Ladies and gentlemen good evening, Let me first wish you Happy Emancipation Day. Today, August 1, 2020 marks 186 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was read.

My people of the Virgin Islands, Good Day and God’s Blessings to all of you. Today is August 1, 2020, another day in this history of the emancipation in the Virgin Islands.

People of the Virgin Islands, good morning and God’s blessings.  By the goodness and grace of our Heavenly Father, we have been spared from serious damages that could have resulted from the passage of Tropical Storm Isaias last night.

Good day and God’s blessings to you all.  Whilst my colleagues and I have been considering and debating the people’s business Tuesday, specifically the motion for a Constitutional Review at the Thirteenth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fourth House of Assembly, many of you would have seen that forecasters placed the Territory under Tropical Storm Warning.

Greetings to all. Tuesday afternoon I convened a meeting of the National Emergency Operations Centre’s operations group so that Territory leadership, including myself and the Deputy Premier, could receive a full briefing on the expectations for Potential Tropical Cyclone 9 and strategise how to enact our final preparations for that system.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take few moments to remind all Virgin Islanders and residents to continue to be vigilant in keeping ahead of the curve as it relates to a weather system that is under development in our region.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to this Honourable House's attention, that earlier today the Caribbean lost one of its great former leaders.

Greetings to all in these Virgin Islands.

Many of us were jolted out of a Sunday routine by a 4.03 magnitude earthquake. The final report from Territory partners at the Puerto Seismic Network indicates that the centre of the earthquake was approximately 32 kilometres north of Road Town, or approximately 20 miles away, and that the strongest shaking was felt by persons on the island of Virgin Gorda.

Honourable Premier, our people of all these Virgin Islands;

Last evening I provided an update on the community quarantine and testing intervention that had been implemented on Jost Van Dyke as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

Good day and God’s Blessing to all of you who are watching or listening to your Government’s latest update on COVID-19.