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~ Community urged to get vaccinated, a new protocol for ABC islands travelers.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Labor Richard Panneflek announced on Wednesday that the labor policy that was published by the former Minister of Health and Labor is now under review. The Minister said just last week he celebrated one year in office as the Minister of Labor and questions why the labor policy was not put into effect since then.
The Minister said he was not informed prior to the publication of the release and as such he must inform the public that this policy must be tweaked before it is implemented. The Minister admitted that he is quite occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic and that he did not focus much on the Department of Labor. Sometimes when one is busy things do slip or pass by without noticing.
He urged the community of St. Maarten to get vaccinated. The Minister said that the 3rd set of COVID-19 vaccine has been confirmed, however, he said that there is no guarantee that St. Maarten will continue to receive the Pfizer vaccine since it is the number one vaccination being used worldwide.
The Minister of Health also announced that as Minister of Health he has taken the decision to implement new travel guidelines for the ABC islands, which are Aruba, Bonair,e and Curacao due to the high level of COVID-19 active cases. The Minister said the new travel restrictions will go into effect as of Saturday. Travelers from the ABC islands that had the PCR tests 72 hours before boarding must also do an antigen test 24 hours prior to boarding. Panneflek said he is also encouraging travelers to obtain a PCR test 24 hours prior to boarding he said arrangements are being made with Curacao in order for the testing to take place for passengers traveling to St. Maarten from the ABC islands.
The Minister of Health said everyone is welcome to St. Maarten however, traveling from the ABC islands is restricted. He said only persons that have urgent needs to travel should travel. Passengers that intended to visit the island for vacation purposes are asked to hold off and postpone their vacation plans. The Minister said that right now only passengers will essential needs will be allowed to enter, these measures were implemented to safeguard the community of St. Maarten.