~ Ban on takeaway alcohol ~
MARIGOT—The Préfecture disclosed Wednesday a surge of 45 COVID-19 new cases last week has prompted it to issue an advice for extreme caution to be exercised over the Christmas period, particularly for family gatherings, and for the New Year celebrations.
The sanitary situation in Europe is currently deteriorating with the increasingly rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
COVID cases jumped from 13 to 45 in St. Martin, and in St. Barths from seven to 28 cases. St. Martin has recorded the first case of a patient infected by the omicron variant, who was immediately isolated. However, no further update was given on that case or if there are any more cases.
Even if the statistics show a reduced level of presence of COVID, this acceleration of the circulation of the virus calls for all inhabitants and businesses in the territory to be cautious.
The end of year celebrations, a time for family gatherings, must be organised with great vigilance on behalf of all with a reinforced attention to barrier gestures (masks, hand hygiene, and distancing), the Préfecture stressed.
In addition, following certain undeclared events that did not respect the declaration requirement to authorities, the Préfecture's services remind that all public events or exceptional events organised by establishments receiving the public outside of their normal operation must be declared and authorised by the Préfecture.
In order to support the necessary mobilisation of all, the services of the Gendarmerie will reinforce the controls for verification of these declarations.
Finally, for the evenings of December 24 and 31, the closing time for bars and restaurants is maintained at 2:00am. In addition, an order prohibiting the sale of alcohol to take away and ban on consumption on the public highway will be in effect between 8:00pm and 6:00am on the evening of December 31.
The latest rates of positivity observed in St. Barthélémy (7.3 per cent) and St. Martin
(3.4 per cent) call for the utmost caution and strict compliance with health recommendations. If these data are confirmed in the next few days the préfet will not fail to take much more restrictive measures. The préfet is appealing to the common sense and responsibility of all.
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