His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima on April 3 visited the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and Environment RIVM in Bilthoven. The RIVM plays a cardinal role in the combating of the coronavirus not only in the Netherlands, but also for the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. Seated at left is Director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases Control of the RIVM, Jaap van Dissel. Photo by Rotapool/Patrick van Emst.
THE HAGUE--King Willem-Alexander on Thursday spoke with the governors of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.
In separate telephone conversations, the king spoke with Governors Alfonso Boekhoudt of Aruba, Lucille George-Wout of Curaçao and Eugene Holiday of St. Maarten about the situation in their country following the outbreak of the coronavirus and the consequences of the measures that were taken in an effort to curb the number of COVID-19 cases.
According to a press release of the Dutch Government Information Service RVD, King Willem-Alexander expressed his support to the governors and the people in the three islands. He did so also on behalf of his wife, Queen Máxima.
The king expressed immense appreciation for the work that healthcare workers and other personnel have been doing day and night to fight the coronavirus crisis. The pandemic has hit the three tourism-dependent countries very hard medically, economically and socially.
On April 3, the king took part in the daily videoconferencing between the crisis team of the Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Well-being and Sport VWS and the healthcare teams in Bonaire and St. Eustatius.
This videoconference call was part of the king’s working visit to the VWS Ministry in The Hague. At that time too, he expressed much support and appreciation for the manner in which the Caribbean Netherlands islands – Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba – handled the corona crisis.
The king and queen are staying informed throughout the corona crisis and its consequences. They do so through daily telephone conversations and by paying working visits where possible. The royal couple has been expressing their support and appreciation for the input of many in combating the pandemic.
