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This is the 16th Edition of the Monday Digest. Here's what you need to know.
USVI Sees 86 New Cases of Covid-19 in 4 Days
The V.I. Department of Health on Saturday reported 16 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing total new cases in four days to 86 for a total of 109 active cases.
According to D.O.H., the breakdown sees St. Croix accounting for 33 of the actives, St. Thomas with 45 and St. John with 31.
About 13 of the new cases were listed as under investigation.
Puerto Rico Set to Lockdown on Sundays as Cases Rise
Puerto Rico’s governor has announced stricter measures to fight COVID-19, including a lockdown on Sundays and the closure of all marinas as the U.S. territory grapples with an increase in cases and deaths.
Gov. Wanda Vázquez also tightened a curfew, with businesses now ordered to close by 8:30 p.m. and no one allowed on streets from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. except for essential workers and those delivering food until 11 p.m.
Only gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores and hardware stores will be allowed to open on Sundays, though restaurants can offer delivery or carry-out. In addition, alcohol sales will be banned from 5 am. on Saturdays to 5 a.m. on Mondays.
The new measures begin Monday and run through Jan. 7, the height of the island’s Christmas holiday and tourism season. Beaches will remain closed except to those doing exercise.
“We have to pause to save the lives of our old people mainly,” Vázquez said after she read the names and ages of the latest COVID-19 deaths reported Thursday.
Police Commissioner Says Law Enforcement Officers Owed Overtime Will be Paid
Police Commissioner Trevor Velinor on Friday evening apologized to law enforcement officers from various gov't departments and agencies who have not been paid for overtime work performed about a month ago.
Overtime payment the VIPD issued for the week of Nov. 7 was calculated wrong, with Mr. Velinor telling the Consortium that the calculation was double the amount owed. The V.I.P.D. canceled the payment and issued another, but the second issuance was wrong as well, according to affected law enforcement officers. The V.I.P.D. canceled the overtime payment again.
"We're just waiting for Finance to literally just make the correction," said Mr. Velinor. "I will apologize to the folks; they will get paid. We just have to wait for the person in Finance to get into the system and do what they have to do."
Man Found Dead on Beach in St. Thomas
The V.I.P.D. announced Saturday that a 64-year-old man was found unresponsive at Brewer's Bay, and is believed to have drowned.
According to police spokesman Toby Derima, on Friday at roughly 8:41 a.m., the 911 Emergency Call Center received a call stating that a male was floating face-down in the water at Brewer’s Bay Beach. Officers traveled to the area and found the unresponsive male lying on the sand, and was advised that an individual had removed the man from the water.
In other news, a woman was arrested for allegedly creating over 200 telephone numbers through an online text messaging application to threaten and harass several individuals, including minors; the V.I. Dept. of Education closed its main office on St. Croix after an employee tested positive for Covid-19; the University of the Virgin Islands announced Friday that for Spring 2021 a mixed modality instruction model will be implemented, combining in-person and online learning, as well as on-campus residence living and work; and the V.I. Dept. of Tourism sees growth opportunities in sports once the post-pandemic era takes old.
The previous Digest is here.
