PHILIPSBURG – Recently, international health organizations have called for the use of barrier masks to complement protective hygiene measures and social distancing rules to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). In an effort to provide as many barrier masks to St. Maarten residents as possible, the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) has launched their Masks for the Masses project with the help of over 20 local seamstresses and tailors. Hobbyist and professional seamstresses and tailors offered to assist in producing approximately 1000 adult and child cloth face masks for those most in need of them. The intention is…
Author: The Publisher
~ In solidarity with the pain and suffering that many on the island are enduring during this period, the Council of Ministers has decided that the flags at government buildings on St. Maarten will fly at half-mast until it has been determined that the country is out of the COVID-19 pandemic. ~ PHILIPSBURG — Based on advice from the Minister of Public Housing, Planning, Environment & Infrastructure (VROMI), the honorable Minister Egbert Jurendy Doran, flags at government buildings around the country will be flown at half-mast. This will be done in memory of the nine persons who tested positive for…
PHILIPSBURG — The Cul de Sac, Cole Bay and Little Bay areas are the districts on Dutch St. Maarten with a majority of persons who tested positive for the corona virus called COVID-19. Other areas with persons who have tested positive, reside in Simpson Bay, Upper Princess Quarter and Lower Princess Quarter. No positive cases of persons residing in Lowlands and Philipsburg have been recorded to date although they are persons who are or have been in self-quarantine and self-isolation in these areas at one point or another. This is according to information from government’s COVID-19 dashboard shared with members…
CAY HILL — With the Mobile Medical Pavilion (MMP) and the ICU Hospitainer, both located across St. Maarten Medical Center at the basketball and tennis courts at Raoul Illidge Sport Complex, now fully operational, the next phase is to start preparing the transfer of COVID care to this area outside SMMC in order for the hospital to allow regular care and consultations to resume once the conditions of the lockdown allow for this to take place. “Last month, SMMC ceased elective medical procedures and consultations as part of the preventative measures SMMC’s Outbreak Management Team (OMT) implemented in order to…
PHILIPSBURG — In an ongoing effort to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 virus on St. Maarten, Prime Minister and Chair of the EOC Silveria Jacobs declared a State of Emergency on St. Maarten on April 4, 2020, during her National Address, with immediate effect as of April 5, 2020. This state of emergency instituted a total lockdown of Dutch St. Maarten including the ports of entry and the borders to the Northern side of the island. After several heavy discussions with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and strategic meetings with the relevant Emergency Support Function (ESF) coordinators, the decision was…
PHILIPSBURG — On Wednesday, April 15, 2020, the Honourable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson, held a virtual meeting with various stakeholders from within the ministry as well as representatives from external agencies. The meeting’s purpose was to address a growing concern within the community and the relevant stakeholders regarding child protection in general and specifically the Alternative Care System (foster care system), which has changed drastically over the last three years. Since then, there has been a decrease in the number of Alternative Care Homes (Foster Homes) currently in operation on the island. With the sudden closure of two…
PHILIPSBURG – “The budget cannot finance the measures necessary to safeguard the health of the population and avoid social unrest and disruption of the already fragile economy. We need support from the Netherlands,” the Stimulus Relief Plan presented by Finance Minister Ardwell Irion states. The plan was completed on April 4 and sent to parliament on April 13. It asks the Netherlands for 254 million guilders (almost $142 million) in support to cover expenditures for the months April, May and June. The plan assumes that 50 to 80 percent of St. Maarten’s gross domestic product (GDP) is depending on tourism.…
SIMPSON BAY — Last week the Nature Foundation received a report of a dead sea turtle on Simpson Bay beach close to the Beacon Hill area. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) clearly died due to a boat strike in Simpson Bay waters and washed up on shore. The year 2020 started not that long ago and already three green sea turtle lost their life due to boat traffic, whereby the cause of death is a strike with speeding boat engines. “We were very sad to find the dead sea turtle, especially as due to COVID 19 measurements hardly any…
PHILIPSBURG — Member of Parliament Omar E. C. Ottley submitted a proposal asking the Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson and her staff to allow people to shop within their districts. Ottley stated that the proposal is aimed at alleviating the tension surrounding the population’s outcry and unrest as it pertains to access to food, while protecting our citizens and encouraging social distancing. Ottley explained that the intention is to block key entry points for each district, no one in or out for a specific time frame, this will allow persons living in these districts to purchase groceries and…
“On an annual basis our country confronts the hurricane season, some of which have brought disastrous damage to our shores, including Hurricane Irma in 2017. As a result of these super storms, our economic activities come to almost a complete stop for weeks and even months – restricting mobility and business activity for our one pillar tourism economy. And now, we are also experiencing the effects of global pandemics, an additional extreme and direct impact on our social economic way of life.” Challenger continued: “I, like many others in the country, remain very concerned about our future as a nation.…
