Caution required to avoid contagion of Covid on Christmas Eve

Santo Domingo, DR

While the hospital centers claim to be prepared to attend to the medical contingencies that may arise, authorities, specialists, and different sectors of national life agree in urging the population to be prudent and not neglect the prevention measures of the COVID virus during the Christmas Eve and Christmas festivities.

The guidelines include extreme care to prevent family gatherings from becoming centers for the spread of the virus and not neglecting the use of masks, hygiene, physical distancing, and avoiding gatherings where many people participate.

Given the usual Christmas Eve and Christmas meetings celebrated by the Dominican population, the exhortations of restraint and moderation and not to neglect the prevention measures of the COVID have been issued by the Minister of Public Health, Plutarco Arias; the Director of the National Health Service (SNS), Mario Lama, the Director of PROMESE/CAL, Adolfo Pérez, medical leaders and the Dominican Society of Pediatrics, among others.

More support from the population
The Minister of Health insisted on the population not to lower their guard during the Christmas holidays to avoid contagion of the virus and to assume the commitment to prevent the contagion of COVID-19 during the Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year holidays, collaborating with the Health organization and other institutions that ensure the health and safety of each citizen.

While Dr. Lama pointed out that the COVID-19 Action Plan is still active and that the areas of respiratory triage and the transfer system were strengthened, he insisted that this year that “we are facing an invisible enemy,” the support of the entire population is needed more than ever.

Likewise, the Dominican Society of Pediatrics recommended to parents a list of actions to maintain the health and wellbeing of children, among them keeping alert the protection measures against COVID-19 infection and the new strains that are being detected, and wearing a mask in all interactions with other people, including those in the family nucleus when there are signs of exposure to people who have been in contact with the virus.

Also, maintain social distancing whenever possible; otherwise, wear the mask, replace it when necessary, wash hands frequently with soap and water, avoid excessive eating of candy by parents and children, and prevent children from handling fireworks.

Quarantine for a new strain
In another order, the Minister of Public Health, Plutarco Arias, announced that three humanitarian flights from the United Kingdom were authorized for the arrival of Dominicans in the European country and that upon their arrival to the country, they are being subjected to a 10-day quarantine, due to the new strain of the virus detected in that nation.