For the second day in-a-row the number of active COVID-19 cases went down in St, Maarten, from 209 Tuesday to 198 Wednesday to 190 Thursday. Fifteen new infections were reported on Wednesday and five on Thursday, but these were easily offset by respectively 26 and 13 recoveries.
It is obviously much too early to tell whether this means the second wave’s “curve has been flattened.” However, if the trend were to continue that would certainly be a hopeful development.
During Wednesday’s Council of Ministers virtual press briefing it was mentioned that only a few visitors were found to have coronavirus since borders have been reopened to other counties including the US as the local tourism economy’s biggest source market. With 631 travellers tested at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) so far, by all indications the protocol requiring pre-flight testing and screening upon arrival is working well.
The significance of such cannot be overstated, because getting the hospitality industry going again is key to the future wellbeing of the country and its people. The French side also needs to get involved in this process because it is -after all- one destination.
The border controls reintroduced on July 31 and since then not only made stricter but extended are hampering doing business and -frankly- daily life on the island. The same goes for now requiring residents from Guadeloupe and Martinique who set foot on the Dutch side even in transit to present a PCR test result within 72 hours before departure from Grand Case Airport when they return home, perhaps discouraging some of the few regional guests that may still want to come.
Besides, -let’s face it- St. Martin on Wednesday had 85 active cases of its own and they were still rising, while the Dutch side number at least appears to be dropping. The justification for the border restrictions thus seems increasingly less relevant.
In the spirit of the Treaty of Concordia also, it is high time authorities in Marigot and Philipsburg work on a joint approach to restore the population’s livelihood.
