Dominican consulates and embassies abroad have been assisting Dominicans to find flights or ships to return to the Dominican Republic. Their plight has been carried on social media. Many complained that when the government announced the shutdown of air and seaports, it gave only 24 hours for people to make alternate travel arrangements.
Among those returning were 32 Dominicans that were on board the Marella Discovery 2 that docked in the Port of Sans Souci in Santo Domingo under strict hygiene and safety measures. The ship then headed to Europe. The Dominicans will need to remain in special quarantine centers managed by the Navy for 14 days. Several sent to the isolation center said that the installations located in Punta Torrecilla in the Sans Souci area had not been adequated to receive the travelers.
The Rannik shipping agency had applied for special docking authorization on humanitarian grounds and was granted this on Saturday, 4 April. The ship continues to Europe.
Likewise, another 118 Dominicans who were stranded in the US arrived on a special chartered flight organized by the DR Consulate General in New York City. Business people, students and transit passengers arrived on Delta flight 8871. The flight included Dominicans who had been stranded in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, California, and the cities of Seattle and Miami after the government announced the cancellation of all flights in just 24 hours.
The registration of interested persons was done through the new WhatsApp messaging system of the Dominican Consulate, the “ChatBot” at +1-914-826-8091, where they wrote “stranded” to be registered.
As reported in Hoy, a first flight had been scheduled for Friday, 27 March, but the permit was revoked by the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health.
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Diario Libre
6 April 2020