Speech Island Governor 05-05-2020
Dear fellow citizens,
The figures to date in terms of the COVID-19 situation point out that 257 people were tested and not a single new positive case occurred.
As already announced, today and Thursday the COVID drive thru is open again. This way we want to continue testing more people, in order to ensure that the virus is presently no longer active on our island.
From tomorrow there shall be an easing of some of the previously taken measures of the emergency ordinance with regard to COVID-19. The community reacted particularly positive to the adjustment that we announced last Friday. The fact that from tomorrow on we can return to do more, such as going to the gym and going to school, does not imply that we return to the situation prior to coronavirus. It is a shared responsibility of all of us to ensure that we, and our family, comply with the social distancing and hygiene rules. We must accept that our lives have changed and that these changes may continue for quite a while.
Today, I shall keep my statement short in order to save more time for the Commissioner Nina den Heyer of Social Affairs and Elvis Tjin Asjoe, Commissioner of Finance to provide information about themes that are particularly important to every citizen of our island. They will elaborate on the efforts that the Executive Council made and is still making to reduce the socio-economic effect of the coronavirus on the island to a minimum.
Finally, an appeal to everyone to be ‘corona smart’ in the new phase that we start tomorrow. That means that we respect the social distancing and personal hygiene rules and that not more than 50 people shall be at a location at the same time. This way, together we continue the fight against coronavirus.