Schneider Regional Medical Center Photo Credit: VI CONSORTIUM
With Covid-19 cases trending downward in St. Thomas, the Schneider Regional Medical Center announced on Wednesday that it will shut down its recently launched testing service on Friday, a quick about-turn from an effort the hospital had said could have generated additional revenue.
"Schneider Regional Medical Center will be closing its drive-through Covid-19 testing site at the end of business on Friday, October 8th, until further notice," said Chris Borgesen, vice president of operations at SRMC. “As the number of cases of the virus continues to drop and with fewer people seeking Covid-19 tests, it has become necessary for the organization to demobilize its public Covid testing site."
As of Wednesday there were 168 active Covid-19 cases territory-wide, with St. Thomas accounting for 34, St. Croix 132, and St. John 2, according to the V.I. Dept. of Health.
At the time of its launch at the end of August, Mr. Borgesen stated, “Given the exponential increase in Covid-19 cases in the territory and the need for additional testing sites, SRMC now offers highly efficient testing with same-day results through our fully automated Holistic Panther Fusion® System. We also provide quick registration online."
Former Acting SMRC CEO Dr. Luis Amaro had said the service could provide the hospital will additional revenue that was not previously budgeted.
The surge of the Delta variant of Covid-19 in the U.S. has been leveling off, leading to the end of a deadly wave that resulted in tens of thousands of lives lost across the U.S. and its territories. Governor Albert Bryan told the Consortium recently that he was prepared to loosen Covid-19 restrictions in the U.S. Virgin Islands, stating "we can't do this forever" and that life must continue. On Monday, he added, "Covid isn't going away so we might as well get back to our daily lives as normal as we can while making sure that we take our vaccines and be prepared for the worst."
What would loosened Covid-19 restrictions in the USVI look like? This.
