PHILIPSBURG--The number of Intensive Care beds that St. Maarten will be receiving from the Netherlands has increased.
The country was originally set to receive six beds along with the necessary support, including ventilators, equipment and personnel. Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs said on Thursday evening that the country will now receive 12 intensive care beds.
During the Ministerial Consultation on Health and COVID-19 held on April 2, amongst the four countries in the Kingdom, including the Caribbean Netherlands, it was concluded that out of the 42 Intensive Care beds being sent by the Netherlands for the Dutch Caribbean countries and islands, 12 will be sent to St. Maarten and no longer 6 as was initially proposed. The 12 beds are for St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. The remaining beds will go to Curaçao and will serve all islands in the Dutch Caribbean.
All 42 beds will serve as an overflow for all Caribbean countries and islands in the Dutch Kingdom. Jacobs said St. Maarten is very much appreciative of the opportunity to receive this assistance, as the country has been making repeated requests for a month.
She said also that the country is continuously assessing new ways to source capacities and resources that it has locally and has been trying to partner with various stakeholders and businesses to see how to identify a location for quarantining and, where necessary, for isolation units.
“An isolation space has been identified to house COVID-19-positive patients which we expect to start populating as of tomorrow in order to ensure isolation of these cases,” she said. “We were able to identify a location and have started the process necessary to certify the location for our quarantine and isolation needs. When it is finalised, I will update you accordingly.”
