Silveria Jacobs
~ PM: ‘We are out of crisis period’ ~
PHILIPSBURG--A person who passed away at St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on April 24 has been added to the tally of persons in Dutch St. Maarten who have succumbed to the coronavirus COVID-19 thus far.
This latest passing brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country to 14.
Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs said during a national address on Monday that the death was only noted by Collective Prevention Services (CPS) during a “clean-up of data” and while “crosschecking” information over the weekend.
“They missed the notification of one death, which occurred around April 24. As of April 24, there were 14 deaths. We have no new deaths, but during the clean-up of data one person who had passed away had not been counted since April 24,” Jacobs explained, while apologising to the public for not providing this information earlier. She stressed that “the clean-up only happened over the weekend.”
On a positive note, she said the country had not recorded any new COVID-19 cases in five days and quite a few negative tests had been recorded.
As of 4:00pm on Monday there were 76 persons in self-quarantine, 46 in self-isolation, five hospitalised; 359 tested; 76 positive tests; 277 negative tests; five tests pending results; and one inconclusive.
The number of positive cases includes 54 men and 22 women. A total of 44 persons have recovered and active cases stand at 19. Of the five patients who are hospitalised at SMMC, one is in the Intensive Care Unit tent and four are in the pavilion. Two are expected to be discharged soon. None are in the actual hospital building.
According to Jacobs, based on the data there is quite a downward trend in active cases. Isolation cases are persons who have symptoms and CPS has noted that many have come out of quarantine and isolation as a result of passing the term and no longer displaying symptoms.
Persons who are suspected of having COVID-19 who have been tested or will be tested also fall into the isolation group, as well as those with lab-confirmed COVID-19, who are still being actively monitored.
Jacobs said the fact that no positive cases have been recorded in the past five days is “great news” for the country. She said CPS had continued its community outreach in the Lower Prince’s Quarter area over a three- to four-day period and there had been no new admissions of positive or suspected cases to SMMC over a seven-day period.
“We are seeing a great downward trend and we can say that we are safely out of the crisis period and we can look at ways to deescalate and look at our new normal,” said Jacobs.
