Corona in the Caribbean: few infections, yet hard hit | NOW

The government of Curaçao on Saturday tightened the corona measures in the country, after ten new infections were registered for the first time in 24 hours. Corona infections are also reported – albeit relatively few – on the other islands of the Caribbean region of the Kingdom. What about the situation regarding the corona virus in the Caribbean of the Kingdom?

“We have local transmission on the island”, spoke epidemiologist Izzy Gertstenbluth the country on Saturday. “We don’t know how widespread it is, but you have to assume it’s more widespread than we think.”

The increase is partly due to source and contact research, Gertsenbluth explains. “The aim is to trace more cases in this way.” As in the Netherlands, most infections take place in a home situation. “There has been a party with several infections.”

To stop the infections, the country further tightened corona measures on Saturday. Entertainment venues were already closed and large gatherings of people were avoided as much as possible, but now the inhabitants of the island are urged to prefer not to have parties in the domestic atmosphere, to work from home as much as possible and the use of a face mask is recommended when the distance cannot be kept 1.5 meters.

Dozens of infections and a few deaths

Since March, 88 cases of the coronavirus have been registered in Curaçao, which has approximately 160,000 inhabitants. At present, 40 of those 88 registered infections are active. One death has been reported as a result of the virus: a Dutch tourist who visited the island in March.

Corona virus infections have also been diagnosed on the other islands of the Kingdom, Aruba and St. Maarten. On Aruba (more than 105,000 inhabitants) 14 deaths and approximately 2,400 infections are known and on Sint-Maarten (approximately 40,000 inhabitants) nineteen deaths and around 500 infections.

The special municipalities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba do not yet report a handful of infections. On Bonaire there are two established infections, on both St. Eustatius and Saba there is one infection.

Coronavirus is particularly hard hit economically

Despite the fact that not many infections are yet known in the area, the corona virus has hit hard in the Caribbean. An important part of the economy of the islands runs on tourism, and it is precisely this sector that has almost come to a standstill due to the corona virus.

An emergency package established from the Netherlands must financially support Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten during the corona crisis. However, certain conditions are set for the emergency package: for example, the Netherlands is demanding economic cutbacks and the establishment of a Dutch institute that monitors expenditure from the emergency package.

Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten, however, do not agree with certain conditions that the Netherlands sets for the emergency package. The islands would thus have to give up too much autonomy.

“We really cannot just agree to a statute, just to receive a bag of money,” Curaçao Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath told the local news medium in early July. Paradise FM.

Despite that Aruba and Curaçao good steps to qualify for the emergency package, it has so far not been possible to reach an agreement on the emergency aid. Whether the support package will become the solution to the corona crisis in the area is therefore still the question.

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