Dr. Amado Alejandro Báez, executive director of the Covid Response Management Committee, announced on Monday, 20 July 2020 that his boss, Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo would give details on Tuesday on what the National State of Emergency is bringing to the country. Dr. Báez made the observation when interviewed on the Esta Noche con Mariasela TV program.
Dr. Baez explained that the segregated curfew announced by the Medina administration in Decree 266-20 responds to the differences among the National District and provinces in the spread of the coronavirus and trends regarding the test-positivity rate and other epidemiological indicators.
High Commission for the Prevention of the Coronavirus, Gustavo Montalvo has advanced that the measures did not mean the tourism industry and other productive sectors would have to shut down again.
Joel Santos, a former president of the National Hotels & Tourism Association understands that the measures are part of a framework, but permits will be allowed for specific cases. In an interview on 20 July with Diana Lora of La Cuestión radio talk show on Super7FM, Santos said he expects that special permits will be authorized for the hotels and tourism businesses that are now only receiving small groups of tourists.
The Civil Defense on Sunday, 19 July 2020 announced the shutdown of beaches nationwide.
Furthermore, speaking for the Association of Industries, AIRD vice president Circe Almánzar says there was an error in the decree announcing the curfew and that industries that have been operating outside of the 7pm curfew hours are authorized to continue to do so.
After Congress passed the National State of Emergency in a final session of the Senate on Sunday, the Presidency announced it would go into effect as of 20 July 2020 through 3 September (Decree 265-20).
The new curfew measures that are now in effect, as per Decree 266-20, are:
From 7pm to 5am Monday through Friday and from 5pm to 5am on Saturdays and Sundays. It will be in effect in the National District and Santo Domingo province (Greater Santo Domingo). Greater Santo Domingo has more than 50% of the cases nationwide. It will also go in effect for 15 other provinces.
The list of provinces where this curfew is in effect, with the number of reported cases as of 19 July:
National District – 14,476
Santo Domingo – 13,901
Santiago – 4,516
San Cristóbal – 2,460
La Vega – 1,850
La Altagracia – 1,587
La Romana – 1,298
Duarte – 1,179
Azua — 981
Puerto Plata — 796
San Juan de la Maguana — 739
Sánchez Ramírez — 696
San Pedro de Macoris — 642
Monsignor Nouel — 553
María Trinidad Sánchez — 424
Provinces with a lighter version of the curfew, from 8pm to 5am the seven days of the week, are:
Espaillat – 1,062
Barahona 779
Peravia — 413
Hermanas Mirabal — 330
Valverde — 259
Samaná — 209
Elías Piña — 159
Monte Plata — 133
San José de Ocoa — 132
Montecristi — 131
Independencia — 129
Pedernales — 120
Santiago Rodríguez — 113
El Seibo — 108
Bahoruco — 46
Dajabón. — 69
Hato Mayor. — 63
These curfews will go into effect as of 21 July for a 20-day period. The Presidency says that how the epidemiological stats evolve will determine whether these are extended.
The Presidency reminds all that face masks are mandatory in public places and recommends the use even in private places as an essential measure to control the spread of the disease.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Hoy
Presidency
Listin Diario
N Digital
Diario Libre
21 July 2020