WILLEMSTAD - The Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) Hugo de Jonge has stated in a letter that the medical experts from the United States can be deployed in the Curaçao Medical Center until the end of December. The Netherlands pays for the grant and their stay.
The minister writes in the letter that the pressure on care remains high on all islands, as a result of which elective care has to be partially shut down. “In the meantime, the hospitals are working on plans to guarantee the capacity of the Health Departments (GGDs) and the Covid departments in the medium and long term,” said de Jonge.
The Dutch minister wants to gain more insight into vaccination readiness. He wants to see how willingness can increase. The ministry, together with the local health authorities, has had an investigation carried out on all islands. According to de Jonge, no examination was necessary on Saba, because the vaccination rate there is very high. For each island, the researchers advised on the interventions that could increase the vaccination coverage.