The V.I. Dept. of Health late Tuesday announced the 81st death related to Covid-19 in the USVI.
"After further investigating cause of death and ensuring notification of next of kin, the Virgin Islands Department of Health is saddened to confirm the territory’s eighty-first death related to COVID-19. The deceased is a 77-year-old female on St. Croix," D.O.H. said.
The latest announcement comes as cases in the USVI have been trending downward, with the territory registering only 83 active cases as of Tuesday: 67 on St. Croix and 16 on St. Thomas. There were no Covid-19 active infections on St. John.
USVI Territorial Epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis said Tuesday that the territory's positivity rate decreased by almost half, with Governor Albert Bryan revealing the new rate to be 1.5 percent. Dr. Ellis warned that with travel increasing and the holidays approaching, "we will see intermittent surges" especially since the USVI has not achieved herd immunity.
Mr. Bryan on Tuesday kept his promise of easing restrictions. The governor had told the Consortium he would remove limitations on activities in the territory once cases on St. Croix dropped below 100.
According to the governor, effective Friday, Oct. 29 at 5:00 p.m., the 11:00 p.m. moratorium on the sale of alcohol will end. Also on Friday bars/nightclubs and restaurants may remain open until the closure time indicated on their license. "In other words we're removing the 12 o'clock and 11 o'clock curfews of drinking and [facilities] closure," Mr. Bryan said.
Mr. Bryan further announced the removal of restrictions on dancing within establishments, though persons attending must wear masks and try to social distance as much as possible from other couples and other people.
The governor raised the limit to 250 as the number of people who can attend an event, be it entertainment, faith event or otherwise. He later clarified that those persons must be vaccinated, and that the establishment owner must receive approval from the V.I. Dept. of Health before moving forward. The health commissioner may also approve larger gatherings at her discretion, said the governor. "If there's going to be a mix of people in there, the usual 100-person restrictions are still in place," he said.
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