Dominican Republic will maintain random tests: rules out requiring vaccination card in hotels

“THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE PROTOCOL THAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IS WORKING”

Presenting the vaccination card against Covid-19 to enter hotels in the Dominican Republic is unnecessary, at least for the moment, reported the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), Rafael Blanco Tejera.

“We are not requesting and do not plan to do so. What we are doing is following the protocol that we have implemented, which is to do the random tests on arrival and departure… So far it is the protocol with which we continue,” he explained.

He indicated that although such a measure has been implemented in some countries, whether this is legal is being analyzed here.

“We are studying it from the legal point of view because many countries have done it but we are not clear how they are implementing it and in some places the legality of these measures has been questioned,” he added.

In that sense, Blanco Tejera said that, in Puerto Rico, guests of hotels, hostels, inns, or short-term rentals must present evidence that they are vaccinated against Covid-19. In the United States, it is required to enter restaurants.

He said that other countries, such as Portugal and some sites in Mexico, require a negative test or a digital vaccination certificate. Also in France, Italy and the Netherlands, Germany and other countries request it in some places. Some press reports indicate that this measure has been described as discriminatory.

The president of asonahores also reported that the important thing is that the protocol that has been implemented so far in the Dominican tourism sector has worked.