~ There is no forced vaccination on St. Maarten, COVID -19 protocols will be strictly enforced. ~
PHILIPSBURG:--- There have been 8 deaths in nine days says Minister of Health and Labor Omar Ottley. The Minister made the announcement at the Council of Minister's press briefing on Wednesday. “Let that sink in, I am not here to tell you the amount of active COVID-19 cases presently, but I need you to know that there have been 8 deaths in 9 days on St. Maarten, all of which are COVID-19 related.”
Ottley said that vaccines on St. Maarten are not being forced on anyone when asked about the documents from the International Tribunal presented to the Government of St. Maarten, Parliament of St. Maarten, St. Maarten Medical Center, and the Chief of Police.
Ottley further explained that there were 18 patients admitted to the St. Maarten Medical Center last week, today there are 15 patients still at SMMC, however, of those patients, 2 were partially vaccinated another fully vaccinated.
Ottley said while there is a mandate on the vaccination, stricter controls will take place as he recently met with the Inspectorate of Health and made clear that more controls must take place to ensure that all businesses fully comply with the protocols in place. There is a policy that will soon be enforced. “ I also held a tripartite meeting which will push the unvaccinated to test regularly."
Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs also shared the same sentiments as the Minister of Health and Labor. Jacobs said the recent deaths were deeply felt since the people of St. Maarten know how to deal with the coronavirus. She said St. Maarten cannot live in a perpetual state of lockdowns. “The people of St. Maarten have learned to live with the virus, but this virus is so bright that it's mutating. There are people that are speaking about rights and freedoms however, I believe the right to live should be the highest right of all rights.”
St. Maarten currently has 42 deaths since the coronavirus hits St. Maarten in March 2020. The Government of St. Maarten stands behind the COVID-19 vaccination but has not mandated the vaccination on anyone. “I am hoping that the people will consider their lives and that of their loved ones including the livelihood of the people of this country since the government cannot afford to put a halt on the economy."
“ We are in dire straits as a country we have been surviving through loans made available by the Dutch Government. St. Maarten has accrued up to NAF220M in loans as a result of COVID-19. It is the loans that have sustained this country, and while we may not have liked all the conditions placed on the loans, we would not have survived without them. People would have gone hungry, and more businesses would have closed their doors and as a matter of fact, more people would have died.”
Jacobs went on to say that St. Maarten had its fair share of wars while seeking the loans from the Dutch government but the loans were granted when the country needed it most. She said assistance was given by the Ministry of Health of Netherlands including from the AMI. St. Maarten is not where it was prior to COVID-19. The SSRP will soon end because St. Maarten unless another agreement is reached after assessment. This will come to an end in September 2021. St. Maarten received the 6th tranche on Monday last week totaling NAF48M. The Prime Minister cautioned that no one should think because the 6th tranche has been received those things are good, this money is to get us through from July to September. The 2021 budget has been approved, hopefully, that would allow negotiations to take place.
