PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs announced on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that she had two meetings with her French counterpart regarding the continuation of the internal border controls. Jacobs said that the Prefette Sylvie Feucher is currently not on the island but the State representative did agree that the amount of COVID -19 cases are diminishing however, Feucher told her that she would have to seek further advice from the ARS before a decision is taken on the border controls. Jacobs said that the controls that are enforced by the French are affecting residents of St. Maarten and St. Martin.
Jacobs also hinted that while the Prefecture said the controls would have lasted until August 31st with was extended to September 15th and there are plans for further extension.
Jacobs said she also had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok who promised to hold talks with the French on a national level.
