One week after the pilgrimage, Puerto Plata accumulated 46 confirmed cases of COVID-19

This Sunday marks a week of the pilgrimage in Puerto Plata that attracted the participation of thousands of people, in violation of the social distancing measures established to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

To date, that province went from 193 cases in epidemiological bulletin number 38, to 239 cases this Sunday, May 3.

In total, the province registered 46 new cases in the week of April 26 to May 3, four cases less than the growth of the coronavirus in the previous week, from 19 to 26, when it went from 143 to 193 cases, and despite the completion of massive testing that was announced for that place.

After the massive participation behind the pilgrim Mildomio Adames, who last Sunday walked to Puerto Plata with the mission of taking his wooden cross to the sea as penance so that the cases of COVID-19 in the province would end, the Public Health authorities criticized the fact and they described it as a political act.

The Minister of Public Health, Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas, stated that the activity was sponsored and organized by political sectors, in direct reference to the recent mayor of the San Felipe municipality of Puerto Plata, Diómedes Roque (Roquelito) García, who, in turn, detached from what happened.

Public Health also deployed a major operation to prevent the effects of the demonstration in a community already hit by the coronavirus. Said operation focused on an epidemiological cord that includes active search and notification of cases in coordination with neighborhood community boards, as well as carrying out massive virus detection tests.

The authorities also carried out an immediate cleaning of the streets of the municipality where the pilgrimage took place, in which, the minister assured, people who are positive to COVID-19 participated.

Sánchez Cárdenas has indicated that the main effects that the act that he called “vagabondía” may have, would be seen between nine to 14 days, which is the incubation period for the coronavirus.