PHILIPSBURG:---- The Honorable Minister of Public Health and Acting Minister of TEATT, Pamela Gordon- Carty paid a working visit to the Princess Juliana International Airport - SXM on Wednesday, January 29, 2020. The Minister was briefed during a walkthrough tour of the facilities which enabled the Chief Operations Officer, COO, Michel Hyman the opportunity to provide her with an overview of the precautionary measures taken to escalate the awareness of good hygiene practices in response to the worldwide notification of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
The Management Board of the SXM Airport has officially activated its Emergency Management Committee (EMC) in response to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, in light of the increased number of confirmed cases of infections derived from China.
Recommendations to the EMC includes the constant monitoring of the international situation as it evolves. "We continue to work closely with our local Ministry responsible for Health, and stakeholders to respond to the threat and to prepare all stakeholders on how to reduce exposure and establish actions in dealing with infectious agents, if they were to happen in Sint Maarten," stated the COO, Michel Hyman.
The COO assured the Minister of Public Health that there are no restrictions on international travel and no special precautions travelers need to take when traveling to the Caribbean since there have been no reported cases of 2019-nCoV in the Caribbean. Travelers are thus advised to:
Stay informed about the 2019-nCoV situation in any country to which they are traveling.
Practice general infection control measures, such as frequent handwashing with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
"SXM Airport remains committed to protect the health and welfare of its staff, travelers, users, and the public. Several preparedness plans are already in motion for the 2019-nCoV, such as refreshing training of our EMT staff in the universal precautions and the placement of additional hand sanitizers and World Health Organization (WHO) awareness posters at strategic locations," declared Mr. Hyman.
The Minister of Public Health applauded the airport body for a job well done with its pandemic plan and the overall awareness and prevention measures.
