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Governor Albert Bryan said Thursday evening that the territory has moved solidly into the endemic phase of Covid-19, a statement that came alongside an executive order ending the pandemic-induced state of emergency declaration on June 30. The Consortium had previously reported on the declaration's impending end.
According to Gov't House, Mr. Bryan extended the state of emergency from its end date of June 9 to June 30 "to enable an orderly winding down of the COVID Pandemic Emergency."
During the transition through June 30, all standing clauses of the 35th Supplemental Executive Order, as amended by the 36th through 38th executive orders, still remain in effect, the administration said.
“Together we’ve successfully managed this pandemic and its expected surges. We are at a point now where we have moved solidly into the endemic phase of Covid-19,” said Governor Bryan. “I want to thank all Virgin Islanders for coming together and facing the unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic as the resilient and determined people we are. We’ve emerged from two years of hardships and losses of loved ones to be truly stronger than ever, and I am confident that if we continue to do the common-sense things and follow the basic guidance of our Health Department we will continue to be alright moving forward.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a disease is endemic when it is a constant presence in a population, follow predictable patterns and occur at an expected, baseline level. "To put it another way, an endemic disease is consistently present, but it spreads at predictable rates that can be managed by communities," said the CDC.
As of Thursday, there were 326 active Covid-19 infections territory-wide, with St. Croix accounting for the bulk of those cases with 246, followed by St. Thomas with 17, and St. John with 2. The territory's seven-day positivity rate stood at 7.86 percent.
