The 4-week Covid-19 positivity rate is up to 6.30%, with the 24-hour positivity rate at 25.35%, as per Covid-19 Bulletin #993 dated 6 December 2022.
The Ministry of Public Health is encouraging people to up their vaccination status, with a third, fourth or fifth vaccine that are available for free in the Dominican Republic. The analysis of samples from people recently infected with Covid-19 confirms the subvariant of the Omicron strain, known as XBB, is circulating in the country. The new variant is not worse than the Omicron, but does spread rapidly. The symptoms are a cough, runny nose and fever.
The number of Covid-19 registered cases in the Dominican Republic for Bulletin #993 was 469, up from 153 on the previous day. The number of official cases is said to be much more, with most cases going undiagnosed. What is certain is that the number of Covid-19 cases has been rising as the weather is now chilly in the evenings and early mornings.
The seven-day average (confirmed lab-reported cases) is up to 263, up from 246 from the previous week average. The number of active cases is up to 2,000 from 1,512 on the previous day. The seven-day active case average is 1,799.
Except in hospitals, every day less people wear facial masks in the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, in recent days, given the impact of seasonal influenza, more people are again using face masks as a preventive measure.
As per Bulletin #993, with the deadline of 6 December 2022, the Ministry of Public Health has registered 652,529 PCR or antigen-confirmed cases since the first case on 1 March 2020. The number of lab tests is at 1,850 including 1,135 PCR tests (many of these are repeat tests).
As of the 6 December 2022 deadline, 4,384 persons are reported to have died of the disease in the Dominican Republic, a nation of more than 10.8 million adults since March 2020. The 1M/death rate is at 395 compared to the 2,768.10 average for the Americas region. The fatality rate in the DR is at 0.68%. The fatality rate per 1M inhabitants is 419.58.
As per the 6 December 2022 deadline, the cases continue to be concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo. There were 238 registered cases in the National District, 136 in Santo Domingo province, 30 in Santiago, 13 in La Altagracia, 9 in San Cristóbal, 8 in La Romana, 6 in La Vega and 5 in San Pedro de Macorís. There were 4 or less cases in all other provinces.
The Ministry of Public Health says people in the Dominican Republic should take up again enhanced hygiene measures, mask wearing and social distancing to avoid falling ill the new Covid-19 variants, but more so with seasonal influenza and dengue, respiratory syncytial virus. The government has made available hundreds of thousands of free flu vaccines at regular vaccination stations nationwide.
7 December 2022