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Ottley: Fully Vaccinated Visitors May Be Exempted From Testing

~ Plans to implement QR code system ~

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley says in the coming weeks the ministry will allow fully vaccinated persons of two weeks or longer to enter St. Maarten without having to be tested for COVID-19.

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Scdf Endorses Drive To 85% Vaccination Campaign

~ For the love of Carnival, vaccinate! ~

POND ISLAND, Sint Maarten – The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Wednesday endorsed governments Island-wide vaccination awareness campaign The Drive to 85%, SXM race to normalcy. The initiative of Minister of Public Health Omar Ottley, the objective of the campaign is to encourage at least 85% of the community to go out and get vaccinated, in efforts to achieve herd immunity.

President of the SCDF Alston Lourens and Minister Ottley met briefly on Wednesday at which time Lourens assured the Minister that the foundation will do everything it can and use its entire platform to raise awareness and push the vaccination drive. 

Lourens explained that achieving herd immunity is important for the country and by extension St Read more

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~ For the love of Carnival, vaccinate! ~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Wednesday endorsed the governments Island-wide vaccination awareness campaign The Drive to 85%, SXM race to normalcy. The initiative of Minister of Public Health Omar Ottley, the objective of the campaign is to encourage at least 85% of the community to go out and get vaccinated, in efforts to achieve herd immunity.
President of the SCDF Alston Lourens and Minister Ottley met briefly on Wednesday at which time Lourens assured the Minister that the foundation will do everything it can and use its entire platform to raise awareness and push the vaccination drive Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Health and Labor Omar Ottley made clear on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that employers cannot dismiss employees that have not taken the COVID-19 vaccination. Ottley said that even the government of St. Maarten cannot force the vaccination on any of its civil servants, however, the only thing government and employers could do is to encourage its staff to get vaccinated and those that have questions about the COVID 19 vaccinations should seek out more information from their general practitioner.
The Minister of Health and Labor said that he is fully aware that some businesses have been giving their employees incentives if they take their COVID-19 shots but these employers cannot force or dismiss the employees that have not taken the vaccine.
Businesses he said can arrange for frequent testing at their own expense while they should continue with implementing the guidelines such as wearing masks and sanitizing constantly.
Ottley said since taking office he has enhanced the vaccination drive, right now 38% of the population has taken their vaccinations Read more

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Enhancements, Minor Repairs To Hurricane Shelters Completed

Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley; Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert Doran and NRPB Director Claret Connor look at the newly installed groundwater reservoirs at one of the shelters visited.

PHILIPSBURG--Families seeking refuge at designated hurricane shelters in the country will enjoy a bit more comfort during their stay now that minor repairs and upgrades have been completed as part of the Shelter Repairs Activity of the Netherlands financed St Read more

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Vmt Announces The End Of Mass Vaccination With Pfizer After July 31St.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---The Vaccination Management Team (VMT) announced on Monday, May 24th, that the mass vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine at the Belair Community Center, and the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Service (CPS) office will stop after July 31st.
The vaccination campaign started on February 22nd, and to date, the VMT has vaccinated 16.410 persons with the Pfizer vaccine, 35% of the set goal. The aim remains to reach 85% of the adult population (herd immunity) to be sufficiently protected against the COVID-19 virus and mutations Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Omar Ottley hereby informs the public that there were no laboratory reports received today. The total number of confirmed cases remains at two thousand three hundred sixty-six (2366).

Minister Ottley extends his sincere condolences to the family and friends of Sint Maartens 28th COVID-19 victim, who passed away today Read more

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~ No more off-island referrals needed for MRI exams ~

CAY HILL:--- St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) officially opened its brand new, state-of-the-art MRI department, dubbed the MRI Suite, during an opening ceremony on May 19, 2021, which was attended by several staff and invited guests including the Minister of VSA, Omar Ottley.

The MRI Suite, which is part of SMMCs Radiology Department, has been a project that started last year with the lease of a special MRI housing unit in the Netherlands and MRI machine from General Electric in the United States.

SMMCs Medical Director Dr Read more

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Ottley Warns Of Third Covid-19 Wave, Stricter Measures To Be Implemented

~ Vaccinations programme ends August ~

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley warns of a third possible wave of the COVID-19 virus in St. Maarten

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley hereby informs the public that we have been seeing a steady rise in the number of confirmed cases.

A total of 44 confirmed cases has been recorded over the past three days. The total active cases have now increased to 63 persons. Minister Ottley stated; it is time for a tough decision to be made, to ensure the safety of our population.

CPS has conducted extensive contact tracing and as a result, 4 clusters have been reported Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- As part of the vaccination campaign, The drive to 85%, SXM's race to normalcy, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor, Omar Ottley in collaboration with Port St. Maarten, held a bumper sticker handover at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise Facility.

