Faced with the global threat of Coronavirus 2019-nCoV, whose toll as of February 5, 2020 is : 24,597 people infected (confirmed cases), 494 dead and 959 people cured, public health officials in the Dominican Republic expressed their concern that there is no specific surveillance at the border by the Haitian Ministry of Public Health.

On Friday, January 31, at the binational market in Dajabón, thousands of Haitians entered and left creating tension in the area. Abigail Bueno, President of the Dajabón Market Merchants Association, acknowledged that there were many concerns between Dominican and Haitian merchants about the Coronavirus.

However, the situation is moving in the right direction for the protection of the health of the populations of the two Nations that share the island.

On Tuesday, the Dominican military authorities declared that they were coordinating with the Dominican Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Health of Haiti the implementation of drastic sanitary measures at the border to avoid the introduction of Coronavirus in either of the two countries.

On the Dominican side, Commander General of the Army Estanislao Gonel Regalado, said during a visit to the border area of ​​Dajabón, that surveillance had been strengthened as much as possible to deal with any situation.

IH/ iciHaiti