Businessmen and merchants agree to the extension of the curfew in Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, DR

The statistics of COVID-19 infections in the country are still high. That is why the business and commercial sectors assume that it would be necessary to extend beyond this coming Sunday, the curfew imposed by the Government since July 21.

The executive vice president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep), Cesar Dargam, stated that according to the behavior of health indicators the extension of the curfew is necessary and pointed out that for months they have insisted that the central axis of the decisions must be health.

Highlighting the coherence of the Conep, Dargam pointed out that when they proposed that economic activities should follow a gradual reopening plan, they insisted on the need for controls. He added that as an institution, they hope that the coordination of crisis management these days will be permanent consultation between outgoing and incoming authorities.

Tighter controls

The industrial and commercial sectors, which also agree on the extension of the curfew implementation period, advocated for greater controls to be taken in the application of health protocols to stop COVID-19 infections.

“Other sanitary control measures should be evaluated without neglecting the productive sector. The authorities must be more rigid in compliance with the rules at any time. Not only with people who violate the curfew but also sharply avoid the crowding of people in banks, supermarkets and enforce the mandatory use of masks,” said the president of the Herrera Association of Entrepreneurs and Industrialists (AEIH), Leonel Castellanos.

Likewise, the president of the Dominican Federation of Merchants (FDC), Iván García, insisted on applying fines for those who do not use the masks to avoid further spreading the virus in society.

The president of the AEIH affirmed that the curfew’s impact had not achieved the desired expectations, since the contagion curve continues to increase, which he said is worrying. He added that the population must be shown the terrible consequences of this pandemic’s impact by developing educational campaigns to create awareness.