Some of the US doctors and nurses in Aruba.
WILLEMSTAD/ORANJESTAD--Curaçao and Aruba returned a large group of US physicians and healthcare providers who had come to the island after it turned out one of them had tested positive for coronavirus.
The intended medical assistance was paid for by the Netherlands. The decision to return the 81 professionals in Curaçao was made in consultation with Dutch authorities, according to Minister of Health Suzanne Camelia-Römer.
More than 20 medics sent to Aruba were also returned. They had been on the same charter plane.
The female health worker in question had already tested COVID-19-positive in early April, but no longer showed any symptoms. Before the flight she was tested again but boarded the aircraft in Miami without waiting for the results. That test again proved positive.
The personnel are employed by an American agency that provides medical service abroad. The Netherlands has supplied healthcare equipment to the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom and hired these medics, who would have stayed in the islands for minimum 45 and maximum 90 days. They had to be quarantined for 14 days.
According to epidemiologist Izzy Gerstenbluth, one of them tested positive at the beginning of this month. This person was tested again before travelling to Curaçao and the result again was positive: which means that even though not showing any symptoms, she was still infected.
The doctor indicated that against the agreement the person travelled to Curaçao “by mistake.” Gerstenbluth spoke of a case of bad luck, as it was not the intention. “An infected person arrived here on the island and that is why we have the 14-day-quarantine rule.”
He explained what the arrival of this infected person could have meant. “We know that if you are infected and maybe the symptoms are not felt anymore – but if you are going to test this person, the results could be positive for a long time. This does not mean that you could infect other people.”
