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 7, 2020
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...
March 31, 2020
Financial services adapt to ‘social distancing’
For financial services firms now compelled to conduct most or all of their business virtually due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the Virgin Islands is an ideal place to do it, according to Robert Briant, partner and head of the corporate division at Conyers. “The...
March 26, 2020
Coronavirus confirmed in the Virgin Islands, curfew in effect
The government announced the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in the Virgin Islands yesterday as nearly 5,000 viewers tuned in to a Facebook livestream. Hours later, a territory-wide curfew took effect. “It is official that the BVI has confirmed its first two imported...
March 30, 2020
Looking out for one another: Residents offer relief during pandemic
While the Virgin Islands shuts its borders, restricts public gatherings, and closes all public and private schools amidst other measures to contain the novel coronavirus, concerned residents have mobilised to support their community. In recent days, a group of friends partnered with the VI technology...
March 27, 2020
Layoffs loom after border closure
The sudden shutdown of the tourism industry and other businesses in the Virgin Islands due to the coronavirus pandemic — coupled with global economic concerns — is leaving employees with uncertainty, and some without jobs. The first two cases of the virus were confirmed in...
March 27, 2020
Government to inject $2 million into farming, fishing
Amid concern about the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the Cabinet on Friday, March 20, approved a $2 million economic stimulus package for fishing and farming in the Virgin Islands, according to Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley....
