Two days before her trip to the island, Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Health, affirmed that there was no risk of an epidemic, nor a problem of ‘potable water. After meeting the staff of the Marigot hospital in Saint-Martin, the truth seems quite different. The Parisian was able to attend this meeting and gathered comments from the minister, doctors and nurses.
To be able to treat the whole population
The fuel coming back, more people can go to the hospital center where nearly 500 sick and injured were taken care of on Monday, September 11th. However, some refuse to leave their homes, which could increase the risk of an epidemic. In order to resolve this problem, three of the island’s eleven general practitioners are operational and will resume service. They will be accompanied by two legionnaires each to ensure their safety and thus go and see people who cannot move. The minister warns, however: “That patients are not treated here, why not. But I want the slightest signal to go up, so as not to take the risk of an epidemic because a m ©decin could not have detected a disease.”
Unsanitary conditions conducive to epidemics
The insalubrity faced by the inhabitants of the island is a hotbed for so-called “vector-borne” diseases such as typhoid or cholera. Even if these names have not been pronounced, the doctors remain worried. Indeed, two cases of rat bites have already been treated and three children have been evacuated due to fever and severe diarrhoea. They had been drinking, not bottled water, but cistern water. “I have seen sick children in the Orleans district, who have been vomiting for three days, warns Agnès Buzyn. It is absolutely necessary to communicate on this question of potability. was settled.”
In the coming days, 170,000 liters of water should be available daily on the island, ie 4 liters per person per day, and chlorine tablets will be distributed. In addition, anti-mosquito spraying has been carried out and rat poison has just arrived on the island. Real good news for these inhabitants who are currently going through very difficult times.
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