Dominican Republic: Authorities impose nationwide nighttime curfews July 21 /update 15

Event

Dominican authorities imposed nationwide nighttime curfews on Tuesday, July 21, due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Curfews from 19:00 to 05:00 (local time) Monday to Friday, and from 17:00 to 05:00 on Saturdays and Sundays will be in place for the National District area and to the provinces of Santiago, San Cristóbal, La Vega, Puerto Plata, Duarte, San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana, San Juan de la Maguana, La Altagracia, Azua, Monsignor Nouel, Sánchez Ramírez, and María Trinidad Sánchez.

Also, a 20:00 to 05:00 curfew has been imposed for every day of the week in the provinces of Espaillat, Peravia, Barahona, Monte Plata, Valverde, Hermanas Mirabal, Monte Cristi, Samaná, Bahoruco, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, Dajabón, Santiago Rodríguez, San José de Ocoa, Elías Piña, Independencia, and Pedernales. The different curfew times have been implemented due to the different rates of infection across the provinces. The measure will initially be imposed for 20 days as of Tuesday, but may be extended if necessary.

The government of the Dominican Republic declared a state of emergency for 45 days from Monday, July 20. The declaration provides the government with the ability to apply proportional restrictions on freedom of movement, public assembly, and other powers needed to control the spread of the virus.  

The mandatory wearing of face masks in public places remains in place nationwide.

As of Thursday, July 23, there have been 56,043 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, and 1005 associated fatalities. Further international spread of the virus is expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures: