Congress unanimously approved the declaration of National Emergency

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - In Brief 20 Mar 2020 by Pavel Isa

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Yesterday, both chambers of Congress approved president Medina's request to declare the state of National Emergency. The law provides the president wider powers specifically to tackle the health and economic crisis associated the impact of Covid-19. The law states that two fundamental rights are limited: the freedom of transit and the freedom of association and gathering. Congress decided to set the period of National Emergency to 25 days rather than the 15 days requested by the president.Simple observation of street movements suggest a dramatic decline in economic activities although it may be not enough to effectively avoid contagion at a larger scale. To begin with, the mandatory lockdown is partial, limited mostly to non-essential commercial activities and do not include industries, agriculture and some services. Nonetheless, many businesses have opted to reduced activities, change the way they operate to reduce the risk of contagion (reduced working day and rotation of personnel to reduce congestion) or have locked down voluntarily. We expect further government measures in the coming days to protect businesses, employment and income of households.