Dominican Republic government extends national curfew
President Luis Abinader released decree 231-21 which extends and keeps the current national curfew scheduled until May 16th.
The current curfew time is Monday through Friday from 9:00pm to 5:00am, with a grace period of three hours for transit.
The Dominican Government took this measure after the National Congress approved a new state of emergency for another 45 days.
The deputies approved the extension on April 7th after the Dominican president requested it to the National Congress on March 26.
On weekends, the curfew is still from 7:00pm to 5:00am with the same grace of three hours to circulate.
In the letter sent by the president to the legislators, he points out that thanks to the curfew and the other social distancing measures adopted during the state of emergency, it has been possible to “exercise control over the disease, which is why it is necessary to maintain and modulate them while ensuring a gradual and safe economic reopening”.
It also considers that the strategy prepared by the World Health Organization to guide the state response during the COVID-19 pandemic establishes that the authorities of countries with community transmission, such as the Dominican Republic, adopt measures of distancing and restrictions of movement to reduce person-to-person contact, mortality rates, and the contagion curve of the disease to relieve some of the pressure on health care services.
The country has lived under a continuous state of emergency since July 20th, 2020, by decree 265-20 signed by Danilo Medina in consensus with the then-elected authorities, headed by Luis Abinader.