Archive for June, 2021
Major increase in building costs
The prices of lumber, rebar, zinc, aggregate, and other construction materials is up more than 50%, reports the Dominican Federation of merchants. It calls on the Ministry of Industry & Commerce to meet with hardware stores and importers to find a solution to the rising cost of construction. In the case of lumber, prices are up more than 200%.
Listin Diario reports that a bag of cement that cost RD$360 in January 2021, in June is costing RD$398.00, an increase of 5.56%. A bundle of rebar that cost RD$44,500 is now priced at RD$71,000, while the cubic meter of aggregate has varied from RD$750.00 to RD$1,160.00.
The foot of wood has gone up from RD$40 to RD$130 per foot, for an increase of 225%.
Other products that have experienced increases are the 6″ block that went from RD$3,025 to RD$3,150, the gallon of paint from RD$1,040 to RD$1,247, and zinc from RD$160 to RD$240.
Source: DR1, ListinDiario
June 8, 2021
Haiti welcomes DR decision to vaccinate undocumented immigrants
Haitian ambassador Smith Augustin thanked the Dominican government for its decision to allow undocumented foreigners to be vaccinated. Haitians make up the largest population group of undocumented people living in the Dominican Republic.
The vaccinating teams are now allowing foreigners with a fixed domicile in the Dominican Republic to be vaccinated even if they do not have the required ID papers.
Haiti appreciates the solidarity of the Dominican Republic with foreigners residing in the country, said the ambassador in a statement. He encouraged Haitians living in the Dominican Republic to get vaccinated.
Vaccinations have not begun in Haiti after that country initially rejected vaccinating with the allotment assigned of AstraZeneca vaccines.
Public Health Minister Daniel Rivera had announced on Saturday, during the Corpus Christi vaccination campaign, that those with a domicile could be vaccinated even when not having regular legal status or documentation.
Foreigners “of any nationality, not only Haitians, (….) if they have a permanent address here, the Provincial Health Agency will locate them and they will be vaccinated there”, said the official to the press. The statement was interpreted as an official clearance for undocumented foreigners to be vaccinated.
Source: DR1, Z101Digital
June 8, 2021
Queens of the Caribbean defeat Turkey in Nations League
After a slow start in the tournament, the Dominican Republic senior women’s volleyball team defeated the team of Turkey in the Nations League Volleyball Championship. Turkey had won all its games until the match against the “Queens of the Caribbean” as the Dominican volleyball team is known. Team DR defeated Turkey with scores of 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, and 25-17 in the tournament that is taking place in Rimini, Italy.
The Dominican Republic women’s volleyball team has won four games and lost four in the 16-team Nations League tournament. Team DR is now in 7th place in the tournament. The top six teams are the USA, Turkey, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan, and Russia. The tournament is a warm-up for the Tokyo Olympics. The Dominican Republic is one of the 12 teams that will be competing in the volleyball tournament of the Tokyo Olympics.
The DR games have been:
Losses:
DR lost to the USA on 26 May: 0-3 games
DR lost to Brazil in 0-3 games
DR lost to Belgium 2-3
DR lost to Russia 2-3
Wins:
DR defeated Canada 3-1
DR defeated Korea 3-0
DR defeated Poland 3-1
DR defeated Turkey 3-1
The DR will next play Thailand (8 June), Italy (12 June), China (13 June), Netherlands (14 June), Japan (18 June), Serbia (19 June), Germany (20 June). The semi-finals of the Nations League are on 24 June and the final round on 25 June.
Read more:
Nations League
Nations League standings
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
June 8, 2021
Electrical wiring robbery at Barahona Port; operations are paralyzed
A major robbery at the facilities of the newly-remodeled Barahona Port, early on Monday morning (7 June 2021) affected its operations. The vandals stole the wiring system that gives energy to the machinery that lifts the freight containers unto the cargo ships.
According to an El Nuevo Diario source, operations at the dock terminal were shut due to the lack of energy. The incident is causing millions in losses to Belfond Enterprise, the calcium carbonate exporting company that contracted for the remodeling of the port.
Source: DR1, El NuevoDiario
June 8, 2021
Universities to require vaccinations
The Ministry of Superior Education (MESCyT) and the Association of Superior Education Institutes (AIES) announced that they will be requiring their students, teachers, administrative and support personnel to be properly vaccinated and to show their vaccination cards to return to the classroom.
Superior Education Minister Franklín García Fermín and the rectors of all the universities grouped in the Association of Higher Education Institutes (AIES) state the measure is taken to preserve the health of all.
