Haitians without masks crowd into border market

Dajabón, DR

Thousands of Haitians and Dominicans trade in the binational market of Dajabón crowded together, “like sardines,” violating the sanitary protocols established by Public Health, such as the use of masks, hand washing, and physical distancing.

This worries doctors who fear that this accumulation will unleash an outbreak of Covid-19 among citizens of both countries.

Journalists of Listín Diario verified yesterday that 98 percent of the Haitian and Dominican merchants, sellers, and buyers, even though they shared a reduced space, but were well crowded with people, did not use masks.

It was also visible that the handwashing system required for Haitians to enter the market is not working.

The tank provided to the Customs and Immigration Department at the border bridge is empty, the faucets are damaged, and the open pipe used to collect the water that drained away after washing was dry.

This indicates that the authorities are not requiring people entering the country to share business with Dominicans to disinfect their hands.

There are other vendors and buyers, both Haitians and Dominicans, who participate in the bilateral fair, who, although they have their masks in sight, wear them on their chins, under their nose and mouth, and there are those who carry them in their hands.

They come from everywhere.
For Bueno, what worries most is that the market is attended by people from different parts of the country, such as Santiago, Greater Santo Domingo, which has a large clientele and other places, and that this neglect can become a major trigger, so he believes that measures are urgently needed to regulate the situation.

“It is the heat that forces us” “What happens is that it is very hot and that is why we do not use masks in the market,” clarified the Haitian trader, Jeannete Pierre.

Public Health does not appear.
Journalists of this newspaper made efforts to contact the provincial director of Public Health but could not locate him.

But a doctor who works for this department and who preferred that his name remain anonymous commented that this aggregation of people in the market is severe and that it can degenerate into difficult health situations, including a resurgence of the coronavirus at a time when this disease has been somewhat controlled in the province of Dajabón.

The binational market is an engine of border development that, if managed efficiently, can provide resources to local governments to improve essential services and increase social investment and can serve as an impetus for producers and local economic actors to increase sales.

The Dajabón market is held on Mondays and Fridays of each week, with Haitian merchants and Dominican vendors who come to the place to offer different types of products.