TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Covid testing and vaccine in St. Martin

Daily Herald story

This story is technically about PCR testing on the French side, which I don't know whether a tourist can go to the hospital there to get the test to return to the US or not. Might be worth checking out, for those staying on the French side.

The story also talks about vaccination on the French side, which seems VERY slow going to me, with only 200 vaccinations so far.

The French-side test centers, the one mentioned in the article and the Red Cross site in Hope Estate, are supposed to be available to tourists who are staying on the French side. PCR testing capacity is constrained due to a limited supply of reagents, and are preferred to be limited to suspected cases, contact cases, and pre-surgery testing. Antigen tests can be done at the site in Hope Estate between 11:30 and 2:00 on weekdays. I’m not sure about weekend hours. The last that I heard was that you should bring your passport (or Carte Vitale if you’re French) if you’re getting tested on the French side.

Much of the above is from today’s FB post by the Prefecture, the rest from island friends.

OK, thanks for the info.

Vaccinations in the current round is slow on both St Martin and St Barth, as well as here in MA. The current French-side focus is on 75+, 50+ with comorbidities, and certain healthcare and first responders. As of Wednesday, 214 injections had been given in St Martin, with 113 anticipated this week. On St Barth, 96 as of Wednesday, and 84 anticipated this week.

I can't speak for St Martin/St Barth, but here in MA the rollout has been abysmal. The state is pushing people who are not in care facilities to mass-vaccination sites, which can be far from peoples homes, large, and intimidating. (Think of a drive to a mass-vaccination site inside Gillette Stadium by someone 75+ who has mostly been housebound for a year now.) As of yesterday, the state has attempted to make things a touch easier for 75+ by allowing an under-75 trusted companion (caregiver, relative, friend, etc.) who is accompanying a 75+ to a vax site to also be vaccinated.