The territory has conducted post-mortem tests for Covid-19, all of which have come back negative, Deputy Premier Carvin Malone said during a press conference last Thursday in response to a question from the Beacon.
This disclosure came shortly after three residents were found dead inside their homes due to undisclosed causes within five days.
Mr. Malone, who is the minister of health and social development, did not say whether any of the deceased who were tested exhibited symptoms inline with Covid-19, nor did he say how many post-mortem tests had been administered in the Virgin Islands.
“None of the deaths reported … to me or to the territory have been as a result of Covid-19,” Mr. Malone said of the people who were tested after they died.
Neither he nor Chief Medical Officer Dr. Irad Potter could be reached for further comment after the press conference.
Previous deaths
Between May 13 and 17, three residents, all in their 50s or older, were found dead at their homes, according to police, who did not disclose the causes of death.
Kerry Baker, 59, was found dead in his home May 13, while Edis Hazelwood, 75, was found dead in her home May 15, and Ruel Fahie, 54, was found dead in his home on May 17, police have said.
At least two more people died at home since then.
The day of the press conference last Thursday, police responded to reports of an unresponsive female in Pleasant Valley, who was identified as Ione Jennings, 88, and pronounced dead at the scene, according to Police Information Officer Akia Thomas, who did not issue a press release about this death.
And on Sunday, former First Lady Edris O’Neal died on Sunday morning at her McNamara home after an ex-tended illness.