There is thankfully some good local news to report among the current global doom and gloom. Three COVID-19 patients on the French side have recovered, while the Dutch side’s first six cases, including those hospitalised, are at home. Some help is on the way, as personal protection equipment (PPE) for health care practitioners arrived in St. Eustatius from the Netherlands via Bonaire for partial redistribution to St. Maarten and Saba.
St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) will also be getting six intensive-care beds with equipment including ventilators and personnel. That’s still far too little considering the number of positive cases and pending tests, especially as all three spots in the regular Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are occupied by non-coronavirus-related patients and a six-bed special section created for the pandemic is full.
A pavilion is being erected at the hospital with money from the Trust Fund managed by the World Bank that will hold 10-20 infected persons who require only medium, temporary care. It’s important to remember that 80 per cent of those who catch the virus just have minor symptoms, while 15 per cent get very sick and 5 per cent end up in the ICU.
The latter becomes a bigger issue as the number of positive tests and people who fall ill grows. The lack of medical resources and facilities is a worldwide problem, as practically every country is dealing with acute shortages of such.
That’s why it’s so crucial to at least contain the spread and try to keep it under control as best possible by following the instructions of authorities, as difficult and socioeconomically hurtful the lockdown and curfew are. Stay home, frequently wash hands with soap, and practice social distancing when out by necessity.
That’s the only way to prevent the feared overloading of the island’s health care system, with likely very dire consequences.
