Covid surging in Bonaire

[tursiops]

Update: The peak of the big surge seems to have passed (see graphs below), but the Phase 6 lockdown has been extended for another two weeks because -- in part -- of concerns about the positivity rate. That is, of the tests you do, what fraction are positive? Small numbers (like 5%) are really good, because that means infections are not rampant. Large numbers suggest you are only testing sick people and not catching those who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic...but who can still spread the disease. Right now the positivity rate is horrible; it is running greater than 30% for most of March and 40% is not uncommon. That is terrible. WHO recommends the goal is less than 5% for 14 straight days. A second concern is the number of hospitalizations, which has grown from 1 or 2 a couple of weeks ago, to 21 reported today....so many that 1 is in Curacao, 1 is in Aruba, and 3 are in Columbia. Of the 16 in Bonaire, 5 are in the ICU.

So, here are the new infections and total infection plots for today, but please realize that the curves might be coming down simply because there are a lot of infected people who have not been tested because they aren't very sick, and yet can still spread the virus. The only really good news is that the vaccination program is proceeding with 4000 having been given as of yesterday.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @tursiops

Most of this is very bad news. Having patients hospitalized in Aruba and Curacao is one thing, having patients hospitalized in Colombia is another. The positivity rate is outrageous. The vaccination rate seems very slow.

I'm still sitting on 2 weeks, I'll be sitting a bit longer.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Hi @tursiops

Most of this is very bad news. Having patients hospitalized in Aruba and Curacao is one thing, having patients hospitalized in Colombia is another. The positivity rate is outrageous. The vaccination rate seems very slow.

I'm still sitting on 2 weeks, I'll be sitting a bit longer.

Curacao and Aruba don't have additional room. So Colombia is the next best choice. The Bonaire ICU capacity is 7 people and there are 6 patients now. The patient that was in Curacao appears to be our latest death. I'm waiting for the translation of the current press conference but I do know the lockdown is extended for two weeks. I hope that gives us time to get the numbers down and vaccinations up. My contractor today told me that he was signing up all of his employees (except the three that refused) for the vaccine tonight. I think it's a great idea and that he should make sure to get a photo and some attention to possibly convince others to do the same.

I'm going diving tomorrow and think about it later.

 

[agd]

Hi tursiops and Steelyeyes

I am on Bonaire and look up the news on bes or bonaire.nu which are always a day or two behind. Where do you get the latest info and updates so quickly?

Thanks

agd

 

[JD']

I'm going diving tomorrow and think about it later.

Very sorry to hear that. Not the diving and forgetting, of course. Hopefully they can get vaccinations going faster. Bona ire has been on my bucket list and I have been scheduled for a year now, third time rescheduled for December this time. Good things are worth waiting for they say. I hope all gets sorted soon.

 

[Martijn]

Hi tursiops and Steelyeyes

I am on Bonaire and look up the news on bes or bonaire.nu which are always a day or two behind. Where do you get the latest info and updates so quickly?

Thanks

agd

Facebook!

Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire for official announcements
Bonaire Corona News Group for the local discussions. A lot of nonsense, but in the comments you find usefull news sometime

 

[tursiops]

Hi tursiops and Steelyeyes

I am on Bonaire and look up the news on bes or bonaire.nu which are always a day or two behind. Where do you get the latest info and updates so quickly?

Thanks

agd

See Covid surging in Bonaire for the links.

The key is that there are really only two official sources: press conferences, and the BonaireCrisis site (web page and FB). Much of the the information from the former makes its way into the latter. The press conferences seem to usually be in papiamentu, so even though you can listen to them live, they are not much help to most of us! The Phase 6 extension was announced in yesterday's press conference, and was reported immediately on the Bonaire Expats and Visitors COVID-19 Discussion site, which is moderated so has less trash on it than an open-to-all-without-moderation FB site. Susan Davis at Bonaire Insider is able to provide translations of the press conferences a day or two later, and sometimes the translations appear on the BonaireCrisis sites. She also does great job of summarizing and organizing a lot of info, but it is not instantaneous. BES and Bonaire.nu tend to get a lot of their stuff from the BonaireCrisis sites, so they are lagging a day or two, but they also get things from the press conferences, plus interviews. There is no one "best" source.

Tomorrow (Friday) there will be an important publication on the BonaireCrisis sites of the official list of "high risk" countries that will have a mandatory 5-day quarantine if they arrive in Bonaire, no matter what the pre-flight testing shows.

 

[agd]

Thanks Martijn and tursiops.

I have been looking at the crisis site, but it takes a while to be updated. The last thing listed under measures is the March 18 announcement. I had not looked at Facebook as I am not a member, nor do I wish to be, but it appears one does not have to be to view those sites. And as you say, they appear to have the freshest information. I

AGD

 

[Steelyeyes]

There is a Corona Help (English) Facebook page. Jane Disko runs it and gets translations up pretty fast. I assumed that Aruba and Curacao hospitals were at capacity and that's why we have people in Colombia, that bit of news was officially announced in the press conference. Our hospital is basically at capacity as well. I hope people behave over this holiday weekend (most people have a four day holiday) and the numbers don't go the wrong way.

 

[tursiops]

I hope people behave over this holiday weekend

I am not optimistic. "You can't tell ME how to celebrate Easter!"