THE HAGUE--The number of COVID-19 clusters in St. Maarten has gone down from 11 late September to seven early October, the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM stated in Friday’s epidemiological report.
According to the RIVM in its weekly Dutch Caribbean update, seven active clusters were reported in St. Maarten in the week of September 30 to October 6: three at schools, two at day care centres, one within the local hospital and one within home for the elderly.
The week before, September 23-29, St. Maarten had 11 active clusters, of which 7 at schools, two in the hospitality sector, one at a telecommunication company and one at a local enterprise.
For a second consecutive week the number of persons who tested positive for SARS-Co-V-2 in St. Maarten decreased in the period September 30 to October 6 to 148 persons per 100,000 inhabitants. In the week of September 23 to 29, the number was 196 per 100,000.
The RIVM continued to voice its worries about the low vaccination rate in St. Maarten. “The number of persons reporting for a vaccination is still very low. 38 per cent of the total population of over 12 is fully vaccinated. At this moment, schools are actively being approached to increase the vaccination rate among youngsters.”
Up to October 4, 26,210 persons age 12 and older had one vaccination in St. Maarten. Per that date, the total number of fully vaccinated persons age 12 and older was 23,904. The big increase in the vaccination rate that authorities saw between February/March 2021, when vaccination on the island started, has flattened since early August 2021.
Overall, in the Dutch Caribbean, the number of persons who were tested positive for COVID-19 decreased. In Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and St. Maarten a total of 515 persons tested positive between September 30 and October 6, which is 15 per cent less than the week before.
Curaçao reported the majority of the new cases with 219 new positive cases, which was still fewer than the week before. Bonaire saw an increase in new active cases last week. No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Saba and St. Eustatius. The Delta variant remains very dominant on the islands.
