President Luis Abinader delivered the balance sheet of his opening six months in office on Dominican Republic’s Independence Day on 27 February. Much of the address was devoted to efforts to address the fallout of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the Dominican Republic, the worst-hit Caribbean country, with 3,191 deaths and 243,778 infections as of 10 March. Abinader highlighted his ambitious vaccination plan and efforts to reboot the economy, which shrank by 6.7% in 2020. However, his trumpeting of progress was somewhat overshadowed by the resignation of his health minister, Plutarco Arias, on the previous day over alleged irregularities, serving inadvertently to focus attention on another declared priority of the new Partido Revolucionario Moderno (PRM) government which took office in August - combatting corruption. End of preview - This article contains approximately 831 words.
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