PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On Thursday March 19 last the government of Bonaire reached the decision to close all schools and childcare facilities here on Bonaire. This was and is to prevent coronavirus from spreading, in case it is present on our island.
Due to the already mentioned measure and because not all parents who are employed in an essential position or a critical position can organise the care for their child(ren), the Central Government and the Public Entity Bonaire joined forces to organise emergency care for this specific group.
A crisis team coordinates, evaluates and takes the necessary steps to offer responsible care to parents who have an indispensable position during this crisis period. When the children are distributed over the various nurseries, schools or other institutions the measures announced by the Island Governor by means of the
Emergency Ordinance shall properly be taken into account.
The EBT (Island Policy Team) determines what positions are presently essential or critical. All organisations that are important in case of a contingency are represented in the EBT.
Some organisations that are presently essential are the medical care, the police, the prison, the fire brigade, the Kmar, the customs authorities, the crisis team and people who are involved in the emergency care. To mention only a few. The EBT can expand or adjust this list at the moment that this appears to be necessary.
Some critical functions are, inter alia, supermarkets, utilities companies, e.g. WEB and Selibon.
The crisis team has already approached the essential organisations and is working on determining the critical positions.
It is good to emphasise again that the emergency care for children is only possible if the instructions that were issued by the company that was qualified as essential or critical by the EBT team are followed.
All parents are requested to keep children with flu symptoms at home and not to present them at the emergency care.
For questions in connection with the emergency care you can contact the crisis team via the email address noodkinderopvang@rijksdienstcn.com
