PHILIPSBURG/ MARIGOT:--- Caregivers have always been those that are least recognized even though they are called to put their own lives at risk to save others, however, since the outbreak of the coronavirus in December 2019, we have seen how these essential workers sacrificed their own lives by going out to work each day knowing they too can become infected and even lose their lives.
Several frontline workers working in the healthcare systems on St. Maarten/ Saint Martin contracted the virus at their workplaces, thankfully none of them lost their lives to the deadly virus that has turned the world upside down.
Frontline workers in the healthcare system on St. Maarten/ St. Martin faced extra challenges simply because the island was not prepared for such a health hazard, lack of space at the two hospitals and lack of manpower made the challenge even more strenuous and lack of PPE gears to deal with a pandemic that no one knows about.
In the beginning, there were a limited amount of test kits, PPE gears, and masks yet these workers made it happen until help arrived. While there have been regular tracking and reporting of cases and deaths what is less known is the contribution to these numbers from different types of workers through workplace exposure.
For St. Maarten/ Saint Martin hospital beds were a huge concern until the ICU tent arrived from the Netherlands and mounted up on the grounds of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).
These frontline workers are called to leave their families and friends to care for others knowing that they too can become another static. Many of them had to choose to stay away from their families, including their children some for days that ran into weeks and months.
During the coronavirus pandemic, these essential workers did not only provide care, but they were called to provide emotional support for their patients and their families who were not allowed to visit their loved ones due to the rapid spread of this deadly virus.
Despite the hardships and health risks involved, millions of these essential workers continued to provide care even though they are placed under pressure putting their physical, mental, and social wellbeing at risk.
The world saw how healthcare workers battled from the moment the first cluster of cases were reported in Wuhan China, within three months of the outbreak it became a pandemic with an increasing number of deaths that affected every country worldwide.
On St. Maarten, the Collective Preventative Services (CPS) that were heavily understaffed did receive some backup assistance during the peak months which was March to June 2020. Today, even with some extra staffing CPS is overburdened because they are the ones that conduct the testing, and have the task to track down everyone that may have been in contact with those infected. Since the first case was diagnosed on St. Maarten CPS has not had a break as they were constantly called to test persons that are showing symptoms, they were asked to monitor those in isolation while they also had to track those persons who did not want to get tested fairing that they would have been stigmatized.
While CPS still has the challenge, they have been pleading with members of our community to follow the medical guidelines in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 however their pleas seemingly have gone on deaf ears because the numbers kept fluctuating.
Recently CPS advised the government to implement stricter measures and even advised that a curfew be implemented, that, of course, was not without cause or neither are they creating panic, it simply shows that some members of our community are reckless even though they know the detrimental effects the coronavirus has on the frontline workers, the economy and the livelihood of those that are today jobless due to the coronavirus a pandemic that has affected almost everyone globally.
The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) also faced numerous challenges, in the beginning, there were not enough staff, space, and ICU beds at SMMC. That of course changed with the medical ICU tent that was sent in from the Netherlands to St. Maarten and was installed. 26 people have lost their lives since March 2020, and yes, they may have had underlying conditions but if there was no coronavirus those people might have all been alive today.
SMMC staff placed their own lives at risk as they treat the infected that needed to be hospitalized. It is for this reason SMN News has chosen to recognize all frontline workers globally but most importantly those on St. Maarten/St. Martin has been battling to save coronavirus victims' lives.
As of December 2019 up to week 51, there have been 76 103 424 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) while reported deaths have climbed to 1 694 717. These figures change quite often so by the time this article is published there will be much more documented cases.
Apart from the direct infection risks arising from close contact with patients and/or potentially infectious co-workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers are also under increasing stress and mental health risks, as was the case with the SARS epidemic.
Just recently the Collective Preventive Services (CPS) highlighted that there have been clusters among justice workers, they too are frontline workers that had to leave the safety of their own homes to serve and protect even during the shutdown. It is also fitting that the police, security officers, and all those that played a role in safeguarding St. Maarten/ St. Martin and its people during this vulnerable period be credited for the efforts they made thus far.
We at SMN News would also like to give thanks to the various foundations such as Freegan Foods, Tzu Chi Foundation, Domino Pizza, the Mail Box, and all others that assisted by providing necessary food items to the less fortunate and those that have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
We take this opportunity to congratulate the frontline workers, foundations, and all those that made survival possible on St. Maarten/St. Martin. With that in mind, we also wish you and your family and Happy and Healthy 2021.
