The Ministry of Public Health’s Epidemiology Department Coronavirus Bulletin #364 reports 615 new PCR cases for the Wednesday, 17 March 2021 deadline. The cases compare to the 7-day nationwide average for PCR confirmed cases that is 436. For 28 consecutive days, the number of PCR reported cases has kept under 1,000.
As per Bulletin #364 with the deadline of 17 March 2021, the Ministry of Public Health has registered 247,979 confirmed cases since the first case on 1 March 2020. Labs carried out 4,052 first PCR tests. The number of tests compares with the 14-day average now at 3,400. The country can process 14,000 PCR tests a day.
The 4-week positivity rate is 11.05%, down from the previous day. The 24-hour positivity for the day is 15.18%, up from the previous day. The number of reported active cases increased to 40,534, up (+74) from the previous 24 hours. The active cases have been consistently declining.
Despite the reduction in curfew hours and the significant increase in mobility, Covid-19 seems to be under control and spread declining in the Dominican Republic, as of the 17 March bulletin. The fewer Covid-19 cases are occurring as the nation is immersed in a nationwide vaccination effort. As of 18 March, more than 700,000 persons of the targeted 7.8 million people have been vaccinated. Medical workers and those 68 years and older, and those 60+ with comorbidities were the first to be vaccinated. Also, pubic school school teachers and health care workers. Those 18+ accompanying a person of 80+ are in the first phase priority group. The government is vaccinating elite athletes that need to travel abroad for international competitions.
The National Vaccination Plan calls for vaccinating those 65+ years old who have made appointments through https://www.vacunaterd.gob.do and those in public school pre-school and elementary grades. Likewise, secon doses of vaccines are being applied as of 22 March 2021.
The government has slowed the pace of vaccinating as it awaits new batches of vaccines. A shipment of 1 million Chinese vaccines arrived on Wednesday, 17 March to the Las Americas International Airport to restart the mass vaccination rollout and the application of the second dose vaccinations. Another large batch of vaccines is expected from China later this March 2021.
Regarding testing in the Dominican Republic, private labs have special facilities for those requiring results in time for travel abroad. Results of PCR tests can be had in 24 hours for those presenting a valid airline ticket at Referencia Lab branches in Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, La Romana and Punta Cana. Antigen tests results can be had in three hours at Referencia and Amadita labs in the same locations. Nevertheless, travelers are recommended to make arrangements with extra time.
Canada and Spain are requiring all entering the country to show negative results of a PCR test carried out within 72 hours before the traveler’s scheduled departure to those countries. The US requires travelers to show negative antigen or PCR test results taken within 72 hours of the arrival to US territory.
Nine Covid-related new deaths are recorded for the Wednesday, 17 March 2021 deadline, yet the bulletin reports five deaths occurring in the previous 24 hours of the deadline. The Ministry of Public Health says the larger number of total reported deaths are due to general delays in the hospitals’ paperwork. The authorities register 3,257 Covid-19-related deaths since March 2020.
On 16 March 2021, the government issued Decree 171-21 that extends curfew on Good Friday, 2 April. On that day, curfew will be from 7pm to 5am, with a three-hour free transit. The executive act also instates a ban on alcoholic beverage sales in public places (resorts are the exception) on 2, 3 and 4 April, the peak days of the Easter holiday. A ban on alcohol consumption and sale in public places is also instated for those three days. Otherwise, the government maintains the preventive measures in place that have shown to be effective in slowing the pace of the spread of the virus.
Decree 171-21 establishes that from 18 March to 15 April 2021, the curfew is from 9pm to 5am on Monday to Friday. There is a three-hour free transit window on Monday to Friday (to 12am-midnight, up from 10pm), regardless of whether the day falls on a holiday, with the exception of Good Friday, 2 April 2021. Keeping the curfew means that on Saturdays 20 March and 27 March and Sundays 21 and 28 March 2021, the curfew will start at 7pm with a three-hour commute period (until 10pm).
Open-air public spaces, such as parks and boulevards, can be used for activities other than social gatherings and always complying with preventive health protocols. Gyms, restaurants and bars are allowed to reopen to 60% of their capacity. A maximum of six persons per table is allowed, among other health protocols. Religious ceremonies are allowed three days a week, as long as they keep within 60% of the capacity of the church and churchgoers must keep their masks on during the service. Theaters have resumed showings under health protocols. Schools continue officially closed for in-person learning.
Hotels and resorts continue to operate under previously established less restrictive health protocols. This means that alcoholic beverages are available at restaurants and bars within the resort or hotel areas that are under the tourism protocols. Otherwise, Decree 171-21 has banned the consumption of alcoholic beverage in public places on 2, 3, 4 April, Friday to Sunday of the Easter holiday.
The government began to vaccinate for the Covid-19 virus on 16 February 2021. The first phase of vaccinations covered the around 12,000 front-line staff at clinics and hospitals that see Covid-19 patients. Two first batches of 20,000 and 30,000 doses of Covishield arrived from the India Oxford-AstraZeneca manufacturing plant since 15 February 2021. The next shipment was one of 768,000 doses of Sinovac/Coronavac vaccine that arrived on 23 February 2021 from China for the continuing of the National Vaccination Plan. The government received a 1 million batch of Sinovac vaccines on 17 March 2021 to continue the vaccination plan. An additional large shipment from China is expected later in March. The Dominican government has also contracted vaccines with UK manufacturers of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech and others, through the World Health Organization-Covax Facility.
