PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday, March 18, 2021, The Parliament of Sint Maarten unanimously approved the National ordinance to amend the National Ordinance Public Health incorporating the Regulation 2019- nCoV.
The Public Health Ordinance is in effect as of July 2018 and, amongst other topics, aims to provide a set of measures to protect public health against infectious diseases, in line with the International Health Regulations.
At the end of 2019, a new disease was discovered in Wuhan, China, which ultimately led to the current COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 hit the shores of Sint Maarten in early 2020.
To protect the population of Sint Maarten, in January 2020, the decision to issue an urgent Ministerial Regulation to classify COVID-19 as a disease of Category A, which enabled a set of measures to be used, defined in the Public Health Ordinance, was made.
The Public Health Ordinance provides the option to include emerging diseases by means of a Ministerial Regulation, to enable the country to adequately and timely respond to the threat of a new disease.
Minister Panneflek hereby informs the community that the Public Health Ordinance is essential to protect the health of our population and our economy.