MARIGOT—Five new COVID-19 cases were reported by the Préfecture and regional health authority ARS on Saturday. This brings total active cases on the French side to 17.
Six persons are hospitalized and 11 persons are in quarantine at home, including the latest five cases. Two more persons have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to seven. Two persons have died from COVID-19. Three persons have been repatriated to their countries of origin.
St. Barths has two active cases quarantined at home and four persons have recovered, including one on Saturday.
An extra two doctors and one nurse from the Sanitary Reserve have arrived in St. Martin to assist the medical team in the Louis- Constant Fleming Hospital. An extra doctor and one nurse have also been dispatched to St. Barths. Medical teams on both islands are currently fully mobilized.
ARS reiterated that the purpose of containment is to reduce social interaction to limit spread of the virus. Only by limiting the number of infections can the epidemic be effectively stemmed or slowed down.
“It is imperative that we all see ourselves as carriers of the virus and adopt the right behavior,” ARS indicated in its bulletin. “Because even a negative test can be false in a case of poor sampling or loading. And the viral load in some people is too low (especially with those people who show few or no symptoms).”
“Keep your distance of two metres apart and respect the confinement orders. Stay at home and follow the hygiene barrier measures regularly. We continue to appeal to everyone to apply and respect the national instructions.”