The Ministry of Public Health continues to mandate keeping to the preventive measures of mask-wearing and physical distancing in public spaces and hand hygiene. In the cities, mask-wearing is the norm and is mandatory. Mask-wearing is relaxed in beach properties.
The Dominican Republic continues under a National State of Emergency. The Presidency enacted Decree 95-21 that extends the National State of Emergency for another 45-day period from 2 March to 15 April 2021.
By regional standards, the Dominican Republic has been relatively successful at treating Covid-19 and keeping the number of deaths low. For the 17 March 2021 deadline, Worldometer lists the 1M deaths per inhabitant rate for the Dominican Republic at 298. According to the same 1M deaths statistics, fewer people have died of Covid-19 in the Dominican Republic than in the United Kingdom at 1,848, Italy at 1,719, the United States at 1,658, Spain at 1,559, France at 1,402, Brazil at 1,335, Colombia at 1,200, Argentina at 1,192, Germany 890, Russia at 643 and Canada at 595, all major markets for Dominican tourism and countries with overall better health systems.
The number of deaths continues relatively low. As of the 17 March 2021 deadline, 3,257 persons are reported to have died of the disease in the Dominican Republic, a nation of more than 10.9 million people. The fatality rate is 1.31%. The fatality rate per 1M inhabitants is 311.72. Dominican physicians’ diverse treatment for the disease has been relatively successful in the region. The Ministry of Public Health reports that the country’s 311.72 fatality rate per 1M compares favorably to the average 1M inhabitants’ fatality rate for the Americas at 1,231.11.
The Ministry of Public Health report #364 indicates 17% of Covid-19 hospital beds are occupied (450 of 2,586 total available), down from the previous day. 32% of the intensive care units for Covid-19 are taken (171 of 537 beds), up from the previous day. The hospitalization statistics are for all the country. Hospitalization demand in Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago and other major cities is much higher than the national average.
The past seven days bulletin results are:
Bulletin #364: 247,979 confirmed cases, 615 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 40,534 active cases, 9 deaths are reported for the deadline, and five reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 311.72.
Bulletin #363: 247,364 confirmed cases, 570 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 40,460 active cases, 11 deaths are reported for the deadline, and seven reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 310.86.
Bulletin #362: 246,794 confirmed cases, 495 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 40,487 active cases, 11 deaths are reported for the deadline, and two reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 309.81.
Bulletin #361: 246,299 confirmed cases, 254 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 40,526 active cases, four deaths are reported for the deadline, and none reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 308.75.
Bulletin #360: 246,045 confirmed cases, 429 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 40,761 active cases, nine deaths are reported for the deadline, and four reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 308.37.
Bulletin #359: 245,616 confirmed cases, 164 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 41,024 active cases, no deaths are reported for the deadline, and yet one is reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 307.51.
Bulletin #358: 245,452 confirmed cases, 529 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 41,317 active cases, 9 deaths are reported for the deadline, and 5 reported happening in the past 24 hours. The fatality rate is 1.31%, fatality rate per 1M is 307.51.
Greater Santo Domingo continues to lead in the number of reported PCR cases. As of 17 March 2021 at 6pm, the deadline for Bulletin #364, the most confirmed cases have been reported in the National District (71,014) and the Santo Domingo province (49,375). The numbers account for around 48.5% of the 247,979 confirmed cases nationwide.
Other provinces are: Santiago (27,542), La Vega (10,022), La Altagracia (9,158), Puerto Plata (7,563), La Romana (7,543), San Cristóbal (7,406), Duarte (6,378), Espaillat (5,131), San Juan de la Maguana (3,675), Monseñor Nouel (3,442), San Pedro de Macoris (3,325), Sánchez Ramírez (3,127), Maria Trinidad Sánchez (3,069), Azua (3,054), Barahona (2,625), Valverde (2,439), Hermanas Mirabal (2,329), Peravia (2,094), Baoruco (1,358), Monte Plata (1,209), Monte Cristi (1,137), Santiago Rodriguez (1,132), Dajabón (1,034), Independencia (972), Samaná (883), El Seibo (878), San José de Ocoa (808), Hato Mayor (806), Pedernales (637) and Elías Piña province, on the border with Haiti, is the only province to register less than 500 cases. Elías Piña reports 407 cases as of the 17 March 2021 deadline.
The Ministry indicates that the newest allocated cases (more than 9) reported for 17 March 2021 update deadline are: National District (224), Santo Domingo (139), Santiago (52), San Cristóbal (26), La Romana (24), La Altagracia (20), San Pedro de Macorís (15), Azua (12), Peravia (12), San Juan de la Maguana (12) and Sánchez Ramírez (11).
Haiti reports 12,686 confirmed cases and 251 deaths, for the 17 March 2021 deadline. Experts attribute the low number of deaths in Haiti in part due to extensive vaccinating of babies with the tuberculosis vaccine and widespread use of ivermectin for parasites that have raised the immunity of the population. In person education has continued regularly in Haiti, and most people do not wear masks.
In the Americas, the Dominican Republic is now ranked 12th in confirmed PCR cases after the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Canada, Chile, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Read more:
Decree 171-21
Decree 95-21
Decree 133-21
VacunateRD
See the Ministry of Public Health epidemiological
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John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
University of Washington Health Data
University of Oxford Covid Tracker
Worldometer
Our World in Data
18 March 2021