President of the Collectivité, Daniel Gibbs.
MARIGOT--President of the Collectivité Daniel Gibbs speaking at Monday’s Facebook briefing cautioned that the gradual exit of lockdown on the French side after two months does not mean the health crisis is over, adding that the territory is entering a “decisive” stage this week.
Many more businesses are now open on the French side since May 11, except for restaurants, cafés and bars.
Gibbs was referring to the one positive case of COVID-19 that emerged from the mobile screening in the districts from tests on some 80 people to date. Regional health agency ARS is following up on tracing people who may have been in contact with that person.
“We must all be aware of the fact that the health situation on our territory is still very fragile. The virus is circulating less, but has not disappeared,” he said. “We have to wait until May 18 to know the full results of the screening in the districts.
“We have to be extremely careful. A resurgence of the virus is always possible – some countries have had the painful experience – therefore we ask you to continue your efforts and continue to respect the hygiene barrier measures. These protective measures are all the more crucial as we exit the lockdown phase.”
Re-opening of schools: The Collectivité is working on models that permit a reduced number of students to study in the same establishment, limiting contacts and risks and has just completed plumbing and electrical work in the eight primary schools that will be reopening.
The disinfection of all classrooms starts this week for those schools to reopen on May 18. The National Education Board has defined the school hours: Children will be received from 8:00am to 12:45pm, Monday to Friday. A hot meal will be served each day by Caisse Territorial des Oeuvres Scolaires (CTOS), in the cafeterias, according to the hygiene regulations implemented. All students and teachers will get free meals until the end of the school year.
Kindergarten classes will not reopen before September as it was considered the risks are too great for this age group. The Collectivité will take the time to prepare the return adequately and safely for these children and the personnel who take care of them.
For middle school classes, discussions for their return are ongoing with education stakeholders. They concern only grades six and seven. Remote learning is still maintained for these students. High school students must continue studying at home until the end of the school year.
The Ministry of Education has accepted that private school students be integrated in the continuous exam system for students who will be taking the Brevet des Collèges and Baccalaureate exams.
Regarding the September back-to-school registration, this will be opened this week on the Collectivité’s website: www.com-saint-martin.fr. A form has to be filled out and returned with supporting documents, to the education department. With the Collectivité services partially operational, registration can be done online. The terms and the list of documents required will be communicated this week.
Re-opening of public services: Disinfection of all public buildings of the Collectivité will be scheduled this week to accommodate staff and the public. Until further notice, the continuity plan for public services remains in effect. Helpdesks remain at the disposal of the public by the Civil Registry, the Family and Social Affairs and Public Works services, to carry out emergency formalities. Staff are also fully mobilized to help the elderly and the most disadvantaged. Last week, the Collectivité distributed 22 meals from CTOS and 318 food baskets to the elderly, the disabled and those in vulnerable situations.
Re-opening of shops: This week, several categories of trade have been authorized to re-open for business with the exception of bars and restaurants which still have to wait for their hygiene and protection protocols to be validated by the Minister of Overseas Territories.
The Préfecture indicated it is hoped that restaurants and bars will re-open on both sides from May 18 after meetings with Dutch-side Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs at the end of this week.
Some merchants have alerted the Collectivité on the need for them to organize a longer sales period to allow them to restart their business. This has been granted by the Minister for Economic Affairs Bruno Lemaire who has extended the sales period to August 31 instead of May 24. This will permit merchants to generate cash to pay their suppliers and therefore to restart their business under more favourable conditions.
On the tourism sector Gibbs said the Collectivité is in the process of implementing a reopening plan with the Préfecture. This plan will define the terms and recommendations to allow businesses in the tourism industry to reopen their establishments before the end of May. French President Emmanuel Macron gave implementation approval providing strict sanitary measures to protect customers and personnel.
Border Restrictions: The Collectivité is putting all its energy into making the system more flexible while remaining vigilant and allowing employees and business owners to move between the two parts of the island. Discussions are ongoing with the Dutch side and the State to whom several propositions have been made. Borders have been restricted for health reasons, however, Gibbs said considering the gradual exit from lockdown and stabilization of the health situation overall, a solution must be found. The Préfecture indicated the borders will remain closed until May 18 and after that dependent on discussion with the Dutch side.
Tax Returns: The 2019 income tax returns are due and have been sent out by mail. Declaration forms and their instruction sheets are accessible online as well on the Collectivité’s website if needed. Once completed, the tax returns for professionals and individuals can be directly dropped at the Tax Office or the Treasury Department’s mailbox. The declaration deadline has been set for May 31, however, the Executive Council may extend this date if necessary.
In respect to Component 1 of the Solidarity Fund, the St. Martin Public Finance Department noted that it has processed so far 250 files out of 826 requests. The Public Finance Department was asked to speed up as much as possible the file processing. The Public Finance Department is simultaneously processing tax deferrals put in place to support businesses. To benefit from the deferrals of payment of the turnover tax TGCA and corporate tax until December 31, 2020, as well as the business license until March 31, 2021, business owners are invited to complete the forms that are available on the Collectivité’s website.
Public Works and Environmental Affairs: The final phase of burying electrical and fibre optic networks for the Cripple Gate/Saint-Louis sector is almost completed. The service provider has doubled its efforts to complete the work. The Technical Services department is continuing, plumbing and electrical work and floor marking in the elementary schools. So far, 12 elementary schools have benefited from this work which will be extended to secondary schools.
Regarding the Sandy Ground Bridge, a meeting was held with the contractor to set the date for resumption of work on the bridge. 10 days of work are required to put the bridge back into service. A final phase of work which will take 21 days will then be scheduled for summer 2020.That will then complete the rehabilitation of the bridge for a total investment of 1.6-million euros.
