The government's near-term policy focus will continue to be containing the spread and the economic fallout from the pandemic. We expect the public health impact of the crisis to be limited, owing to the government's early announcement of containment measures. Although Curaçao has reopened tourism, the ensuing surge in Covid-19 cases in September-November prompted the government to reimpose some domestic restrictions, while choosing to keep tourism open. The new restrictions include a ban on bars, cafes and restaurants from serving alcohol in a bid to deter socialising; drinking alcohol in public places is also prohibited. Indoor dining at restaurants is suspended and the current 9 pm to 4:30 am night curfew has been extended until December 21st. The authorities are working in close collaboration with the Curaçao Tourist Board to guarantee a safe reopening of hotels.

In terms of economic policies, Curaçao's ability to undertake recovery measures was boosted by an agreement with the Netherlands in early November to establish the Caribbean Entity for Reform and Development. The agreement will provide long-term financial support and oversight to Curaçao, including a third fiscal support package of Naf181m (US$100m or 4.4% of estimated 2020 GDP), as well as a long-term investment package. Although the exact amount under the investment support package is yet to be finalised, it will include EUR30m for educational facilities, EUR25.3m to support law enforcement and EUR20m to improve the investment climate.

The government also plans to modernise the iGaming industry. As part of the conditions of its aforementioned agreement with the Netherlands, the government is required to modernise the sector by mandating industry players to pay taxes to the national Treasury, as well as tightening government monitoring of the industry through sound licensing, law enforcement, and (potentially) the creation of an independent regulator. These reforms are likely to prove detrimental to the government's plan of reviving tourism in a bid to boost activity, as the iGaming industry is an integral part of Curaçao's tourism.