SINT MAARTEN (SIMPSON BAY-AIRPORT) – Airport officials at PJIAE have secured 5,000 (N-95) masks for medical and staff after overcoming impossible odds to get them to St. Maarten.

While doctors and nurses globally, continue to complain about the chronic shortage of protective masks, similar shortages at health care facilities on the island will soon be wiped out – thanks to PJIAE where Airport officials personally met a KLM flight from the Netherlands on Tuesday, with a shipment of masks on board.

According to PJIAE CEO, Mr. Brian Mingo, N-95 protective masks have been obtained with the help of counterpart officials at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.

The specialized protective masks were ordered by the Airport authority for its own use more than six weeks ago when the airport began to make its own contingency plans in the event of a worsening scenario regarding the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Somehow our order of protective masks was delayed because of the worldwide shortage, but when we explained the dire situation that our own medical teams on St. Maarten were finding themselves with a shortage of masks, Schiphol did the generous thing and filled part of our order from their own needed supplies,” said Mr. Mingo.

The Airport chief said he was “most grateful” to Schiphol, not only as a corporate partner to the Airport, but also as a supportive company, assisting another company where it can. He appealed to other companies on St. Maarten to follow this example of assisting each other to help contain the spread of the virus on the island.

“It is in the best interest of all of us to work together as one by following the instructions of the Prime Minister and government and most of all by following the health practices and especially by practicing social distancing, washing of hands and keeping hands away from our faces,” said Mr. Mingo.

He said in the case of the respirator masks for the Health Sector, he believes the medical teams there who are currently in the frontline of treating sick patients and keeping the virus at bay in the isolation units are deserving of any help they can get.

“It is possible for some persons to work from home or remain at home and not be exposed, but there are also those persons who, due to the nature of their work, have to be out every day and are facing the risk of infection every day and are also putting their loved-ones and families at risk as a result. Anything we can do to help minimize the risk for them, is not just good corporate citizenship, but just good sense,” continued the Airport CEO Mr. Mingo.

Mr. Mingo said while he was able to make good use of his contacts at Schiphol Airport to secure the shipment of face masks for St. Maarten’s medical personnel, it was also the persistent work of PJIAE’s Safety and Security Officer, Mr. Connally Connor and Executive Consultant, Mr. Emile van der Weerd, who did not give up on their attempts to locate the specially designed masks when they were told time and again that none were presently available.

“Mr. Connor is also head of the COVID-19 Task Force at PJIAE which we put together in mid- February in anticipation of these developments,” said Mr. Mingo. He said with the assistance of Mr. Connor and his team, various protocols have been put into place at PJIAE to protect personnel, visitors, members of the public.

“We recently walked the Prime Minister and other government officials through these protocols that we have put in place and she was satisfied that we are taking all the necessary precautionary steps we can to help contain the spread of the virus, at least from this port of entry,” continued Mr. Mingo. Among the steps taken at PJIAE:

• Managing the spread and risk of COVID-19 to all passengers and visitors to and from PJIAE including the installation of an isolation unit and 12 new hand wash stations.
• Mitigating and managing the impact on the economy of St. Maarten together with the Prime Minister, the EOC and international COVID-19 agencies.

PJIAE Executive Consultant, Mr. Emile van de Weerd said the presentation of protective masks to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is really a call to action for other companies on the island to play their part and continue to play their part in a combined effort to contain the COVID-19 for obvious economic and social reasons. He especially appealed to hotel owners and the hospitality sector to follow the example of major hotel chains around the world who have also taken amazing steps to assist their respective communities to contain the spread of COVID-19.

“We are already seeing how hospitals and other medical facilities worldwide can quickly become swamped through lack of resources to accommodate large incidents of infections in the community, therefore we have to be especially careful to follow government guidelines and protocols together in a concerted way,” said Mr. Emile van de Weerd.

The Airport advisor said the efforts made by Mr. Brian Mingo to secure delivery of the N-95 respirator masks should also not be under stated. “The CEO was dogged in his determination and motivated us to find a way when it appeared that no way could be found to have them deliver to St. Maarten this week,” said Mr. Emile van der Weerd.

Mr. Brian Mingo said of the PJIAE gesture, “In the end we are all in this together. If we can all do our part to keep the spread to a minimum, we can quicker recover and rebuild our airport, our economy and our St. Maarten,” he said.

The Airport chief concluded that the protective masks will be delivered directly to the Ministry of Health (VSA) so that distribution can be centralized in a coordinated and safe way.

Offloading of shipment of N-95 respiratory masks from KLM flight to St. Maarten.

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) – The Windward Islands Bank (WIB) is closing its Bush Road branch temporarily as of Thursday, March 26. For more information read the attached notice.

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) – Windward Islands Bank (WIB) announced on Wednesday a listing of their ATM machines that will remain open and the timeframes where some will be operational. Take note by reading the attachment. WIB Your Partner during challenging times.

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - The St. Maarten Foundation for Psychologists and Orthopedagogen (SFPO) wants to encourage community members to stay connected during social distancing. Social distancing has been described as keeping physical space between/amongst persons to help reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus in order to protect our vulnerable community members whereby one way is to stay at home.

Staying at home can feel lonely and lend to stress and anxiety, especially if persons are not working from home or able to keep their minds busy and productive.

Online platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Zoom are currently being used by schools, businesses and other organizations to stay connected to students, employees and others. SFPO also encourages the utilization of local radio stations as a practical way to stay connected as well.

"After the passage of Hurricane Irma, local radio stations served as a beacon of hope, inspiration and encouragement for the community at large. Radio hosts created spaces in which persons from all walks of life could call in to the program to share views or send greetings to loved ones. During this time of social distancing and lock downs, this same platform can be used", a SFPO representative said.

"Utilizing local radio stations is not only practical but also inclusive because most persons within the community, regardless of their socio- economic status, have access to portable radios", SFPO said.

Family members within the same household are encouraged to strengthen family connections by engaging in various activities such as storytelling, playing board games or other games. Families with backyards could also embark on backyard gardening, as a means of teaching children the importance of growing one's own food.

SFPO says, "Using various modalities to show our presence within our homes, churches and communities, in spite of the challenges we currently face, foster a culture of well- being and connectedness".

We encourage people to find creative and safe ways to stayed connected with their loved ones. Connections are what helps us to build confidence and resilience and gives us hope for the future that together we will get through this and move forward."