The bumper stickers were handed over to the president of the Dutch St Read more

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Ottley: Food Voucher Programme Slated To Continue Until July

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley says the food voucher programme is slated to continue until July, with a possibility of extension for another three months.

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PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---TelEm has provided much-needed internet support to the Vaccination Management Teams (VMT) Pop Up Vaccination community initiative.
As planning is underway for more community vaccination events, TelEm has provided multiple mobile internet devices which can be used during community outreach efforts across various locations.
The device donations were timely as Collective Prevention Services (CPS) from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) held its first community Pop-Up clinic in Belvedere on May 8th and they were quickly able to register persons on-site Read more

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~ Political talks begin with USP, and incoming UP MP.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers officially suspended the Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Holding Company Dexter Doncher. Doncher was informed of the suspension by letter late Wednesday night after the Council of Ministers held an emergency meeting and voted. Dexter Doncher was given a warning letter two days prior to the three months suspension.

The Council of Ministers wanted to fire Doncher who followed the instructions of the government to officially dismiss the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Princess Juliana International Airport, Brian Mingo on April 7th Read more

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~ Political talks begin with USP, and incoming UP MP.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers officially suspended the Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Holding Company Dexter Doncher. Doncher was informed of the suspension by letter late Wednesday night after the Council of Ministers held an emergency meeting and voted. Dexter Doncher was given a warning letter two days prior to the three months suspension.

The Council of Ministers wanted to fire Doncher who followed the instructions of the government to officially dismiss the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Princess Juliana International Airport, Brian Mingo on April 7th Read more

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Ottley Questions Smmc On Hiring Of New Ceo

Minister Omar Ottley (fourth from left) sat with the supervisory board of SMMC.

PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) supervisory board informed Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---Independent MP Christophe Emmanuel said that it is his opinion that the board of SMMC outright lied to the Minister of VSA Omar Ottley when it stated that the Australian national it brought in to run SMMC was here on an evaluation only. The board knew full well what its intentions were until the plan got exposed, the MP said.
MP Emmanuel highlighted last week that the board was going to appoint Grant Muddle, an Australian, as Director of the St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley met with the Supervisory Board Representatives, Mr. Robert-Jan James, and Mr. Jim Rosen, of the Sint Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for an urgent meeting to gather information on some pressing matters. The Minister enquired about the ongoing frictions with the Union and the tension amongst the workers.

The Supervisory Board revealed that the responsibility of the negotiations between the Union and management lies with the Hospitals Management Board Read more

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Minister Of Vsa Ottley Thanks Vaccination Manager For His Contribution To The Vaccination Campaign

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) TheMinister ofPublic Housing,Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA)Omar Ottley, has officially thankedHenk Veerdig for his contributions to the vaccination campaign over the last three months as the Vaccination Manager of SintMaarten.

Henk Veerdig came to the island in February to head the Vaccination Management Team (VMT), based on his earlier experience with the Red Cross during the first wave of COVID-19 infections on Sint Maarten. 

When his contract ended two weeks ago, Henk returned to the Netherlands after three very eventful months Read more

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Minister Of Vsa Ottley Thanks Vaccination Manager For His Contribution To The Vaccination Campaign.

PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---The Minister of Public Housing, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) Omar Ottley has officially thanked Henk Veerdig for his contributions to the vaccination campaign over the last three months as the Vaccination Manager of Sint Maarten.
Henk Veerdig came to the island in February to head the Vaccination Management Team (VMT), based on his earlier experience with the Red Cross during the first wave of COVID-19 infections on Sint Maarten Read more

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Minister Ottley: My Mission Is For Us To Restore Faith In Our Health Facility

PHILIPSBURG, Cayhill, Sint Maarten – On Wednesday May 5th, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley made a site visit to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).

The Minister was greeted by the Medical Director Dr. Felix Holiday, World Bank Project Manager Ms. Ingeborg Verwoerd, Contract Manager St Maarten General Hospital Ms Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---On Wednesday, May 5th the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley made a site visit to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).

The Minister was greeted by the Medical Director Dr. Felix Holiday, World Bank Project Manager Ms. Ingeborg Verwoerd, Contract Manager St Maarten General Hospital Ms. Erika van der Horst
and the Facilities Manager Mr Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The abuse of the short-term contract/ labor agreement better known as the 6-month contract has been disputed for years and National Alliance Member of Parliament, George Pantophlet in his role as legislator, is ready to tackle this head-on with the support of the coalition Read more

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The Drive To 85%, Sxm Race To Normalcy

PHILIPSBURG Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), Omar Ottley is elated to announce the launch of the Island-wide vaccination awareness campaign The Drive to 85%, SXM race to normalcy. The objective of the campaign is to encourage at least 85% of the community to go out and get vaccinated, in efforts to achieve herd immunity Read more

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