User:Ymleon/sandbox/2020 coronavirus pandemic in Dominican Republic

An ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first confirmed to have spread to the Dominican Republic on 29 February 2020. By 21 March 2020, the virus had spread to 21 of the Dominican Republic's 32 provinces.

On 19 March, the Dominican Republic´s government declared a state of emergency for the next 25 days.

Background
On 31 December 2019, the Health Commission of Wuhan, Hubei, China, informed the WHO about a cluster of acute pneumonia cases with unknown origin in its province. On 9 January 2020, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) reported the identification of a novel coronavirus (later identified as the SARS-CoV-2) as the cause.

First confirmed cases
On 1 March 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 for the Dominican Republic was that of an Italian tourist staying in a beach resort in Bayahibe. Three days later, a Canadian woman also vacationing in Bayahibe became the second case confirmed by authorities.

The first documented case of local transmission in the Dominican Republic seems to have originated from a 56-year old Dominican woman from Villa Riva, who had traveled from Italy to the Dominican Republic on 26 February 2020. The first COVID-19 related death was announced by health authorities on 16 March 2020, from a 47-year old Dominican woman who had recently traveled from Spain