PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VSA Richard Panneflek confirmed on Wednesday that CPS does have some issues when it comes to responding to 914 calls. The Minister said that CPS is short-staffed and since they are busy with contact tracing there are not enough staff members that can be easily reached. Panneflek said his Ministry is busy sourcing other volunteers and will also take up on some offers that were made to the government to fill the gap at CPS.
Panneflek warned that persons that are having flu-like symptoms and are not yet tested due to the setbacks at CPS should stay home and limit their contact with anyone in order to not spread the virus further.
Panneflek also announced that his Ministry is busy working on finalizing the documentation for a care facility so that patients currently at the St. Maarten Medical Center with less symptoms could move to the care facility that will be equipped to provide the medical care those patients may need.
Currently, there are 11 persons admitted at the SMMC while there is a capacity for 16 patients suffering from COVID-19.
