You don’t want to be caught violating curfew in the Dominican Republic. The inconvenience, health risk and cost are reasons to not take any chance of being caught circulating without permission.
Those staying at resorts and hotels are subject to different protocols allowing for increased mobility. Unless you are staying at a resort, commuting to or from the airport to take a flight (with a valid ticket to prove it) or have a special permit issued by the Ministry of Public Health and the authorities, do not chance getting arrested.
Those arrested for driving during curfew are required to pay RD$2,000 to be released after spending a night in jail. Now, the Attorney General announces the fee is increased to RD$5,000. Those driving motorcyclists are fined RD$2,000. Those arrested on foot, are fined RD$1,000. Bars, restaurants, entertainment centers and private parties are to be fined RD$100,000.
Other fines are RD$50,000 to the owner of a passenger bus that violates the curfew. Truck drivers will be fined RD$30,000. Cockfighter owners are fined RD$100,000.
Money is just money. The main reason to plan ahead with ample time to be sure you are home at the deadline is the possibility of being a victim of police abuse. Social media is full of videos showing the police’s abusive actions, in part a consequence of their own pandemic fatigue after months of attempts to get the Dominican population to respect the curfew.
The Attorney General says 9,000 persons have been arrested so far for violation of the curfew. In January, the government curfew has considerably reduced mobility on Saturdays and Sundays. During the first half of the month, curfew began at noon. For the next two weeks, a three-hour free transit period has been added for weekends in January, but most businesses are ordered to close at noon. The intention is to contain the spike in Covid-19 cases as part of a second wave that has swept the country straining private hospitals’ capacity and lab testing.
The Attorney General’s Office reported that RD$92,655,290 have been collected in curfew fines since it was imposed in March 2020. December was the month in which most fines were collected, with RD$21.3 million.
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12 January 2021