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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
The world economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of 2020 as measures to contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 corona virus deterred economic activity across the advanced, emerging and developing economies. The governments of Curaçao and Sint Maarten also took far-reaching measures that put economic activity practically to a standstill during most of the second quarter of 2020. Following the closure of the borders for commercial flights and maritime traffic1 mid-March, the authorities in Curaçao imposed a total lockdown by the end of March while in Sint Maarten a 24-hours curfew went into effect at the beginning of April. After approximately six weeks, the countries started with a gradual de-escalation of the restrictive measures. Against this background, real GDP contracted by an unprecedented 30.3% in Curaçao and 40.3% in Sint Maarten in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 2019’s second quarter.