44 out of 100 tests are positive for COVID-19 in the DR
In a systematic increase in infections, the Covid-19 virus continues among the Dominican population, reaching 44.23% daily positivity as of January 3rd.
In the last 24 hours, a total of 2,856 new cases of the virus were detected, one of the highest figures registered in the country since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 1,643 correspond to the National District, 458 to the province of Santo Domingo and 206 to La Altagracia.
The records of positivity and cases exceed those notified in the same period of January last year to date, when the country faced the second wave of the virus.
On January 3rd and 4th, 2021, a positivity of 27.37% and 34.88%, respectively, was recorded, with 2,043 infections captured in 24 hours that last day.
Public Health officials also notified two new deaths from Covid-19, raising the death figures to 4,251 from March 2020 to date.
Active cases
The epidemiological report number 655 issued on January 3rd indicates that in the last 24 hours 11,050 laboratory samples were processed, of which 2,856 were positive, raising the active cases captured by the system to 10,999.
The positivity of the last four weeks, an indicator that drives the behavior of the virus, also shows an upward trend, standing yesterday at 9.56%.
Hospitalizations also increased with the registration of 434 patients admitted, for a 19% occupation of regular Covid-19 beds. In Intensive Care Units (ICU) 114 admitted people were reported, for the same percentage of 19% occupancy.
In ventilation, 76 people were registered yesterday, for a 16% occupation of the enabled equipment.
The country accumulates a total of 4,251 deaths, with a fatality rate of 1.00%.
The total number of cases with a positive diagnosis accumulated in the country is 424,809, of which 409,559 are reported as recovered.
Of the tests carried out in the last 24 hours, 6,294 were for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and 4,756 for antigen, of which 6,457 were done for the first time, and 4,593 were subsequent.
In the country, 2,591,285 samples have been processed since the pandemic began, equivalent to 248,005 per million inhabitants. Although infections have been increasing among younger people, the risk groups continue to be in people with comorbidities.
Omicron
The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has quickly become the most dominant worldwide concern and has been present in the Dominican Republic since early December 2021 according to what has been reported by different studies, presenting a milder clinical picture, with less hospital admissions and very little fatality.