Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – The Maho Group, owners and operators of the all-inclusive, adults-only luxury Sonesta Ocean Point Resort and the all-inclusive, family-centric Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino & Spa announce they will provide regular weekly rapid antigen testing for staff. This comes on the heels of the announcement made earlier this month that the resorts are offering this service to guests as well.
“In light of the limited testing facilities on the island and for the safety of guests, employees, and the community, we believe staff should periodically and voluntarily be tested for COVID-19,” said Saro Spadaro, the Maho Group’s president & CEO.
In consultation with unions, management is introducing a medically supervised testing program using The Abbott Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test to be administered to staff by a healthcare professional, with results available within 30 minutes. Abbott’s Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test has been authorized by WHO (World Health Organization), it is widely used in the Netherlands by the Dutch Public Health Authorities (RIVM) and it has been approved as a pre-travel test by the Sint Maarten Government.
The testing is voluntary with the intention to test groups of staff every week prior to the start of their work shifts. Based on the testing algorithm developed, all staff members who opt to be tested will receive a test at least once a month. The rapid antigen testing will augment the COVID-19 measures already in place with the resorts’ Pure Care program, that includes temperature checks, masks, sanitizing stations, personal protective equipment, and social distancing protocols, providing both staff and guests with an additional level of security.
The use of the testing will provide early identification of asymptomatic/pre-symptomatic infections to reduce group interactions when an infection is detected. In addition, the testing program will assess the effectiveness of current COVID-19 mitigation measures and ultimately support a commitment to the well-being of the community and the company’s staff and guests.
More details on the company’s COVID-19 travel measures, offers and current promotions can be found at the company’s website sonesta.com/stmaarten.
