Eight cases of Zika reported on the Dutch side — Minister Lee.

May 4, 2016

PHILIPSBURG:— The Minister of Health Emil Lee announced on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that there have been eight confirmed cases of Zika on the Dutch side of the island, 61 cases on the French side and 707 cases in Puerto Rico. Minister Lee said it’s clear that the virus is spreading throughout the region, while there is some level of presence on St. Maarten/St. Martin.
He said the Ovitraps that were distributed to various residents in the Fort Willem area worked well when it was properly used but there are cases where the ovitraps did not work optimally since the persons that had them did not know how to use them. Minister Lee said the traps were distributed as CPS was conducting its testing phases which they recently completed.
The Minister of Health said there is more that have to be done to decrease the breeding grounds of mosquitos. He said his Ministry is busy trying to hire someone to conduct vector specialist to map out the areas. The Minister said is Ministry is also looking into ways on how they could work closer with Curacao and Aruba.