In recent days, Family Support Network Executive Director Sasha Stout has seen firsthand the social fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. “I want to say I’m shocked, but I’m not,” Ms. Stout said of the large number of people requiring her organisation’s help. “I’m overwhelmed, but...
April 10, 2020
April 9, 2020
As stores swarmed, lockdown strategy debated
Crowds swarmed grocery stores and other businesses late last week to prepare for a 14-day lockdown in the territory, sparking heated criticism and raising questions about the government’s unusual system of closing essential businesses during lockdowns to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many jurisdictions...
April 9, 2020
Locked down for 14 days
Seventeen COVID-19 tests came back negative on Monday, which means the number of confirmed cases in the territory remains at three, but officials warned that the local danger from the pandemic is not over. “This is why it’s important to have a 24-hour curfew in...
April 9, 2020
2 seniors die in 2 days on Tortola: Causes of death unknown
Two elderly Virgin Islanders died in a span of two days this week, and the cause of death in both cases is unknown, said Police Information Officer Akia Thomas. Police received a report at 10:40 a.m. on Sunday of an unresponsive male in Cane Garden...
April 7, 2020
Cultivating community online: YEP adapts to pandemic
Though the Youth Empowerment Programme has shut its doors as part of territory-wide efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, it remains committed to the approximately 130 children enrolled in the after-school programme. Like the territory’s schools, which have also been forced to close amidst...
April 9, 2020
Shark researchers visit VI waters
After graduating from Western University in Ontario, Canada, videographer Rob Stewart sailed to the Galapagos Islands with the Sea Shepherds, a marine conservation organisation noted for its confrontational tactics opposing whaling operations. The trip eventually led to his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, which examined the shark-hunting...
April 7, 2020
From living area to classroom: How one mother teachers her daughter at home.
Astrid Jones always wanted to home-school her children. So when government ordered all Virgin Islands schools to close until at least April 20 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ms. Jones was unfazed, and set about creating a regimented schedule for her daughter...
April 6, 2020
Businesses retool products to fight virus
For Linda Phillips of Doyle Sailmakers, the coronavirus pandemic has meant learning an entirely new skill. The company is now producing face masks to help health care workers and patients shield themselves and others. “We had most of what was needed in stock and it...
April 3, 2020
Curfew extended as 3rd case confirmed
Three days after the third COVID-19 case was confirmed in the territory, a 14-day extension of an initial six-day curfew began yesterday with exceptions for limited travel to groceries, pharmacies, gas stations and other essential businesses. Premier Andrew Fahie, Governor Gus Jaspert and Health and...
April 3, 2020
Stimulus package promised soon
As the coronavirus pandemic batters the economy here and abroad, Premier Andrew Fahie promised Tuesday evening that the Virgin Islands will soon join the many other nations around the world that are enacting stimulus programmes. However, he and the United Kingdom appear to have different...
April 2, 2020
Don’t overbuy, warn supermarkets
Supermarkets in the territory will be able to restock shelves during the ongoing lockdown and are not in danger of running out of essentials, according to supermarket personnel and a shipping company representative. “We have been fully stocked,” said opposition member Mark Vanterpool, owner of...
