Archive for March, 2020
On Sunday, 29 March 2020 Dominicans read several social media messages “tipping” people that a total lockdown would be declared. Thousands headed for the supermarkets to replenish their stocks. Dominicans have been ordered to stay at home since 20 March 2020. Making matters worse on Monday, nevertheless, at the end of the 6am curfew, hundreds of persons transiting from eastern Santo Domingo to the National District met with an unexplained roadblock at the Juan Bosch Bridge over the Ozama River. The roadblock would not be lifted until 9am.
Defense Minister Ruben Paulino Sem explained the measure saying the roadblocks at the entry and exit points of the Great Santo Domingo were to control these and ensure that no unnecessary mobilizations are being carried out. There is no legal disposition that impedes people from circulating outside of the curfew hours, nor have these been extended outside of the 5pm to 6am hours.
A spokesman for the Police Colonel Frank Duran Mejía defended the roadblock as part of a tightening of controls on entry and exit against the spreading of the virus. The roadblock was maintained from 6am to 9am on the bridge and caused major inconveniences to thousands.
TV reporters showed views of the blocked vehicles and when this went viral, the uncertainties and thousands reacted going to the stores to shop. They were met with long lines as supermarkets have instituted an obligation to keep a meter between every person entering the store. To shop, a facial mask is required.
The roadblock seemed to confirm the messages that were circulating on social media that a 24-hour curfew would be called. Even more people took to the stores to stock up for the would-be 14-day lockdown. Given that most unessential businesses are closed, thousands had the time to go shopping. The agglomeration of people was exactly what the Ministry of Public Health had been recommending against.
On the morning of Monday, 30 March 2020, the Administrative Minister of the Presidency said that the government is not contemplating a total lockdown to stop the virus.
Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas had said on Monday that San Francisco de Macorís is being taken as a model city of worst scenario for the spreading of the disease. He said what happens there will determine whether more drastic measures are taken. The director of the Police, Major General Ney Aldrin Bautista has said the Police has “shut down the city plan” but this would not be enacted without an order from the High Commission for the Prevention of the Coronavirus.
Dr. Waldo Ariel Suero of the Medical Association and several medical associations have called for the total lockdown for 14 days to curb the disease. Dr. Suero says only this measure will curb the disease. “It has the advantage that it avoids spreading the disease, detects the cases when persons without symptoms become ill at home, making these easy to locate, and isolates the ill,” said Suero.
Business sectors see the 14-day measure as a short-term hardship that will reduce having to keep other less strict measures for longer. William Figuereo, the spokesman for a large passenger transport company, said on TV: “If this is what we have to do, then we will have to do it.” He said it had worked in other countries.
Sociologist Melvin Mañón writes that the total lockdown is not practical because the government has no way to enforce it. He pointed to the difficulties the government is having in implementing the 5pm to 6am curfew. Around 2,000 people every day are arrested by the Police and military for violating the curfew. Hundreds of thousands of residents in the Dominican Republic are employed in businesses that have had to close, sending workers home without pay. This includes thousands of Haitians that worked in construction, hotels, and restaurants. Hundreds have started to return to Haiti, where the disease is just starting.
Diario Libre reported on 31 March 2020 that around 120,000 workers had been suspended without pay at the Ministry of Labor.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Mar 31, 2020
Friday a meeting was held between the Minister of Justice Lucmanne Delile and the Commissioners of the Government of the 18 public prosecutor’s offices of the country vis-a-vis the concerns expressed compared to the situation in the prison centers and the risk of contagion and propagation of COVID-19. During this meeting, Minister Delile instructed the Government Commissioners to do everything in their power to decongest prisons, especially those in the metropolitan area.
During this meeting, he underlined “Highway bandits such as kidnappers and rapists will certainly be kept in prison but the perpetrators of petty thefts, commonly called ‘larcins’ in Haitian legal jargon, can be released.”
Monday following this meeting, Charles Nazaire Noël, Director of Penitentiary Administration said during a joint press conference about preventing the COVID-19 coronavirus in prisons and fighting its spread “Awareness sessions have been held took place in prison centers across the country, installing water stations for hand washing and canceling visits until further notice. ”
For his part, the Government Commissioner of Port-au-Prince Jacques Lafontant presented the measures to relieve the congestion in the prisons of the jurisdiction of Port-au-Prince.
List of criteria :
- 1 – Prisoners of both sexes aged 65 and over with the exception of those serving a life sentence;
- 2 – Prisoners of both sexes suffering from a serious comorbidity factor declared prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with the exception of those serving a life sentence;
- 3 – Inmates of both sexes awaiting correctional judgment for more than 6 months;
- 4 – Prisoners of both sexes in possession of a referral to trial for crimes with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of minors and murder whose preventive detention exceeds 2 years firm (4 years for the jurisdiction of P-au-P);
- 5 – Prisoners of both sexes with a correctional judgment removal order;
- 6 – Convicts of both sexes held in excess detention due to the nature of a sentence denominated in forced labor;
- 7 – Convicts of both sexes detained for lack of a trial procedure followed by the prosecution of the prosecution;
- 8 – Convicts of both sexes having served at least 80% of their temporary sentences and who behaved with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of a minor and murder;
- 9 – Defendants in charge of investigating magistrates for misdemeanors and/or criminal associations.
