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COVID-19 UPDATE Nr. 3

News item | 31-12-2021 | 00:59

Fellow Statian Residents,

This is Government Commissioner, Alida Francis, with an update on the Covid-19 situation on St. Eustatius for Friday December 31st, 2021. The current COVID-19 situation on our island has changed rapidly in a matter of a few days. There is currently a total of 35 active Covid-19 cases on St. Eustatius.

Throughout the course of the past several days contact tracing and testing have taken place. Regretfully, the source of the outbreak is still not known. This is cause for great concern. In order to curb the further spread of the virus the Public Entity St. Eustatius has decided to effective today Friday December 31st, 2021, scale up to level 5 until January 14th, 2022 at 12 noon. These measures will be in effect for 14 days. When everyone respects these protocols and policies that are in place, we will be able to ease the measures after the 14 days.

What does scaling up to level 5 mean?

Upscaling to level 5 means that ALL permits granted for hosting of ALL events are cancelled. Events and gatherings are breathing grounds for the further spread of Covid-19 virus.

I herewith am requesting you not to take these measures lightly as the Police will act against violators in accordance with the law.

Should we experience breaches or any violations of these measures in the coming days, that could potentially put our island further at risk, we will then make use of curfew measures under decree “Tijdelijke Regeling Maatregelen Covid-19 St. Eustatius. We need everyone to take personal responsibility, to remedy this outbreak within our community. Families are urged to stay at home.

Essential services/businesses:

  • Hotels are permitted to serve their in-house guests drinks and meals.
  • Hotels with a restaurant are permitted to provide take out service for the community. Wearing of the mask and physical distancing are strongly recommended.
  • Bar & Restaurants will be closed for indoor dining; take out service is permitted.
  • The public will be notified of the protocol for Government Offices as of Monday January 3rd, 2022.
  • The Pharmacy is an essential service and is permitted to remain open during the14-day period. The Pharmacy already has a strict protocol in place.
  • Supermarkets are considered an essential business and are permitted to remain open with strict protocols in place, including limiting entry for the number of
  • Persons who may require medical attention are advised to FIRST contact the QBMC on Tel: 318-2211 OR 318-2371 for instructions. PLEASE CALL FIRST SO THAT THE TELEPHONE TRIAGE CAN BE DONE.
  • The St. Eustatius Auxiliary Home has announced a total visitor stop. Family members can continue to contact their loved ones via WhatsApp 319-1241 or call the nurses’ station via phone number Tel: 318- 2981.
  • Large supermarkets maximum 10 persons at a time and small grocery stores maximum 5 persons at a time, of which one person per household.
  • Bakeries are an essential business and are also permitted to remain open with a maximum of five (5) customers each time and must have a strict protocol.
  • Day-care Centers and out-of-school programs are permitted to operate adhering to strict protocols. The Public Health Department will give guidance to these organizations.
  • Schools currently on holiday break are scheduled to re-open on January 10th. Further details will follow on the re-opening of schools.

Non-essential services/businesses

  • Barbershops and Beauty Salons are not essential business and are therefore not permitted to operate as they are close contact professions.
  • All sports activities, including the gym, are on hold until further notice.
  • Churches are requested to arrange online services.
  • The casino is considered a nonessential service and is not permitted to operate until further notice.

The community is strongly advised to minimize contacts in large family settings. Please limit family gatherings of different households. When families of the same household gathers, preferably these should be held outdoors. Social distancing and wearing the mask are strongly recommended when the family plans to come together.

Regular Vaccination and Booster Campaign:

As of Monday January 3rd, until Friday January 7th, 2022, regular vaccination and booster campaign will continue at the Hospitainer. Further testing will also take place on mentioned dates. The Public Health department will announce details in the coming days.

Update for today’s testing is as follows:

141 persons were tested today December 31st, 2021

Of which 09 are positive.

This brings the total number of active Covid-19 cases on St. Eustatius to 35 as of this afternoon 4.00 pm.

Persons currently placed in quarantine by the Public Health Department are strongly advised to respect the quarantine protocol by staying at home, use your mask and do physical distancing. And although you may not have tested positive but are identified as a close contact of someone who have tested positive, you are still required to quarantine at home. Not respecting the quarantine protocol may result in further upscaling which could include the introduction if a CURFEW.  This is a serious matter

The community is encouraged to support the persons directly affected by Covid-19 and their families. They need our love and support now more than ever.

We are in this together STATIA!

Another COVID-19 update is due on Sunday evening.

Let us not get tired!

Let us not get careless!