TORTOLA, BVI — During a contract-signing event for repair work to the Virgin Gorda administration building, BVI Premier Andrew Fahie mentioned that his government had decided to extend the 6am-1pm curfew imposed on April 27th to 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. starting Sunday May 10th.
“Cabinet on May 4th, in order to restore more confidence in our economy, while the reopening and the rebooting is taking place, has made the decision that the next phase of the internal reopening for our economy will start on Sunday May 10th, where the curfew will now be imposed from the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily,” he said.
This gives approved businesses more operating time and residents more time to conduct business as well.
About two hours later, Minister of Health and Social Development Carvin Malone announced a new COVID-19 case, bringing the total number of cases in the British Virgin Islands to date to seven.
“Over the course of the last week, as per the protocol established, 21 samples from the British Virgin Islands were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad for testing and confirmation; I am reporting that while 20 of the samples were tested as negative, there exists 1 of the samples that was confirmed as positive for the virus that causes COVID-19,” Mr. Malone said.
He said these findings were consistent with local lab results. Of the seven cases recorded in the BVI, there have been 3 confirmed recoveries, 3 active cases and 1 death.
According to the Health Minister, case #7 is linked to a previously detected case who was quarantined and had initially tested negative.
Recognizing that in the early stages of testing, the virus that causes COVID-19 could go undetected, the patient was kept under quarantine for the full duration of the incubation period and was retested in accordance with established protocols.
He said while this patient exhibits only mild symptoms, he/she will be kept in isolation. The gender of the patient and no other information was released, a deviation from the established norm in the beginning when the patient’s age and travel history, for example, were revealed.
In summary, the BVI’s COVID-19 statistics are: 132 tested, 125 negative, 7 positive, 3 recovered, 3 active and 13 on quarantine.
Mr. Malone lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Health for being effective in its case findings, contact tracing, monitoring and quarantine initiatives, aimed at reducing the public’s risk of exposure to active cases of COVID-19.
He went on to compliment residents for complying with the curfew orders, social distancing, hygiene and sanitization measures implemented over the past weeks.
“As the phased internal reopening of the territory continues to be rolled out and as we prepare to reopen our borders, it is more important, now than ever, for all of us to continue to do our part to keep the risk of transmission of this virus to a minimum,” Mr. Malone said.
He reiterated that the health and well-being of the people of the Virgin Islands remains the number one priority of the government and he also reminded residents who may exhibit any symptoms of the virus, to call the medical hotline at 852 7650.
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