Dr. Arias urged banks to increase their working hours to eliminate the long lines of people. He said the banks need to restaff to serve their clients better and avoid the agglomerations of people that make long lines to enter the banks.
He said the new authorities are focusing on more than doubling testing capacity, tracing of contagious persons in the barrios and early detecting and treating cases. He explained that deaths are occurring because people are receiving medical treatment late. He said doctors can detect the disease clinically and early on treat the patients.
He announced starting this week more PCR tests are going to be available. Israeli breathalyzers will be used at airports, hotels and restaurants to test for the disease to avoid the spread.
He said once the vaccines are available, at least half of the population will receive these. First will be health care workers, vulnerable persons due to health conditions and those 60+.
Listen to the interview at:
Esta Noche con Mariasela
1 September 2020