The “vacunathon” poster.
ORANJESTAD--To mitigate the large increase in the number of CPOVID-219 cases, the Aruba government took a number of drastic measures which went into effect on Sunday.
These are the measures that will remain in effect until September 1: curfew from 10:00pm until 5:00am, closing hours from 9:00pm until 5:00am, maximum of four persons per table at restaurants inside and outside, people must remain seated at night clubs and bars, around the clock prohibition of people to gather, no visits at home and no social/party gatherings anywhere.
Also, commercial locations (cinemas, stores, supermarkets), churches and funeral parlours may only operate at 50 per cent capacity. Only sports trainings are allowed, no competitions. Existing measures will continue: obligatory facemasks, 1.5 metre physical distancing and the 24-hour prohibition to consume alcoholic beverages on the road. Schools are already closed.
On Saturday morning, the Aruba government and the Crisis Team announced the additional measures. Caretaker Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes said it was cardinal that all of Aruba stood together. “I emphatically ask everyone to cooperate. The measures count for everyone. No exceptions.”
Wever-Croes said that it was with pain in her heart that she and her team had to decide that parties would no longer be allowed. “Unfortunately, this is the situation that we are in,” she said, referring to the very high number of COVID-19 cases.
“We can discuss whether or not to party, and whether the police can enter an establishment to end a party. But in the meantime, the doctors and nurses are asking themselves if Aruba really comprehends the serious situation that we are in. The steps that we are taking today serve to confront the situation together,” said Wever-Croes.
The drastic measures that Aruba is taking are justified: 663 persons per 100,000 inhabitants contracted COVID-19 last week with more and more children getting infected, figures of the Netherlands Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM, published last Thursday, showed. Eight persons died as a result of the coronavirus last week and again two on Saturday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 126.
The Horacio Oduber Hospital has reached its maximum capacity. According to the RIVM, the number of hospital admissions increased at an “alarming fast pace.” On Saturday, 72 persons are now in the hospital with COVID-19 of which 11 patients in the ICU in Aruba and 14 Aruba patients in the ICU in Colombia. The vast majority, more than 80 per cent, of these patients are not vaccinated.
Aruba’s second largest medical centre, IMSAN in San Nicolas has closed its operation and surgical rooms in order for the doctors and nurses to assist at the Horacio Oduber Hospital. The hospital is not in code black as yet, an acute situation where healthcare personnel decide who lives and who dies, but the situation is close to getting critical, said Wever-Croes on Saturday.
In an attempt to get a large number of people vaccinated, the Aruba government and healthcare authorities organised a mass vaccination event on Sunday, a so-called “vacunathon” at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. On Sunday morning, a large line of people formed outside the hotel to get vaccinated.
“The more people get vaccinated, the fewer people get very sick and we can lower the pressure on the ICU and the hospital, our medical personnel, and we can save more lives,” said Wever-Croes said during the press conference on Saturday. During the “vacunathon” there were five medical doctors available to answer all questions about getting vaccinated.
