Screenshot of CNN reporting that there was a confirmed death from coronavirus in the USVI. The Dept of Health has said the information is false.
Update: CNN has since corrected the error.
Original Story: VI Department of Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion told the Consortium this morning that a report on CNN providing a statistic that showed the U.S. Virgin Islands with a confirmed death from the virulent coronavirus was not factual.
"I just heard," she wrote in a message to the Consortium, referring to the CNN stat. "We have one positive that is quarantining at home and stable. I'm contacting CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] to ensure they have correct demographics posted," Ms. Encarnacion said.
On Friday evening, the VI Department of Health announced the first confirmed case of the virus in the U.S. Virgin Islands, stating, "the territory’s first case is a resident with some recent international travel history to one of the five locations with widespread transmission of the disease."
The Consortium has learned that a patient is currently being quarantined at the Juan F. Luis Hospital. This person, however, has not yet been confirmed to be ill with the coronavirus, according to a person with intimate knowledge of the situation. Governor Albert Bryan during his Friday press conference said nine suspected cases — called "Persons Under Investigation" — had been sent to the CDC for testing. As of Friday night, four had returned, with one testing positive. There are five more tests awaiting results, which the individual quarantined at JFL is part of, this person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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