St Maarten’s Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs this morning activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in connection with two confirmed cases of the coronavirus COVID-19 on French Saint Martin.
A release from the Prime Minister’s office said that these persons are currently in isolation at the Hospital on the French side of the island and will remain there for 14-days.
St Maarten is host to a large Guyanese population and there is significant travel between the Dutch/French island and Guyana.
The release said that the EOC chaired by the Prime Minister has been activated to continue with the preparedness, response and mitigation measures that need to be taken for the coronavirus COVID-19 and will continue to function on a heightened level of awareness. The release said that there are no cases of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 on Dutch Sint Maarten at this time. The release added that screening processes at ports of entry have been stepped up in cooperation with the airlines which are also following their own screening protocols.
“There is no reason to panic; stay calm and take preventative hygiene measures at home, on the job, in school that have been promoted by the Ministry of Public Health for the past several weeks via the Government’s Department of Communication. School boards have been requested to increase hygienic measures at schools and to maintain these at a high level; front line staff of businesses across the business community – customer service reps – as well as all other staff members are also requested to follow preventative measures on a daily basis”, the release said.