- 10 – Detainees reputed to have no records, with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of minors and murder;
- 11- The recovered escapees corresponding to the legal situation of categories 4, 9 and 10.
Source: HaitiLibre
Mar 31, 2020
President Danilo Medina issued Decree 134-20 on Friday, 20 March, imposing a curfew through 3 April 2020 and stricter transit measures in the Dominican Republic. The measure comes after Congress approved declaring a State of Emergency on Thursday, 19 March.
The Police are ordered to enforce the measures and during the first four days around 4,000 persons have been arrested for violating the curfew. Vehicles are being seized to ensure Dominicans take it seriously. The vehicles need to be recovered at the Canódromo vehicle storage on 4 April 2020. The government is urging people to take it seriously. Around 500 vehicles have been seized from people who were on the road during the curfew.
The last time the DR was subject to a curfew was in 1998 on 10 September after Hurricane Georges hit the southeast of the country, killing 235 persons.
The measure is intended to reduce the speed of transmission of the coronavirus after the total number of cases has climbed to 202 as reported on Sunday, 22 March 2020, almost double those on the previous day. Sánchez Cárdenas says that the spike is attributed to the wedding in Cap Cana, the cruise ship passengers on the Costa Favolosa and a private party.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Mar 23, 2020
The unhappy news has arrived that the Brugal Company, the leading rum manufacturer in the Dominican Republic, and a major exporter of its products, has shut down operations in the Dominican Republic in support of the government emergency decree. Brugal has 900 employees in the Dominican Republic. These were sent to stay at home until new notice.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Mar 23, 2020
The coronavirus is causing major disruption among those who work in the informal sector. This is estimated to employ around 59% of Dominican workers.
Street vendors, food stalls at the markets, trinket salespeople in tourist areas and those independent laborers who cut grass, trim hedges and clean up houses and gardens are the ones being most affected by the travel restriction, the curfew and the lack of clients for the most part.
As in the rest of the world, people here are asking “when will it end.” As of this writing, there are well over a hundred confirmed cases and one more fatality. In Santo Domingo, the main commercial streets and avenues, such as Churchill, Lincoln, Mella and Maximo Gomez are pretty much deserted. In addition, those vendors that typically service the large bus terminals on the way out of the capital, are also in dire straits, with few passengers traveling anywhere.
However, the very basic need for foodstuffs has been something of a boon for some markets, since people have continued to buy up staples for the coming week or weeks, forcing merchants to try and restock their stands and shelves.
According to one report, there is a curious lack of people at hospitals such as Marcelino Velez Santana, Dario Contreras and the Maternity center in Los Mina. With traffic down to a minimum, it is logical that the reporters did not find many people at the Dario Contreras, the nation’s largest trauma center.
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
Mar 23, 2020
The government announced that the Metropolitan Office of Bus Services (OMSA) buses, as well as the intercity busses (both large and small) are to stop running as a measure to ensure social distancing and reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The OMSA buses, the Santo Domingo Metro and the city skylift over the Ozama River are also halted. Presidential Minister Gustavo Montalvo made the announcement. This measure will affect a large number of people.
Montalvo also noted that there is a guaranteed food supply and the egg and poultry industry has publically declared that they are ready to supply the entire market.
And finally, there is a little-known industry, called the Military Industry, which was begun by President Medina back in 2018, which will begin to supply disposable medical supplies such as surgical gowns and masks for the local market and the clinics and hospitals.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Mar 23, 2020
Since most of the population in the Dominican Republic was not even born the last time there was an emergency and a curfew decreed by government in 1998, it is a good thing to know just how it affects everyone in the country. What Decree 134-20 means is that the rights of assembly, of transit and of holding a meeting are suspended for the time necessary to deal with the propagation of the COVID-19. However, none of the other civil liberties, such as freedom of expression, habeas corpus, due cause and the other rights listed in Article 266 of the Dominican Constitution and Article 11 of the Law covering the Exceptional State, are hindered or curtailed.
The decree issued by President Medina is for 25 days (through 13 April 2020), and, if five days before the end of this period, the authorities are not convinced that the cause of the State of Emergency has been remedied, the Executive Branch can request from Congress approval for an extension. The President is also obliged to provide periodic reports to the Congress regarding the situation that required the original decree in the first place.
Source: DR1, Eldia
Mar 23, 2020
Mini Market La Caoba – is a convenience store (colmado) located in La Mulata I in Sosua, with recent new owners. Here you can purchase a variety of products such as food, fruits & vegetables, wine, beer, cold drinks, snacks, canned food, hygiene and cosmetics products, pool supply. They also have their own butchery, offering fresh meat, cheese, and sausages. Additionally, at La Caoba you can buy big bottles of drinking water and bags of ice.
Opening hours:
7:30 am – 11:00 pm
Monday to Sunday
La Caoba runs the occasional BBQ and karaoke events. The new bar area is built with a nice cana roof for their visitors, and there is plenty of parking space.
Take Away: Order food delivery to your office or home.
Tel: 809-589-1494
Cell/Whatsapp: 829-974-4611
Address:
Calle Flavollan,
La Mulata I, Sosua
