No charges have been laid in relation to the quarantine breaches in mid-December that triggered a round of contact tracing and prompted health officials to urge patrons of two establishments …
January 8, 2021
January 8, 2021
New rules take effect as Covid cases climb
With growing concerns of a second wave of faster-spreading Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, the Unites States and other countries, the Virgin Islands has pushed its projected reopening date for …
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January 3, 2021
Eleven active cases in the VI as year begins
In an update circulated through WhatsApp yesterday, Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone announced that there are 11 active cases of Covid-19 in the territory, bringing the total number …
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December 13, 2020
Two tourists test positive for Covid
The day before seaports were scheduled to reopen to tourists, government on Monday bumped the date to Jan. 21 and announced that a visitor who arrived last week had tested …
November 27, 2020
Virgin Islands readies for Tuesday reopening
A week before the border reopening, more details on the official entry protocols were announced and the online portal for applying to enter the Virgin Islands went live. But businesses …
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November 12, 2020
House agenda addresses life amid Covid-19
While this year’s Speech from the Throne delivered by Governor Gus Jaspert last Thursday in the House of Assembly repeated many familiar promises for digital advancement and overhauls of major …
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November 5, 2020
Biz info released, but reopening website not launched
The standards that businesses must meet ahead of the Dec. 1 border reopening became a bit clearer this week with new information released about “gold seal” staff training requirements. However, …
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October 30, 2020
Reopening plan sparks outcry, cancellations
Premier Andrew Fahie on Monday announced the official protocols for tourists to enter the Virgin Islands, which include four rounds of testing for Covid-19, four days of quarantine within approved …
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October 22, 2020
Amid questions, tourism industry prepares for reopening
With a new tourism season set to start on Dec. 1, hotels are outfitting rooms, boats are getting back on the water, restaurants are stocking up, and many other businesses …
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October 18, 2020
Stakeholders debate bubble tourism, quarantine rules
During a series of closed-door stakeholder meetings hosted by the BVI Tourist Board over the past week, business owners in the tourism sectors of small hotels, transportation and tour operations …
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October 8, 2020
Draft reopening protocols complete but not public
With less than seven weeks until the Virgin Islands’ borders are set to reopen to non-residents for the first time since late March, government has launched a series of meetings …
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October 4, 2020
ANALYSIS: Six months into Covid-19, uncertainty remains
Six months have passed since the first two cases of Covid-19 were announced in the Virgin Islands on March 25, and government decisions to control the virus have been met …
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September 11, 2020
Latest batch of Covid tests return
Following hundreds of Covid-19 tests that skyrocketed the Virgin Islands’ tally of confirmed cases over the past three weeks, government announced on Tuesday that 111 people had all tested negative …
September 3, 2020
Border relaxation coincides with Covid spike
While the Virgin Islands moves to the orange “Manage It” phase of its pandemic plan as a result of increased Covid-19 transmission in the community, Tuesday also marked the first …
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September 1, 2020
Government launches mental health campaign
In an attempt to strengthen mental health and psychosocial support in the Virgin Islands amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a new educational campaign launched with a virtual meeting broadcast last Thursday …
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September 1, 2020
HOA approves reshuffle of 2020 budget
Because of government revenue losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, the House of Assembly recently decided to adjust the 2020 budget, approving $77 million in extra spending and shuffling tens of …
August 25, 2020
Borders to open to expats Sept. 1
The week after extending the ban on expatriates entering the territory, government reversed course on Friday and said they could return starting Sept. 1 as part of a whirlwind of …
August 8, 2020
Ninth case confirmed, expats still barred
After a ninth Covid-19 case was announced in the territory on Aug. 1, residents angrily debated government’s subsequent announcement that it would continue blocking expatriates stranded abroad from returning to …
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August 2, 2020
Jost lockdown lifted as Cuban doctors arrive
With a lockdown of Jost Van Dyke lifted after 335 residents on the island tested negative for Covid-19 and none tested positive, the territory remains under a curfew between midnight …
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July 24, 2020
Jost Van Dyke is under full lockdown
Three days after learning that a former Jost Van Dyke resident tested positive for Covid-19 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, government announced on Tuesday morning that JVD would be …
July 24, 2020
22 Cuban medical workers to arrive today
Twenty-two medical personnel from Cuba are due to arrive in the territory today and will be quarantined for two weeks before they get to work assisting with the Covid-19 response, …
July 7, 2020
After wife’s Covid death, widower left with questions
When Deputy Premier Carvin Malone announced on April 16 that a patient at Dr. Orlando Smith Hospital had tested positive locally for Covid-19, he implied that she had waited too …
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June 24, 2020
Tourism sector jobs hard hit by pandemic
The picture of how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the Virgin Islands workforce became a bit clearer last week. As more businesses responded to government’s request for information, 337 companies …
June 18, 2020
95 test negative in improved Covid-19 lab
Ninety-five tests have been conducted at the recently improved Covid-19 lab in the Dr. Orlando Smith Hospital, and all returned negative, Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone announced last …
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June 4, 2020
Border re-opens to nationals, permanent residents
Christi Maddox, owner of Villas Virgin Gorda, already has confirmed one booking for a staycation in Virgin Gorda, and she has fielded four inquiries since Monday. “We are just waiting …
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