The Ministry of Public Health’s Epidemiology Department Coronavirus Bulletin #196 reports 519 confirmed cases, up from 309 cases for the previous bulletin. The increase in PCR confirmed cases led the 24-hour positivity rate to rise to 14.44%, up from 9.15%. The 4-week positivity rate declined to 12.67%, a record low. The 4-week positivity rate was at 31% at the change of government on 16 August 2020.
Still, the Ministry of Public Health reports 22,415 active cases, down 60 cases compared to the previous day. Yet for the first time in more than a week, the number of confirmed PCR cases has gone over the 500 case mark. There was a spike in cases in Espaillat (Moca) with 90 new cases, and the National District with 75 cases. This also can be attributed to an increase in contact tracing efforts as the health authorities strive to catch cases early on.
Local epidemiologists alert that the spread of the virus comes and goes. The Ministry of Public Health is concerned that increased mobility, especially with the promotion of domestic tourism, will affect the spread of the disease that is now said to be “under control.” This situation is why the Ministry of Public Health continues to recommend keeping a curfew and preventive measures. The new curfew is in effect is from 29 September to 17 October 2020, from 9pm to 5am Monday to Friday, and 7pm to 5am on Saturdays and Sundays.
As per Bulletin #196, with the deadline of 30 September 2020, the Ministry of Public Health has registered 112,728 confirmed cases since the first case on 1 March 2020.
The health ministry announced the processing of 3,595 first PCR tests in time for the Wednesday, 30 September deadline. The 14-day average for first PCR tests is now at 3,467 PCR tests. The Ministry of Public Health says the demand for PCR tests has declined. PCR tests are now readily available at 15 public hospitals nationwide.
The number of deaths is 2,108, including three deaths recorded and none occurring in the past 24 hours. Local physicians now have better treatment protocols to deal with the sickness, resulting in fewer patients requiring hospitalization. In a population of more than 10 million, the fatality rate is 1.87% over the past four weeks, a new low for recent months. The fatality rate per 1M inhabitants is 201.75. The Ministry of Public Health reports that the average 1M inhabitants’ fatality rate for the Americas is 555.
Worldometer lists the 1M deaths per inhabitant rate for the Dominican Republic at 194. This compares to Spain at 684, the United States at 640, Colombia 510, France 489 and Canada at 246, all source markets for tourism for the Dominican Republic.
The Ministry of Public Health report indicates that 23% of Covid-19 hospital beds are occupied (801 of 3,417 total available). 33% of the intensive care units for Covid-19 are occupied (178 of 556 beds). Health Minister Plutarco Arias says that the emphasis is on detecting the cases early on, so fewer persons now are requiring hospitalization.
The past 14 days bulletin results are:
Bulletin #196: 112,728 confirmed cases, 519 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 3 deaths reported in the past hours, of these none occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.87%, fatality rate per 1M is 201.75
Bulletin #195: 112,209 confirmed cases, 309 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 4 deaths reported in the past hours, of these one occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.88%, fatality rate per 1M is 201.46
Bulletin #194: 111,900 confirmed cases, 234 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 3 deaths reported in the past hours, of these one occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.88%, fatality rate per 1M is 201.08
Bulletin #193: 111,900 confirmed cases, 280 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 3 deaths reported in the past hours, of these one occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.88%, fatality rate per 1M is 200.79
Bulletin #192: 111,386 confirmed cases, 429 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 2 deaths reported in the past hours, of these both occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.88%, fatality rate per 1M is 200.51
Bulletin #191: 110,957 confirmed cases, 360 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 2 deaths reported in the past hours, of these both occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 198.68
Bulletin #190: 110,597 confirmed cases, 475 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 11 deaths reported in the past hours, of these none occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 199.74
Bulletin #189: 109,737 confirmed cases, 385 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 2 deaths reported in the past hours, of these both occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 198.68
Bulletin #188: 109,737confirmed cases, 468 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 10 deaths reported in the past hours, of these one death occurred over the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 198.50
Bulletin #187: 109,269 confirmed cases, 486 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 10 deaths reported in the past hours, of these zero deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 197.54
Bulletin #186: 108,783 confirmed cases, 494 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 7 deaths reported in the past hours, of these 3 deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 195.58
Bulletin #185: 108,289 confirmed cases, 589 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 3 deaths reported in the past hours, of these one deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.89%, fatality rate per 1M is 195.91
Bulletin #184: 107,700 confirmed cases, 968 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 10 deaths reported in the past hours, of these 6 deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.90%, fatality rate per 1M is 195.63
Bulletin #183: 106,732 confirmed cases, 596 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 12 deaths reported in the past hours, of these 3 deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, fatality is 1.91%, fatality rate per 1M is 194.67
As of 30 September at 6pm, the deadline for Bulletin #196, the most confirmed cases were persons resident in National District (30,625) and the Santo Domingo province (23,120) 48% of the 112,728 confirmed cases nationwide.
Other provinces with more than 500 confirmed cases are: Santiago (12,604), La Vega (4,233), San Cristobal (4,172), La Altagracia (3,981), Duarte (2,747), La Romana (2,353), Puerto Plata (2,337), Espaillat (2,118), San Juan de la Maguana (1,950), Azua (1,865), Barahona (1,833), Sánchez Ramírez (1,713), San Pedro de Macoris (1,575), Monseñor Nouel (1,354), Peravia (1,193), Maria Trinidad Sanchez (1,172), Valverde (752), Baoruco (646), Hermanas Mirabal (593) and Pedernales (507).
The newest allocated cases (more than 9) reported for the 30 September update deadline are: Espaillat (90), National District (75), Santiago (57), Santo Domingo (32), Baoruco (16), Hato Mayor (16) and Santiago Rodríguez (13).
Haiti reports 8,766 confirmed cases and 229 deaths, for the 30 September 2020 deadline.
In the Americas, the Dominican Republic is now ranked 11th in confirmed cases after the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Ecuador and Bolivia.
See the Ministry of Public Health epidemiological
bulletins
John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
University of Washington Health Data
University of Oxford Covid Tracker
Worldometer
SICA
1 October 2020