Coronavirus infections quadruple in Dutch Caribbean; Hospital occupancy low

The number of coronavirus infections on the Caribbean islands of the Dutch kingdom has more than quadrupled within a week. On December 20, there were 672 registered coronavirus cases in Curacao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba together. On December 27, that number rose to 2,879.

The increase is particularly significant in Curacao and Aruba. In Curacao, it went from 232 to 1,511 in a week, in Aruba from 267 to 1,105. Sint Maarten increased from 59 to 136, Bonaire remained the same at 111. Saba rose from thee on December 22 to 16 on December. No infections have been registered on St. Eustatius for a long time.

It is striking that the number of hospital admissions has remained relatively low. On all islands together, 22 people with Covid-19 are in hospital, six Aruban Covid-19 patients are treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Colombia.

The Omicron variant has only been established in Curacao and Aruba, but it is suspected also to have reached the other islands.