THE HAGUE, WILLEMSTAD - The Netherlands will send 30,000 extra vaccines against COVID-19 to Curaçao on Friday to combat the full hospitals and the increasing number of corona infections on the island.
Some of the vaccines are destined for Aruba. In addition, the Ministry provides assistance in the form of recruiting medical personnel. It is not known exactly how many people are needed.
Due to an increase in the number of corona infections, the pressure on healthcare in Curaçao is increasing enormously. Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath called the situation "very serious" on Wednesday. Reason for the Netherlands to step in, says a spokesman for outgoing Dutch Undersecretary Paul Blokhuis (Health, Welfare and Sport) on Thursday.
The accelerated delivery of vaccines is intended to “speed up vaccination as much as possible,” the spokesman said. "So that vaccines are no longer an inhibiting factor."
From Monday, April 5, anyone over eighteen years old in Curaçao can register for a vaccine. More than sixteen thousand people have now been vaccinated. The island has about 125,000 people aged eighteen or older. The total number of infections on Wednesday was 3,102 and Prime Minister Rhuggenaath announced that the hospital is full.