St. Maarten: No new COVID•19 cases in 11 days, one case in 24 days

As St. Maarten continues to flatten the coronavirus COVID-19 curve, the country had not record­ed any new cases in elev­en days as of Saturday, May 23, and only one case in 24 days.

All COVID-19 patients have also been released from St. Maarten Medi­cal Center (SMMC) and of the three currently active cases, two are in government’s isolation facility and one is recov­ering at home.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chair­person Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said the country has been seeing a steady decline in its numbers of COVID-19 cases. The campaign over the past months is for persons with symp­toms to self-isolate at home and this will con­tinue to be reiterated as de-escalation measures continue.

“Up to today [Saturday Ed.], we have had, in the past 11 days, no new positive cases and before that 13 days with no new positive cases. We have just had one case in the past 24 days. So, we are very grateful and thank­ful for these negative results as we move for­ward, but it is a positive result for St. Maarten and that is why we have not stopped our de-esca­lation plan,” Jacobs said during an EOC press conference on Saturday evening.

She stressed that the most crucial phase for the country is the up­coming phase, the re­covery phase, where au­thorities will emphasise the restoration from the social, economic, finan­cial and environmental impact of the virus on the county. The vari­ous ministers are work­ing hard to finalise and move forward with plans
to recover fully, taking into consideration the “new normal.”

It is now mandated that persons, when in public, wear masks when enter­ing buildings, observe social-distancing guide­lines and continue with proper hand-sanitisation and washing of hands of­ten as a rule.

Jacobs said she had been updated that there are no tests currently available on the market that can determine con­clusively whether some­one is infectious “at a later date.” All tests thus far available on the mar­ket are time-sensitive. She said this remains a concern for authorities as plans are made for the country to move for­ward. Her hope is that St. Maarten is able to move forward in a prop­er manner, seeing that the country’s economic development would re­quire such

The Daily Herald.