WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao does not allow Curaçao students to return from abroad. According to Justice Minister Quincy Girigorie, the island cannot handle the influx of "several thousand students from the Netherlands".

On Thursday, a group of Curaçao students were sent back to the Netherlands after they landed on the island with a KLM flight. On Friday, Girigorie emphasized that only people who are registered on the island can return. The minister said he sent the students back with "pain in the heart". "But we are vulnerable, we cannot risk an outbreak."

Currently, eight coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Curaçao. One of them, a Dutch tourist, has died and, according to the authorities, two corona patients have recovered.