The 4-week Covid-19 positivity rate is up to 12.36%, with the 24-hour positivity rate down to 25.36%, as per Covid-19 Bulletin #1,003 dated 16 December 2022.
The Ministry of Public Health is encouraging people to up their vaccination status, with a third, fourth or fifth vaccine that are available for free in the Dominican Republic. The analysis of samples from people recently infected with Covid-19 confirms the subvariant of the Omicron strain, known as XBB, is circulating in the country. The new variant is not worse than the Omicron, but does spread rapidly. The symptoms are a cough, runny nose and fever.
The number of Covid-19 registered cases in the Dominican Republic for Bulletin #1,003 was 371, down from 425 on the previous day. The number of cases is said to be much more, with most going undiagnosed or diagnosed with home antigen kits. Former President Danilo Medina tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, 15 December 2022.
What is certain is that the number of Covid-19 cases has been rising as the weather is now chilly in the evenings and early mornings.
The seven-day average (confirmed lab-reported cases) is down to 399 compared to 350 for the previous seven day average. The number of active cases is up to 2,798 from 2,737 on the previous day. The seven-day active case average has risen to 2,645.
Except in hospitals, every day less people wear facial masks in the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, in recent days, given the impact of seasonal influenza, more people are again using face masks as a preventive measure.
As per Bulletin #1,003, with the deadline of 16 December 2022, the Ministry of Public Health has registered 655,806 PCR or antigen-confirmed cases since the first case on 1 March 2020. The number of first time lab tests is at 1,463. The number of PCR tests is 709.
As of the 16 December 2022 deadline, 4,384 persons are reported to have died of the disease in the Dominican Republic, a nation of more than 10.8 million adults since March 2020. The 1M/death rate is at 395 compared to the 2,776.16 average for the Americas region. The fatality rate in the DR is at 0.68%. The fatality rate per 1M inhabitants is 419.58.
As per the 16 December 2022 deadline, the cases continue to be concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago, but has now spread out to most urban areas nationwide. There were 148 lab-recorded cases in the National District, 56 in Santiago, 14 in Espaillat, Valverde, Sanchez Ramirez and San Pedro de Macoris, 12 in La Romana, 10 in La Vega, 7 in Hermanas Mirabal, and 4 in Azua and Dajabón and 3 in San Jose de Ocoa. In all other provinces there were 2 or less cases.
The Ministry of Public Health says people in the Dominican Republic should take up again enhanced hygiene measures, mask wearing and social distancing to avoid falling ill the new Covid-19 variants, but more so with seasonal influenza and dengue, respiratory syncytial virus. The government has made available hundreds of thousands of free flu vaccines at regular vaccination stations nationwide.
18 December 2022