Reports from Haiti establish that the deadly virus has already spread in nine of the ten departments of the neighboring country, something that for the Dominican government constitutes “a major threat from a health point of view,” and yesterday decided to reinforce the border by dispatching a additional force of soldiers.
On Thursday, Haiti reported 12 deaths and 129 confirmed cases of infected.
These are the nine of ten Haitian departments where the Covid-19 is attacking: Artibonito, Centro, Nippes, Norte, Northeast, Noroeste, Oeste, Sureste, Sur. So far, only the Grand’Anse department has registered no cases of contamination.
To date, only 1,142 people have been evaluated across the country. Regarding this number, the Haitian digital newspaper Le Nouveliste considers it “very little compared to the Dominican Republic, which has already carried out more than 25,000 tests.”
In an attempt to break the chain of transmission of the disease, the authorities will compel the wearing of a mask starting Monday, May 11.
Discrepancy
Meanwhile, Claude Joseph, the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Rafael Sánchez Cárdena, Dominican Minister of Public Health, came face to face this week with a discrepancy over the reality of the coronavirus in the neighboring country, the latter coming to comment on the possibility of that the cases there are much more than those confirmed.
Cardenas, concerned about the problem, proposed that the border line and the movement of people “not fit to enter the country” continue to be strengthened.
To three brigades on the border line
Just yesterday, the Minister of Defense sent military forces to the third, fourth and fifth infantry brigades towards towns on the border, establishing that the mission of this component is “to keep sealed the 391 linear kilometers with the neighboring country of Haiti, and its instead contain and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus ”.
The military entity maintains that the border provinces where the soldiers were dispatched is where greater control over the entry and spread of COVID-19 has been achieved. These forces will also work with the units in the area to prevent the smuggling of merchandise, arms and drug trafficking, the transfer of illegals and theft of livestock.
Joseph judged Minister Sánchez Cárdenas’s request for the world to help that country to avoid a “major catastrophe” by covidf-19 as an act of “misunderstanding”.
Following the statements of the Dominican official, several Haitian personalities said they expected a “vigorous” response from the Haitian government.
President Jovenel Moise received a first part of the materials and supplies that the country acquired for 18 million dollars to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
– .
