COE will launch the Altagraciano Operation 2026 with more than 9,000 collaborators

Santo Domingo.- The Emergency Operations Center (COE) announced that it will launch the Altagraciano 2026 Operation with the deployment of 9,121 collaborators and volunteers, with the aim of assisting and protecting citizens who will travel to the Basilica Cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, in Higüey, on the occasion of the traditional religious festival. The operation will begin on Tuesday, January 20th at 2:00 PM and will run until Wednesday 21st at 6:00 PM, a period during which a comprehensive prevention and response plan will be implemented for potential emergencies, especially those related to traffic accidents, the main risk variable identified by the authorities. The director of the COE, Juan Manuel Méndez García, explained that the deployment will cover from the Juan Carlos bridge, on Las Américas avenue, to the Basilica of Higüey, including the main road sections that connect the provinces of the eastern region of the country. As part of the operation, 113 ambulances, 153 first aid stations, two field hospitals from the Dominican Red Cross and Civil Defense will be available, as well as a Mobile Command Center and an operational base to coordinate emergency transfers to health centers, in conjunction with the Directorate of Out-of-Hospital Emergency Care Services (DAEH). The Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, also ordered the availability of a helicopter for aerial support in the emergency operations in the Eastern region.

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Within the perimeter of the Basilica a special security and assistance device will be established, organized in three rings: a rapid response team on the outside, a pre-hospital care station with ambulances on the esplanade, and a fixed assistance station with mobile brigades inside the temple. Likewise, Digesett will reinforce road safety and traffic control in the surrounding areas, while the Military and Police Commission of the Ministry of Public Works will provide roadside assistance through six mobile workshops and eight tow trucks along the route to La Altagracia. Finally, Méndez García urged the population to avoid drinking alcohol while driving, to respect traffic signs and to follow the guidance of the authorities, recalling that it is an essentially religious celebration that requires responsibility and prudence on the part of all citizens.