~ Curfew recommended while stricter policies need to be implemented for nightlife. ~
PHILIPSBURG: --- St. Maarten has reached a tipping point says head of CPS Eva Lista de Weever at a special conference on Tuesday as they gave a broader update on COVID-19. De Weever said there has been an increase in positive cases and there are still some clusters that are all community transmitted.
De Weever said St. Maarten registered 1362 positive cases over the past 9 months, she said as of Monday, December 21st, 2020, 24 new cases were registered. The Collective Preventative Head said that based on data collected it shows that there is an incidence rate of 200 per 100,000 of the population. De Weever further explained that there has been an increased amount of active community transmission, while there are clusters within certain sectors such as banking, justice, medical, bars and restaurants, and even among large families.
De Weever asked members of the community to fill out their questionnaire because CPS really needs to have the public opinion on the vaccines that will soon arrive on St. Maarten. De Weever said that agreements have been made with the Netherlands for the vaccines that will be distributed to all countries within the Kingdom.
Due to the number of cases, de Weever said she already advised her superiors and the Council of Ministers to implement some more stringent measures, such as a curfew to minimize the amount of activities after hours, while she also believes that more must be done to curtail nightlife at bars and restaurants.
De Weever further said that a pilot project was conducted on Monday with the antigen tests. She said 60 tests were done and CPS is planning to continue this type of testing within the community.
Minister of Public Health implored the people of St. Maarten to follow the health protocols in place during the Christmas season, he said caution no more than five people should gather, and that families should celebrate with persons within their households. He urged families to ensure they wear their masks when visiting the elderly since they are the most vulnerable.
The Director of St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) called on the community to follow all protocols because it has been 9 months since COVID 19 hit St. Maarten shores, he said that due to COVID-19 healthcare at SMMC has transformed. Holiday said that SMMC acquired funding for its expansion of its care capacity and manpower.
