They were just starting to recover from days of Covid-19 lockdown. Now restaurants and bars are being told they need to shut down by 7pm on weekdays, again.
Small business owners in the Colonial City say the extending the curfew hours announced by Vice President Raquel Peña on Tuesday, 15 December 2020, is a big blow for them. The health authorities stretched from 7pm to 9pm the curfew hours on weekdays. Now businesses are ordered to close by 7pm and people to be home before 9pm.
Grey Heyaine, of the Association of Bars and Restaurants of the Colonial Zone complained the businesses were just adjusting to the new schedules. She said the way things are going, the bars and restaurants will have to close permanently, leaving thousands of employees without work. She said already more than 50 association members have closed permanently due to the restrictions imposed by the government.
The new curfew is 7pm to 5am every day for Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Vega, Duarte and Puerto Plata. People are allowed two hours of free transit to get home. Metro and Omsa buses will operate until 8pm daily.
Health Minister Plutarco Arias attributes the recent spike in cases to the social gathering of the young people, the main patrons of the Colonial City establishments. While Dominicans regularly wear masks and keep social distance, all that seems to be forgotten when meeting with friends.
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Hoy
Diario Libre
N Digital
16 December 2020