Dominican President removes all COVID-19 restrictions

Santo Domingo [Dominican Republic], February 17 (ANI/Sputnik): Dominican President Luis Abinader has announced the suspension of all COVID-19 restrictions due to the current decrease in the number of daily cases, while putting responsibility for individual healthcare squarely on the country's citizens.
"Measures such as the use of the mask, the need to present the vaccination card to access all places, or the restrictions in public spaces today are the individual responsibility of each and every one of us. After this long battle, we have begun to recover our freedom," the president said in a statement published late on Wednesday on his administration's website.
According to Abinader, the Caribbean nation "deserves and needs an emotional recovery" by way of lifting COVID-19 measures permanently.
Despite the decision to remove restrictions, the authorities will continue to promote COVID-19 vaccination among the population.
"We will continue to monitor and observe the situation. The country can also be sure that, unlike in the past, our health system is today prepared to deal with any eventuality," the president added in the statement.
The decision to lift COVID-19 restrictions in the country was taken as the daily number of COVID-19 cases has decreased significantly over the last month. The total number of registered COVID-19 cases in the Dominican Republic for the entire period of the pandemic is estimated at 570,636, with 4,351 deaths. (ANI/Sputnik)