PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Police Force KPSM has been overwhelmed with more than 1,000 requests for curfew waivers over the last two days.
"We still have a very large backlog of forms, but we are doing our utmost to process all requests that were sent in. Due to the magnitude of requests, we will not be able to all requests on the same day," said police in a press release on Monday night. Police have set a deadline of 10:00am Tuesday, April 7, for processing the backlog of same day requests.
As of Tuesday, April 7, police will not handle any more requests related to travel for medical reasons. These requests must the directed to Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA, which will process these forms.
"After this police will only deal with real emergency requests, and the requesters should be aware that same day processing cannot be guaranteed," said police.
During a press briefing held on Monday, April 6, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs made the following announcements concerning the waiver requests:
1) From now on everyone can only ask for permission through the three types of waivers that were used earlier, and these can be filled in online. Only these waivers will be processed, stamped and signed by Police Chief Carl John or Prime Minister Jacobs.
2) These three waivers forms can be found on government's website www.sintmaartengov.org on the Coronavirus page, at Laws and protocol for personal, work and border crossing.
3) After filling out the form online, it can be sent via the website to the police email address at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
4) These forms will be reviewed and then signed by John or Jacobs and subsequently returned to the requester by email.
Waiver forms that have already been signed cannot be modified. A new application will have to be filled in requesting the changes.
"Be aware that request by e-mails sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. without the waiver will not be processed from now on. Only the three waivers of the government website will be accepted and processed.
Urgent medical visits to your personal doctor or to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) will require a signed certificate from the doctor. The police is again making it clear that Hurricane passes are not valid for COVID-19 curfew," said police.
