Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Carvin Malone announced Cabinet’s decision to implement new curfew order after reporting five (5) new positive COVID-19 cases in the British Virgin Islands.

The total number of active cases now stand at 17 as Honourable Malone accounted in a statement on August 24 that the Cabinet of the Virgin Islands will impose a new curfew for a fourteen (14) day period from August 26 from 5:01p.m. to 4:59 a.m.

He stated that the first seven (7) days of the Curfew period will allow limited categories of businesses to operate which will be subjected to review. Those allowed to operate include supermarkets/minimarts (limited to two persons per vehicle to shop); approved delivery services; pharmacies/drug stores; bakeries; banks (with limited internal operations, such as, but not limited to clearing of overnight deposits services); farmers and fisheries; fuel and LPG Stations; private health care providers, subject to approval of their client list by the Minister of Health; burials, subject to approval by the Minister of Health; essential workers as defined in Section 3 of the Labour Code; and exempted persons as listed in the current Curfew Order, except item (n).

Honourbale Malone also announced visitation restrictions to Her Majesty’s Prison, the Adina Donovan Home for the Elderly, Virgin Gorda Elderly Home, Rainbow Children’s Home, Safe Haven Transition and other private residential facilities in an effort to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Health Minister Honourable Malone explained that the decisions made by Cabinet were done after intensive review of the Health Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Situation Report #23 taking into account the challenges that have arisen from activities seemingly spurred by greed; the measures required to effectively contact trace, swab and test all suspected persons; and the desire to limit the movement of all residents without a complete and total lockdown of the Territory to allow medical teams the ability to complete their work without hindrance.

He closed his statement saying, “The Government of the Virgin Islands continues to take a comprehensive approach in our efforts to protect public health by investing millions of dollars and the best available expertise across various disciplines. As the situation evolves, we must be prepared to change course quickly based on scientific evidence. Governments and health professionals cannot do this alone. It is also important to have active participation by every member of society.”

Any persons who are experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19 are also encouraged to contact the Medical Hotline at 852-7650 to schedule an appointment for testing. Common symptoms include fever, cough, headache, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, muscle aches, or difficulty breathing.

The Government of the Virgin Islands remains committed to keeping the public informed of all significant developments related to COVID-19.  For more information on the Territory’s COVID-19 response please visit the website www.bvi.gov.vg/Covid-19.