March 25: St. Maarten has 3rd COVID-19 case

A male resident who returned to the country from New York, USA has been confirmed as the third coronavirus COVID-19 case for St. Maarten, Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Silveria Jacobs announced on Wednesday.

The number of active cases for the Dutch side now totals three: the first case is a man who returned to the country via the United Kingdom-Miami and the second is a male student returning from New York. All three are at home in self-isolation.

Jacobs said case #3 has been in self-isolation since returning to the country and the risk of transmission is therefore low. The person attempted to visit the doctor, but this was not allowed. He is being monitored.

The prime minister could not say whether the person is a returning student, but indicated that many students studying in NY had returned to the country recently. The test results for another seven persons could not be ascertained up to the time she made the announcement during the live Council of Ministers press briefing.

The PM reiterated that persons who have traveled in the past three weeks should remain in self isolation and not put the population at risk. Persons who have traveled are also asked to register with Collective Prevention Services (CPS) at tel. 914, if they have not done so already.

Up to March 23, there had been 22 suspected cases of coronavirus COVID-19 in St. Maarten and a total of 322 persons in self-quarantine; 57 in self-isolation; 12 negative cases; eight pending cases and two positive cases. This latest positive test brings the total number of positive cases to 3.

The Daily herald