Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas explained that Dominican statistics on Covid-19 will change once more diagnostic tests become available. Once more tests are carried out hundreds more of persons with Covid-19 virus are expected to be detected. At the same time, the death rate will decline for the country. This is because the Covid-19 fatality rate is calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the total number of confirmed cases. In the Dominican Republic mostly only the seriously ill are being tested, and thus the higher case fatality rate, as a higher proportion of these patients will die.
As of 6pm on Monday, 29 March 2020, there were 901 cases tested positive in the Dominican Republic and 42 deaths. Since when the first case of Covid-19 was diagnosed on 1 March, only 2,590 persons had been officially tested.
The Public Works Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas has said that the government is working to step up the number of diagnostic tests that are available to the population. When there are more tests, then the statistical comparisons will give a better idea of the situation, said the minister. He said once there are more tests carried out and there are more positives, the relative number of deaths will decline.
Sánchez Cárdenas has announced that expanded diagnostic testing will start this week. He announced the insurance companies and governmental Sisalril had reached an agreement for the coverage of these tests. At present, many complain the tests are only available to government officers, the rich and famous, and those with the right contacts. The waiting lists to be tested are long. The situation is expected to change this week.
Speaking during the press briefing to announce the results of Bulletin 11, Sánchez Cárdenas explained why San Francisco de Macorís has so many deaths. The province has 13 deaths compared to 5 in the cities of Santiago and the National District, with many times its population. “The hospitals are not the best,” he admitted. He said many patients were sent to Santiago hospitals, when the city medical services were overwhelmed. San Francisco de Macorís was also the first city to have local transmission. This occurred when most people were unaware that the person coughing or sneezing near them could have a serious and very contagious disease.
Investigative journalist Alicia Ortega on her “El Informe con Alicia Ortega” report on Channel 9 on Monday, 30 March 2020, presented evidence that Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas is being overly optimistic about actions the government is taking to counter the rising epidemic in San Francisco de Macorís. She showed footage of the San Vicente de Paul public hospital in the city, that is the chosen hospital for Covid-19 cases, where areas have yet to be prepared to deal with sick patients. A physician told the journalist that she has long been on a waiting list to be tested for the disease while continuing to attend to patients.
The province of Duarte and its capital city, San Francisco de Macoris, reports 90 cases, 7 new cases as of 6pm on 30 March 2020, 22 deaths, 24% mortality.
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YouTube – Alicia Ortega
YouTube – Alicia Ortega
YouTube – Alicia Ortega
31 March 2020