The Public Health Minister, Dr. Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas, says that stores and banks should not be requesting that persons wear gloves to be allowed to enter. The Medina government has said that wearing a mask is mandatory for circulating in public spaces. The military and police have taken the order to new levels, disallowing persons that do not have the masks to cross Ozama River bridges from east Santo Domingo into the National District.
Legally speaking, the government would have had to issue a presidential decree making the use of the masks mandatory for circulation.
In a press conference on 20 April 2020, Dr. Sánchez Cárdenas said: “What we want is for all citizens, if they do not have the masks, to use a protective scarf. We are talking about an acute respiratory infection of airborne transmission. While the mask cannot be fully effective, it does offer protection, a barrier that helps in some way, to contain viral transmission to other citizens.”
When asked about the gloves, he said it is true that these offer people “a false sense of security.” “It is preferable to wash hands with soap and water after being in a public space where there are usually large levels of viral loads,” he explained.
He acknowledged that many supermarkets and other businesses are requiring the use of gloves to allow people to enter. But he stressed that the use of gloves is for healthcare workers and for those who handle corpses.
Regarding several viral videos that show citizens eating food with gloves on, the official urged the population to wash their hands before eating. “Eating with the glove, I think, is an act of true ignorance,” he said.
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El Caribe
Public Health press conference – bulletin #32
21 April 2020