2021 – Page 179

The Ministry of Public Health’s Epidemiology Department Coronavirus Bulletin #410 reports 226 new PCR cases for the Sunday, 2 May 2021 deadline. The cases reported compare to the 7-day nationwide average for PCR confirmed cases that is 325, down significantly now that the government is only picking up the tab for one PCR free test …

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President Luis Abinader issued Decree 284-21 on Saturday, 1 May 2021, mandating the reform of the health sector in the Dominican Republic. In particular, the executive act calls for the restructuring of the Medications, Foods and Sanitation Products Agency (DigeMAPS). According to the decree, this government agency will now fall under the umbrella of the …

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The Ministry of Environment rejected that Transcontinental Capital Corporation (Seaboard) simultaneously operate two power barges at the Ozama River. The company says it obtained all the permits to operate the present Estrella del Mar II and the soon to arrive Estrela del Mar III in the Ozama River in Santo Domingo during the past administration. …

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Ivan Hernández Guzmán, the son of Dominican ambassador in Washington, D.C. and the head of the National Price Stabilization Institute (Inespre) has announced that the farmers’ markets will reopen in several municipalities. For starters, the program will be available in eight provinces, Barahona, Azua, San Juan de la Maguana, Peravia (Baní), San Pedro de Macoris, …

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For years under the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) governments of Leonel Fernandez and Danilo Medina, a bill that would give the government the right to confiscate assets acquired through illicit operations stagnated in the National Congress. The latest bill eventually expired. The present penalties for corruption in government are relatively light and traditionally drug capos …

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The executive vice-president of the Institutionalism and Justice Foundation (Finjus), Servio Tulio Castaños Guzmán, told reporters last week that the Penal Code that is currently under study in Congress needs more work. He said that just two or three years in jail would not serve as a deterrent against corruption. At the same time he …

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Authorities in the border province of Dajabón seek to stop the construction of a canal in Haiti that would divert the waters of the Masacre River. The river is the dividing line between Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the northwest corner of the republic. Over the years, deforestation in Haiti has caused major erosion …

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The Dominican Association of Pension Fund Administrators (ADAFP), the entity that handles every retirement program in the Dominican Republic, has corrected a major misinterpretation of the proposals for modifying the retirement age for persons in these plans. It was widely circulated that the ADAFP had suggested raising the retirement age from 60 to 73, but …

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In about 60 or so days, wage increase talks will begin within the framework of the National Salary Committee. Rafael (Pepe) Abreu, the head of the Dominican National Workers Confederation, and speaking for other labor syndicates, said that labor seeks a 40% wage increase. Almost simultaneously, Labor Minister Luis Miguel De Camps told reporters that …

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Vice President Raquel Peña announced that vaccinations are available for all legal residents with ID cards over 50 as of Monday, 3 May and through 10 May 2021. It is expected that by 10 May all or most of those persons over 50 would be vaccinated, says Peña who is the chair of the Abinader …

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