2020 – Page 206

After thousands thronged a government office at the Megacentro mall, Hacienda Minister Donald Guerrero went on TV on Friday evening to explain that the government is reaching out to the poor to deliver the promised RD$5,000 in cash for food supplies. The program has been named “Quedate en Casa.” Guerrero says that the Solidarity cards …

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Solidarity of the private sector continues to pour in to help the country deal with the economic and social impacts of the 2020 pandemic. As of Thursday, July and August, more than half a million in private donations for Covid-19 had been announced. Among the donors are: The Business Alliance to Heal a Nation (Alianza …

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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 …

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Two weeks ago, the mayor of Santiago de los Caballeros, Abel Martinez, issued orders to close down Los Hospedajes, the century-old market in the lower part of the city. Vendors there sold fruits and staples for resale to the public. Some of the stalls there have been in the same family for more than three …

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Any vehicle that has been impounded during the current curfew period will remain at the old dog track (the Canódromo) until the curfew decree is lifted. This is the grim news from the head of the Traffic and Ground Transportation Agency (Digesett), General Ernesto Rodriguez Garcia. Decree 142-20 sets the 5pm until 6am curfew through …

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The Essential Medicine Program (Promese), the state-run, low cost, pharmaceutical provider, has announced that it has ample stores of hydroxychloroquine. The medication is used to prevent and treat malaria and is also used for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other sicknesses. It is taken by mouth. The local medical authorities say the drug has proven to …

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With 90% of the media coverage dedicated to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, people tend to forget that we are very close to hurricane season in the Caribbean. Yes, just one issue after another. The good forecasters at the University of Colorado are saying that there could well be four major hurricanes this year; …

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Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra was inspired to write “Gracias” on Friday, a Christian song he composed in the midst of the present global health crisis. In the Dominican Republic, 68 persons had died when the song was released. Guerra is perhaps the most international artist of the Dominican Republic. He released the theme on …

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The Dominican ambassador to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Jose Antonio Rodríguez, composed a song, “When All is Over” (Cuando todo termine) to give hope in these days of Covid-19. In Paris, France, in an interview with Mariasela Alvarez for Esta Noche con Mariasela on Friday, he explained that there is optimism …

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The Ministry of Public Health reports on 1,380 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Dominican Republic as of 1 April 2020 at 6pm, according to Coronavirus Bulletin #14. The number of cases is 96 more than the previous 1,284. Of these, 179 persons are hospitalized and another 1,125 are monitored while in self-isolation or in …

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