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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Honorable Minister of Public Health Social Development and Labour (VSA) Richard Panneflek expressed his deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the person who succumbed to Covid-19 today. He wished the family much strength during their time of bereavement. As of September 23rd, there were twenty- two (22) persons who tested positive for COVID-19, however, there was a recovery of five (5) persons; bringing the total active cases to seventy- eight (78).
The total number of confirmed cases is now six hundred and six (606). The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring 74 people in home isolation. Four (4) patients are hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center and the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 has increased to 21.
The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten is 517. Eighty- three (83) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS of persons who may have been in contact with any of the active cases.
CPS has tested 1009 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport, (PJIA) and 1929 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures.
Minister Panneflek expressed that the jump in positive cases today are results that reflect testing was done over the past three (3) days, as there was a backlog at the laboratory. In efforts to control the spread of the virus, wear your masks, practice social distancing, sanitize your hands frequently, wash your hands with soap, and refrain from mass gatherings.