News

There is broad support in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops’ law proposal to prolong the supervision on the St. Eustatius government while working towards phasing out the Dutch intervention. Parties represented in the Second Chamber still support …

Three more COVID-19 recoveries were reported on Thursday by regional health authority ARS. These were patients isolating at home. No new cases have been reported in St. Martin for over a week now. As of Wednesday, there were seven active cases: five at home and two in hospital. One of …

The coronavirus COVID-19 curve in St. Maarten is flattening, with the infection rate plummeting to below 25 per cent. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs said in a statement issued late last night that St. Maarten Medical Center’s (SMMC’s) Outbreak Management Team has reported that since the country went into a “state …

Thursday, April 30: Questions for and Answers by Dr. Koen, Public Health Department, Saba http://www.saba-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Address-Koen-2020-04-30.mp3 Please be patient if you have a slow internet connection (5 MB) GIS Saba    

An EZ Air aircraft arrived in St. Eustatius on Tuesday eve­ning with the technical crew on board that will set up the hospital container. Another EZ Air aircraft brought much-need medical supplies one day later, on Wednesday, April 29. The aircraft departed later that same day with patiens on board. …

The total number of active cases of COVID-19 in St. Maarten has dropped below twenty for the first time since April 3. There are now nineteen active cases because eleven persons recovered from the virus since the last official figures were announced on Monday. According to the latest figures released …

Ten of the thirteen persons who passed away from the coronavirus COVID-19 in St. Maarten were from the immigrant community, some of them undocumented with pre-existing conditions, who reported their illness to authorities late. Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs provided the information during the live …

St. Maarten will be the first country in the Dutch Caribbean to conduct rapid testing, thanks to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM. Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs said she had raised her concerns and the concerns of Members of …

Life as we’ve known it has changed, but together we continue to fight Covid-19. Don’t let your guards down, keep; practicing proper hand hygiene, staying safe at home, maintaining physical distancing and Please use times allowed to walk to do just that. Note: From now on, we are kindly requesting, …

Residents of Saba and  Bonaire lost purchasing power relative to 2017. In contrast, St Eustatius once again recorded a rise in consumer purchasing power in 2018. The median increase was 2 percent relative to 2017. Statia’s low-income households benefited in particular, due to an additional increase in statutory minimum wages …

A tenta­tive date of May 4 has been set for the reopening of schools in St. Eustatius. A final decision on this matter is expected to be made today, Wednesday, April 29, during a meeting with teachers and stakeholders in education. Deputy Government Com­missioner Alida Francis said Tuesday that the …

Let’s continue to fight Covid-19 together Saba by staying safe at home and maintaining physical distancing. GIS Saba

Flight restrictions for passengers travelling to Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will remain in effect until at least May 15. Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen-Wybenga and Minister of Public Health, Well-being and Sport Hugo de Jonge recently informed the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament …

Govern­ment Commissioners of St. Eustatius Marnix van Rij and Alida Francis an­nounced that repatriation of citizens of Europe and the United States would be possible in the near future. Van Rij stated that the public entity St. Eustatius has been receiving calls from persons in Statia who would like to …

On what would have been Jouvert Morning if Carnival 2020 had gone ahead as planned and in the face of the 24-hour curfew imposed by government, residents of Dutch Quarter and Fort Willem held separate impromptu “Jouvert” jump-ups early Monday morning. Police were called to break-up both events. The first …

Although the travel industry at present is all but in a deep coma, good press coverage and promotion are always welcome, especially knowing that in the future travel and tourism will one day be back to normal. The article about Saba in the online travel magazine of Matador Network is …

Today, on King’s Day, King Willem-Alexander in his short TV speech on the occasion of his birthday. Below the full text of his message. A very warm welcome to this King’s Day at home. Many thanks to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the initiative to open this online day with the …

An EZ Air aircraft touched down at F.D. Roo­sevelt Airport in St. Eustatius on Friday evening, April 25, with medical supplies and three patients of Health Insurance Office ZVK on board. On Saturday, SXM Airways also brought ZVK patients home. All of them were placed in self-quarantine. Government Commissioner Marnix …

Total cases 74, recoveries 33. Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs announced during a national address on Saturday that St. Maarten had recorded one new coronavirus COVID-19 death, bringing the total number of persons who have succumbed to this virus to thirteen. The latest death was …

The Collectivité announced Sunday that Louis-Constant Fleming Hospital will begin COVID-19 testing on May 4, starting in the districts of French Quarter, Sandy Ground and St. James. The strategy to expand testing further among the population depends on availability of more testing equipment. The hospital will provide two doctors trained …