In addition to Garcia Fermin, the document is signed by Jose Rene Frias of the Association of Superior Education Institutes (AIES); Jose A. Hazim, president of the Dominican Association of University Rectors (ADRU); Jose A. Aybar, of the Dominican Association of Universities (ADOU); Emma Polanco, rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD); Franklin Holguin Haché, representative of the Autonomous Universities and Ricardo Winter of the Association of Private Universities (AURED).
University classes are expected to resume with a hybrid model (in-person and virtual classes) in August 2021.
Source: DR1m DiarioLibre
June 8, 2021
DR voted to occupy a vice presidency for the 76th UN General Assembly
The Dominican Republic was elected to occupy one of the vice presidencies of the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly for 2021-2022. He will take the seat of one of the three vice presidencies assigned to the Latin American and Caribbean Group (Grulac).
Ambassador Jose Blanco, permanent representative to the United Nations, will hold the position.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations says the Dominican Republic had not held a vice presidency for almost 30 years.
Ambassador Blanco said that during the election, Dominican UN Permanent Mission councilor Claudia Mansfield was elected vice-chairperson of the Second Committee of the General Assembly. This committee deals with issues related to economic and financial matters and is one of the main committees of this multilateral organization.
Source: DR1, Ministry of Foreign Relations
June 8, 2021
Lockdown continues in Santo Domingo, at least for another week
The Presidency announced the extending for another week of the extended curfew and alcoholic beverage restrictions. That is, these will be in effect until Wednesday, 16 June 2021.
The measures in effect are:
A curfew from Monday to Friday from 6pm to 5am and Saturdays and Sundays from 3pm to 5am. There is a three-hour free circulation period that is exclusively for people to commute to where they will spend the night. The government has also ordered dry law (ban on sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages) is daily from 3pm a 5am.
The measures are applicable in: the National District and the provinces of Santo Domingo (Greater Santo Domingo), Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabón, Elías Piña, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, Hermanas Mirabal, Independencia, La Romana, María Trinidad Sánchez, Monseñor Nouel, Montecristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, San Cristóbal, San José de Ocoa, San Juan de la Maguana, San Pedro de Macorís, Sánchez Ramírez, Santiago Rodríguez and Valverde.
The exceptions to the extended curfew are the provinces of Duarte, Espaillat, La Altagracia (Punta Cana), La Vega (Jarabacoa and Constanza), Puerto Plata, Samaná, and Santiago, where the curfew is from 10 pm to 5 am from Monday to Friday and from 9 pm to 5 am on Saturdays and Sundays. The intention is to reduce mobility and people mixing when new highly transmissible variants of the virus are in circulation.
Most of the country’s major tourism destinations (Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, La Vega, and Samaná) are exempt from the recent restrictions in Decree 349-21/ Decree 364-21.
Source: DR1, Presidencia
June 8, 2021
Every person who owns a motorcycle must register it and have a driver’s license
Hundreds of motorcyclists are already taking the National Institute of Transport and Transit (Intrant) on their word of expedite license issuing for the driver and their vehicle.
Extensive red tape and fines in the system have discouraged thousands of motorcyclists from going legal. Most motorcycles in circulation do not have legal paperwork.
With most crimes and traffic accidents now involving motorcyclists, the pressure is on for these to put their papers in order or risk having their bikes seized by the Police.
As reported in Hoy, on Tuesday, dozens of motorcyclists queued up at the Club Los Cachorros de Cristo Rey to regularize their motorcycles for the first time. Hoy reports that one of those who took advantage of the fast-track privilege was Juan Maria Valdez who had been illegal since 1983. Another is Miguel Antonio Clase who said he is a motorcyclist-taxi working at the bus stop at Gustavo Mejía Ricart and Winston Churchill avenues. He said: “You have to have your license because when the police stop you if you don’t have your documents up to date they take the motor, they don’t even give you a fine, they take the motor and that’s it”, he said.
The fast-track program was launched on Saturday, 5 June as part of the National Motorcycle Registration Plan under the National Strategy for Citizen Security. The pilot program was begun at the Los Cachorros Club in Cristo Rey, in the parking lot of the National Zoo and near the Quisqueya Ballpark.
Every person who owns a motorcycle must register it and have a driver’s license regardless of the use or function of the vehicle.
The National Registry of Motorcycles, in compliance with Law 63-17, establishes as mandatory, the use of the protective helmet labeled with the motorcycle license plate, as well as obtaining a category 1 driver’s license.
While the license and registration are processed, each motorcyclist is given a unique code that needs to be placed on their protective helmet and used when driving the motorcycle.
The category 1 motorcyclist driver’s license is being issued for a period of three years at a cost of RD$600.
Read more in Spanish:
Intrant
Source: DR1, Intrant
June 8, 2021
Last updated January 23, 2026 at 4:16 pm