Labs around the country turned out results for only 1,098 cases in time to make Bulletin #110 that includes results up to Monday, 6 July 2020. Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas explained in his Tuesday, 7 July 2020 Coronavirus briefing that the staff at the labs took off for voting, and also the labs did not have sufficient kits to complete the testing. This has resulted in a recent record low of 302 confirmed cases for the bulletin. Yet there is a high 17 additional recorded deaths.
Hospitalizations are at 3,823 and 211 persons are in intensive care units, 77.25% of these in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago, the two main cities.
The main numbers for Bulletin #110 for the Dominican Republic are: Processed PCR tests 171,097; Confirmed cases 38,430; New Cases 302; Accumulated Deaths 821; New deaths for the bulletin, 17.
President Danilo Medina met on Tuesday with the Covid Response Management Committee members who recommend the selective application of restrictive measures in locations and provinces where the virus is spreading fast.
Meanwhile, the president of the Dominican Medical Association, Dr. Waldo Ariel Suero, says people are not using masks right. He said people need to put on their masks after washing their hands. This is especially important for those that are reusing masks. Dr. Suero forecasts the worst of the pandemic is still to come.
The coordinator of the Medina administration High Commission for the Prevention of Coronavirus, Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo announced last night that the government had not yet decided to apply restrictive measures. In the Dominican Republic, the government skipped over Phase 3 of the reopening, which allowed companies to reinstate 100% of their staff (up from 75%). It passed to Phase 4 that allowed the resuming of airline flights, opening of hotels and restaurants. The government also authorized the reopening of gyms that was included in Phase 5.
Speaking on “Esta Noche con Mariasela,” the director of the National Health System Chanel Rosa Chupany said that the government would be applying targeted health interventions in critical areas. He named Greater Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal and Santiago as the first targeted areas.
In an interview with Roberto Cavada, Dr. Amado Alejandro Baez, the executive director of the Covid Response Management Committee said that provinces that are handling their situation should not be penalized with restrictions. He has advocated for local enforcement of restrictions. He said Dominicans have to reinvent the way they socialize in these Covid-19 times. He said people’s bad individual decisions affect others. He appealed for a collective social awareness to control the pandemic in the Dominican Republic.
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Esta Noche con Mariasela
To see the full #110 Epidemiological Bulletin, go to:
8 July 2020