WILLEMSTAD - After several readers on both Curaçao Chronicle English edition and Chinese edition asked whether schools should be closed, especially after it became known that a student of Vigdis Jonckheer-Mensing was infected with the coronavirus, we asked Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth about this.
Dr. Gerstenbluth indicated that it is not necessary to close all schools. The government decides according to an escalation plan - divided into four phases - which measures should be taken. Curaçao is in phase two, with seven cases of local transmission of which the source is unknown. This does not include a closure of the schools.
"It is not necessary now to close all schools in advance," said epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth, "Important is for all teachers and staff to adhere to the rules of distance and hygiene."