St. Maarten: 22 new COVID-19 cases recorded

— New COVID-19 related death confirmed —

The coun­try’s number of COVID-19 cases is slowly climbing with the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA report­ing 22 new active cases on Wednesday, September 23. The new total of active cases is currently 78, with the total number of confirmed cases now 616.

CPS has reported an ad­ditional death recorded due to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 21. VSA Minister Richard Pan­neflek expressed his deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the person who succumbed to COVID-19 on Wednesday. He wished the family much strength during their time of bereavement. Of the active cases, Col­lective Prevention Services (CPS) is monitoring 74 per­sons who are currently in home isolation. There are currently 83 persons in quar­antine based on contact-tracing investigations carried out by CPS of persons who may have been in contact with any of the active cases. Four patients are hospital­ised at St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) with one additional person admitted since the last update from CPS.

Five persons reportedly have recovered from CO­VID-19, bringing the total number of recovered per­sons to 517.

CPS has tested 1,929 travellers arriving at Prin­cess Juliana International Airport, (PJIA) and 1,009 persons within the com­munity. CPS assured that as the numbers continue to fluctuate, the department will continue to actively execute its contact-tracing measures.

Panneflek explained that the jump in the number of positive cases on Wednes­day was a result that reflect­ed testing carried out over three days, as there was a backlog at the laboratory. “In efforts to control the spread of the virus, wear your masks, practise social distancing, sanitise your hands frequently, wash your hands with soap, and refrain from mass gather­ings,” he concluded.

The Daily Herald.