The Dutch government had approved a compensation package to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus crisis for residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The prices of ferry services, electricity and Internet will go down through subsidies. State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops announced the …

4 more Covid-19 test results are in, and all of them are negative. There are 14 people now in quarantine, 76 negative test results, 2 positive results, and 2 tests pending. To clarify the exemption which refers to recreational fishing: This applies only to license holders who must request advance …

4 more test results are in, and all of them are negative. There are 14 people now in quarantine, 76 negative test results, 2 positive results, and 2 tests pending. To clarify the exemption which refers to recreational fishing, this applies only to license holders who must request advance permission …

Curaçao is returning the more than 80 physicians and health care providers who had come to the island from The United States of America earlier this week. The reason for this is that a healthcare provider within the group has tested positive for corona. The care providers are paid by …

The coral reefs in the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) are under pressure. This not only has major consequences for the biodiversity but also for the economic prosperity of the islands. The Cabinet is allocating 7.2 million euros to halt deterioration and to restore coral reefs. This is what …

A hospi­tainer unit which arrived in St. Eustatius from the Neth­erlands on Wednesday, April 22, is expected to be become functional on May 15. The hospitainer, a semi­permanent field hospital for rapid deployment, arrived in six containers onboard the Orion MV at Charles A. Woodley pier. The con­tainers were flown …

The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) has ad­vised extending the lockdown period in Saba for an addi­tional fourteen days, until May 10, Island Governor Jona­than Johnson announced Friday. “As stated earlier, it is important to continue with two con­secutive incubation periods without any new community cases before we can reasonably assume …

The Kingdom Council of Ministers on Friday approved the allocation of 16.5 million euros (US $17.8 million) for food and hygiene packages for the neediest persons on all six Dutch Caribbean islands. State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops made the announcement during a press conference for …

~ 900 test kits have arrived ~ Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs disclosed during a press conference on Friday that three healthcare workers are among the 73 total cases of coronavirus COVID-19 in St. Maarten. Jacobs did not announce the country’s latest coronavirus figures on …

~ marines ashore to bolster law enforcement ~ Royal Dutch Navy ship Zr.Ms. Karel Doorman, the largest ship in the Dutch Navy’s fleet, made her way into Great Bay on Friday morning and berthed at Port St. Maarten. The vessel was deployed to the Dutch Caribbean to help in the …

On April 24, Island Governor Jonathan Johnson has send the following message to Saba residents: (Note : please be patient when downloading through a slow internet connection) In summary: The Outbreak Management Team (0MT) has advised to extend the lock-down period for an additional fourteen (14) days, until May 10th …

The flight bans to Bonaire, Sint-Eustasius and Saba have been extended until 15 May, minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) reports to the House of Representatives. It must prevent the coronavirus from spreading further on the islands. Until mid-May, the airports of these BES islands are closed to air traffic …

190 people were tested for COVID-19 via the COVID Drive-Thru on Bonaire, between April, 14th and April, 21th. Including the tests done by means of the COVID Drive-Thru, in total 228 people have now been tested on Bonaire until April 24th : 190 via the drive-thru and 38 by the …

Enforcement of emergency ordinance. On Saba an official report was issued to a person who did not comply with the measure to stay at home. A warning was also taken against some people who were building a dog house. KPCN

Following questions from Saba News, State Secretary Raymond Knops announced this morning  at his press conference, that the BES islands will receive an additional subsidy for travel, electricity and internet costs. The part of the conference addressing this can be viewed below. The press conference was in Dutch. For SEC, …

On March 25 the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba received an emergency package for entrepreneurs and employees to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. This emergency package, including a contribution for labour cost, is much appreci­ated by the public entities in the Caribbean Netherlands. However, …

Another death from COVID-19 was reported on Thursday by regional health authority ARS, bringing the death toll in St. Martin to three. The deceased was a 76-year-old man who had other underlying health issues and passed away in the Guadeloupe hospital. He had been in hospital since April 7. However, …

Air Caraïbes announced Thursday it will be resuming an inter-island service between St. Martin, St. Barths and Guadeloupe as of today Friday, April 24. The airline said it was selected after responding to the State’s request for a Public Service Delegation launched on April 22 to provide the service. This …

Thursday, April 23: address Island Governor Jonathan Johnson. Please be patient if you download via a slow internet connection. GIS Saba  

As of April 1st, 2019, victims of violent crimes committed in Bonaire, St. Eustatius or Saba are eligible for a one-off compensation payment from Schadefonds. On this webpage you san see an overview of the figures for 2019: 53 applications were submitted last year, of which 28 have already been allocated. 22 …