At the beginning of the pandemic, the Virgin Islands limited travelers but finally lifted those restrictions on June 1. The reopening has brought many new infections in the area with a 3,500 percent rise from mid-June to mid-July, according to NBC News.
The islands had no more than 70 confirmed cases at the time of reopening, according to the Virgin Islands Department of Health. As recent data shows, the Virgin Island has 869 coronavirus cases as of August 19, which indicated that COVID-19 was brought in the area by tourists.
As of July 15, all the tourists coming from COVID hotspots in the U.S. were asked to present test results to prove that they are not carrying the virus or 14 days of quarantine at their arrival to the Virgin Islands. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. decided to close bars, beaches and prohibiting standing at bars and restaurant after 4 p.m. on weekends.
“Finding the perfect balance between the public health and the livelihood of our community is no easy feat,” Bryan Jr. said at the time. “It is a fine line and COVID changes it daily, but tread that line we must, if we are to make it to the other side of this pandemic.”
However, the situation didn’t get better as expected, which forced Bryan Jr. to take more drastic measures. “When we announced our COVID-19 alert system in May, I indicated at that time that we would retreat … to a more cautious state of alert if conditions warranted. Unfortunately, we have arrived at that point this week,” said Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. in a press conference, according to Travel Daily News.
The COVID-19 risk is more dangerous for him than the reward of keeping tourism afloat, that’s why he decided to shut down everything.
“The recent infiltration of the virus into our residential institutions that house vulnerable members of our population creates an alarming level of risk. This adds to the stress of the ongoing pandemic response that seemingly has no end in sight and is wearing out our health care and public safety infrastructure.”
“We appreciate the concerns of our tourism partners and stakeholders, however, with the recent spike in cases we are seeing, especially in the St. Thomas-St. John district, we must reset, take stock, safeguard human life, and prepare for restarting our tourism economy at a later date,” Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte tells the Caribbean Journal explaining that is was a very “difficult but necessary decision” to make.
“In the short term, the prohibition on new leisure travel reservations in the U.S. Virgin Islands will likely have an adverse economic impact since almost one-third of the economy is tied to tourism,” Kamal I. Latham, former CEO of U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, told Essence. “However, it is in the best interests of the health and safety of the territory’s residents to have a temporary pause and return to serving visitors when conditions improve.”
