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PHILIPSBURG. Sint Maarten If the industry partners and Parliament agree, St, Maarten could well become a global trendsetter with its institution of rapid antigen testing for visitors to the island based on a
proposal by Minister of Health the Honourable Richard Panneflek.

His goal is to test expeditiously all visitors as a means of protecting both guests and the population and reducing the spread and contamination of COVID-19. Minister Panneflek, whose portfolio includes Social Welfare and Labour, issued a press release on Sunday saying we will have to use rapid testing if we want to reopen St. Maarten responsibly.

St. Maarten’s ports of entry closed on March 17, bringing a significant portion of the island’s economic activity to a halt. Thousands of people are still without work, while others have suffered through having up to 50 per cent of their salaries cut because the companies they work for had to close their doors.

The Ministry of VSA is giving food baskets support to residents, but Minister Panneflek says that will not be enough. He said the fact that the hotels, restaurants and other businesses on the island remain closed means that many residents are still unable to earn a living. The island did its best in the past few months to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep the population safe. However, the time has come for the hard decision on reopening and restoring some sense of normalcy amid the global pandemic.

He said he will also be seeking the support of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) along with the hotel industry and other public sector partners to get the process completed.
“It is time for the difficult decision to restore the economic pillar of the island healthily and responsibly so our residents can earn a living,” said Minister Panneflek. He said consideration must be given to making it easy for visitors to come to St. Maarten and taking innovative steps to do so is he right approach. “We need to do what we can and it shouldnt stop here. We must also have the discussion on lifting entry requirements for US Citizens and it will propel us into the future as leaders of the tourism industry.”

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, some islands including Antigua and Barbuda, are considering requesting their visitors to test themselves 48-hours before arrival. Some islands have also indicated that they have a mandatory curfew and will restrict group gatherings up to 25 people. “St. Maarten is in competition with others whether we want to admit it or not. We also have a responsibility to our neighbouring islands who use our Airport as a hub. If we can protect the passengers transiting to their destinations then we will be adding value to them and as Minister of Health it is imperative that I take action to avoid rather than repair after.”

He said another option would be asking guests to provide us with a test done 48-hours prior, but the risk is that these guests can still contract the Corona Virus within that two-day window. We can consider options such as testing only people with symptoms, but science shows that persons can carry the virus without showing signs. “If we take that approach, it puts our residents at higher risk, which is why we must test everyone.”

Minister Panneflek will ask Parliament to approve a nominal fee, which will be added to visitors’ airfare to covers the cost of administering the Rapid Antigen Test. The idea is also to seek the support of his colleague Minister in the TEATT Ministry to dialogue with industry partners such as airlines and travel agencies to request that they inform visitors of the non-invasive rapid antigen test on arrival.

On May 9, the US Food and Drug Administration approved its first set of Rapid Antigen Test kits. The process is easy to administer, reasonably accurate and gives results almost immediately. Minister Panneflek said within 15 minutes guests will receive a welcome drink and a St. Maarten style reception while they get the rapid test.

They can also go through immigration processing at the same time. “In this new normal we believe that this approach will also help the visitors who are anxiously waiting to return to beautiful beaches and sun in the sea, to be comfortable choosing our destination.”
“I think we can set the standard in the industry for the way economies can re-open while still maintaining a safe environment,” said Panneflek.

Research shows bookings coming out of Miami and Philadelphia to St. Maarten for the major airlines are between 82 to 93 percent, which indicates a high interest from visitors to return.
To address the question of which countries to allow or restrict based on their number of COVID-19 cases, Minister Panneflek said at present, the US with a population of 328 million people shows 0.06 percent of its population have contracted the Corona Virus. Holland and France have a combined population of 84 million people, and their combined COVID-19 cases amounts to 0.02 percent.

However, the majority of visitors come from the USA where based on their population they have a larger number of COVID-free people who we want to accept to our shores just as much as we wish to welcome the European visitor. “Our goal must therefore be to responsibly and safely open for all,” said Minister Panneflek.

Panneflek said that the concept to safeguard residents while increasing their potential to earn a living through increased economic activity from our main economic pillow includes possibly putting a staging area on the Airport Ramp where guests can be quickly tested.