The next government's near-term policy focus will continue to be containing the spread and the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In this regard, the government has set an ambitious timeline for Covid-19 vaccinations and aims to vaccinate all adults by the end of June. Curaçao received its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from the Netherlands in mid-February and the Dutch government will continue to be the main provider of vaccines to the island. Healthcare workers and people aged over 60 years will be prioritised, with all those over 18 years due to be vaccinated in a second phase. In the pilot week, 3,371 doses were administered, which was more than the 2,000 doses planned. The ambitious vaccine schedule is designed to ensure that the country is fully vaccinated before the start of the hurricane season, which lasts from June to November, and could affect vaccine supplies and the rollout of the programme. If successful, the island would be well positioned for the start of the tourism season (in November). For now, we expect the vaccine rollout to continue progressing at the current pace, although supply-side bottlenecks and global competition pose risks to a timely rollout. On balance, we expect herd immunity to be achieved in 2021.

In terms of economic policies, Curaçao's ability to undertake recovery measures was boosted by an agreement with the Netherlands in early November 2020 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.