The Dominican Republic (DR) Ministry of Tourism is seeking to calm fears among visitors and potential visitors on the status of cholera within the country.
Despite identifying and successfully treating a small number of cases, the country of 10.5 million residents and over 4 million annual visitors says it remains a safe and secure destination and that daily life, business and tourism activities are robust and thriving.
The tourism ministry points out that the World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending restrictions to international travel or trade due to the cholera outbreak in neighbouring Haiti. As well, the U.S. based Center for Disease Control (CDC) has not issued any travel warnings for the DR.
In fact, the latest information from the CDC reads as follows: “Dominican Republic authorities are taking preventive measures to prevent the spread of the disease. The risk of cholera for travelers to the Dominican Republic is likely very low if appropriate precautions are taken.” More information can be found here.
The tourism ministry says that all of the DR's cities and tourism regions, including hotels, resorts, beaches, attractions, airports, seaports and marinas in Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, La Romana, Santo Domingo and Samana are open and welcoming visitors.
DR Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez says the DR government has a proactive disease prevention system and is implementing public education efforts to prevent cholera. He maintains that it is very unlikely any long-term cholera outbreaks will take hold in the country.
