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Friday 18 September 2020

Covid-19 in Aruba

ORANJESTAD — After being completely shut groups of 4 people or more.
down for 3.5 months due to the Covid-19 pan-
demic, Aruba was ready to reopen its border for August 7, 2020
international visitors on July 1st. Firstly, the bor- • Bars, nightclubs and rum-shops must be Measures regarding sick employees or clients
ders were opened to the Caribbean (with the closed. on business property
exception of Dominican Republic and Haiti), • It is not permitted to organize family parties Every business / organization / institution / em-
Europe, and Canada and since July 15th, tour- at home. ployer should take the necessary measures to
ists from the United States and Canada were • Masks are now mandatory in all locations ensure that there are no employees or visitors
welcomed. What a joy it was to see the first (interior) and also on public transport. with respiratory problems (cough, shortness of
flight land and the first tourist touching Aruba’s • Only 25 people are allowed at funerals breath, sore throat) on company property in or-
ground after such a long time. maintaining the protocol. der to safeguard the employees’ and visitors’
• Churches have to maintain themselves ac- health and safety. This entails that a visibly sick
During the shutdown rules and restrictions were cording to the protocol and singing is not visitor with respiratory problems can be denied
implemented to flatten the curve as soon as permitted. entry on premises or asked to abandon prem-
possible. Schools were closed, bar and restau- • Visits and admissions to elderly care homes ises if already inside.
rants had to close too, only one person per fam- are prohibited.
ily was allowed to go to the supermarkets. There Latest update on cases- September 17, 2020
was a shelter in place during the day, a cur- August 4, 2020 54 new cases of COVID-19 reported and 66
few at night and many other precautions were • Tables in restaurants cannot seat more than persons recover. 1 person passes away. Active
taken with the sole purpose of the safety and 4 people, excluding children under 12 years cases decrease to 1.617. The total number of
well-being of our residents. Aruba managed to of age. active COVID-19 coronavirus cases has de-
flatten the curve and also to beat the Covid-19 • Bars (counter) at locations cannot service, creased to 1.617 (1.608 residents and 9 visitors)
pandemic fast. as there cannot be chairs at the bar to sit with 54 new cases and 66 recoveries. The to-
A month after opening the border we had the down. tal cases to date is 3.382 (3.340 residents and
first active Covid-19 cases registered, which • There cannot be any live musical entertain- 42 visitors). The total recovered is 1.742 (1.709
marked the start of the 2nd wave of the pan- ment going on or with a DJ. residents and 33 visitors). The number of persons
demic. We were all conscious that we might • Indoor group sports must stop. tested, including visitors, is now 27.347 of which
get affected by the virus once again, but we • Indoor contact sports must stop. 12.084 were persons tested at the airport. 280
weren’t prepared for the strength in which this • Outdoor contact sports must stop. hospital lab tests were done since Wednesday.
virus would manifest itself in the 2nd wave. To- • Co-education ban will come back into ef- The number of deaths related to COVID-19 is
tal cases were increasing at a high speed daily. fect, where no more than 4 persons can be now 23 (all residents). Sincere condolences to
Due to this and especially to protect our visitors together in public locations. the family of the deceased. There are currently
the Government of Aruba together with the 37 persons hospitalized, of whom 11 are in in-
department of Public Health had to implement Measures for maintaining social/physical dis- tensive care.
strict rules and protocols again. tance
These are the decisions taken by the Govern- Every business / organization / institution / em- Advice for travelers
ment of Aruba up till today: ployer should take the necessary measures to Prior to travel, visitors should download the Aru-
ensure the necessary social or physical distance ba Department of Public Health’s Aruba Health
September 10, 2020 of a minimum of 1 ½ (5 feet) meters between App. A mobile resource for information on CO-
• The Task Force personnel, in charge of con- employees, employees and visitors, and visitors. VID-19 health procedures in Aruba, facilitation
trolling persons in quarantine and isolation, This may entail limited access to a few visitors, of the airport health screening, and faster re-
has been doubled, and a fine of 1000 florins especially in smaller businesses. sults for Molecular PCR COVID-19 tests taken in
(one thousand) will also be issued to those Aruba.q
who do not adhere to the rules. Measures for maintaining good hygiene
Every business / organization / institution / em-
August 28, 2020 ployer should take the necessary measures to
• A Curfew from 12:00 am to 5:00 am has facilitate and promote good hygiene among
been announced. visitors and employees while on premises. This
• Avoid large gatherings at the workplace. may entail mandatory application of alcohol-
• Avoid visiting family and family parties in based hand sanitizer upon entry. linda.reijnders@cspnv.com