Prison and House of Detention resumes in-person visitation

The Ministry of Justice would hereby like to inform the general public that visitation at the Point Blanche Prison and House of Detention has resumed today June 4th, 2020. Physical visitations were suspended on March 18th, 2020, due to the measures imposed by the Prime Minister the Honorable Silveria Jacobs in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. While physical, in-person visitations were suspended, inmates had the opportunity to utilize web portals to communicate with their families and lawyers on a weekly basis. The Ministry of Justice and the Prison and House of Detention's main priority is the health and well-being of the inmates and their staff, therefore all necessary precautions have been put in place to maintain the guidelines recommended by the Government of Sint Maarten, Collective Prevention Services, and the World Health Organization. The adjusted measures are as follows: - All persons accessing the prison grounds must first wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water before entering. - A mask will be provided to Prison staff only upon entry. All visitors are required to have their own facemask. All entrants to the Prison will be subject to normal scans and security related searches. - Every individual will be sprayed with 70% alcohol as an extra sanitary precaution. - Automated, no-touch hand sanitizer dispensers were placed throughout the facility for both inmates and personnel to make use of throughout the day In order to maintain social distancing, three (3) inmates will be allowed to see visitors simultaneously with only one (1) person per visit. Exemptions will be made for persons who are bringing along a child. Plexiglas has also been installed to avoid any physical contact between visitors and inmates. It is recommended that visitors call the facility at (1721-543-0280) prior to arriving at the Prison and House of Detention to schedule an appointment for visitation, in order to avoid an influx of persons arriving for visitation at the same time. Source: sintmaartengov.org