COVID-19 death toll for Dutch side now stands at 8

Eight deaths in Dutch St. Maarten have now been attributed to persons who had tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19.

Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Silveria Jacobs explained that the latter two, a male and a female, had passed away over the past week. Both had underlying pre-existing health conditions at the time of their passing. They were not immediately added to the COVID-19 death toll as it was not clear what their cause of death had been. She said it is still not conclusive as to what specifically caused the death of the two, however, St. Maarten must include the two in the COVID-19 matrix as they had tested positive for the highly infectious virus.

In updating on the general COVID-19 figures, she said while authorities are still awaiting some results from Guadeloupe, as of 4:00pm Tuesday, there had been 117 persons in self-quarantine; 200 in self-isolation, 112 tested; 40 positive and 2 confirmed cases hospitalized at St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).  Of the positive cases, 28 are males and 12 are females. A total of 62 persons have tested negative and 10 are pending results. The results are expected later tonight and Jacobs will update the public on these results on Wednesday. A total of 32 persons have recovered and authorities are tracking 31 active cases.

Of the initial six cases recorded, while the second case has already recovered, the remaining 5 should be out of isolation this week. The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) has monitored a total of 739 persons to date. The quarantine and isolation of 422 of these persons have since ended.

The Daily Herald.