Bonaire downgrades risk level measures to Phase 4 beginning today, April 23, 2021.
In a press conference yesterday, Lt. Governor Edison Rijna expressed his satisfaction and thanked the people of Bonaire for their comportment over the past five weeks of lockdown measures. He further announced that beginning today, Bonaire will downgrade its risk level to Phase 4.
Here is a transcript of Lt. Governor Rijna’s speech.
Good morning. I am pleased that thanks to your good cooperation with the measures, I can announce further easing today. Tomorrow we will go from risk level 5 to risk level 4. Tomorrow the curfew and the alcohol ban in public spaces will also be lifted. These new measures apply for three weeks, and we regularly evaluate whether we can relax earlier.
The number of infections on Bonaire has decreased drastically and we see that this will continue to decrease. Today we only have 34 active infections. The number of people admitted to the hospital has fallen, reducing the pressure on medical care. The other reason is that more and more of our society has been vaccinated and thus protected against the virus. I’ll give more details on this in a minute.
Risk level 4 means that a lot is possible again, but with restrictions. As cases of infection with the virus are still being diagnosed every day, we must remain cautious. For more information and details, visit bonairecrisis.com for the risk level 4 measures (Editor’s Note: Also see included images). I will outline a number of the relaxed measures.
We can visit each other again with two households, and a maximum of 10 people. Companies for contact professions such as hairdressing salons and hairdressing shops may reopen. All shops may reopen. Catering establishments may be open until 10:00 PM and may also serve alcohol again. Casinos and lottery offices, as well as gyms and churches, may reopen. Keep in mind that measures and restrictions still apply to all these places and sectors.
Since the virus is still on the island, and we have to take all variants into account, it is not yet allowed to organize events. This is to protect ourselves so that we don’t have to go back to stricter measures and a higher level of risk. Therefore, this year we cannot celebrate the holidays such as Dia di Rincon and King’s Day and other festivities that are common at this time. We are, however, investigating the options for trial events in the coming period, which are safe.
11,416 people have now been vaccinated, of which 4,175 people have been vaccinated twice. About sixty percent of the population has had the first injection with that, and we are going in the right direction. Society has shown solidarity with others. But we are not there yet. The more people get vaccinated, the sooner we can return to a normal life. This week and next week it is possible to get the first injection in your neighborhood, without an appointment. If you have any doubts or questions, you can also contact those neighborhood teams. You can also go to Kompleho Deportivo Jorge Nicolaas and Fundashon Mariadal for vaccination without an appointment. For more information, visit bonairecrisis.com or call 0800-0900.
I would like to thank you again for your good cooperation and hope that we will continue on this good path together.
(Source: OLB)
