Residents of the British Virgin Islands are now permitted to conduct business until 12am daily following the imposition of a new curfew order that permits the reopening of all business as the territory sees a full recovery of all positive covid-19 cases.
The announcement was made by Minister of Health, Honorable Carvin Malone who said “Cabinet advised the National Security Council to instruct the Attorney General to draft a new Curfew Order to impose a new curfew from 12:00 a.m. midnight to 5:00 a.m. daily for a period of fourteen (14) days from 8th October, 2020 until 22nd October, 2020.”
The health minister further stated that all businesses can reopen, inclusive of bars and nightclubs, provided that those businesses pass inspection by the Social Distancing Monitoring Protocols and are certified by the Environmental Health Division in order to operate their businesses.
Bars and nightclubs owners are currently in conversations with the Department and a date and time for inspections would be agreed.
The same protocols will follow for vessels. “Cabinet decided to continue the restriction of the movement of vessels in Territorial waters as provided in Curfew Order (No. 33), S.I. No.104, inclusive of the requirement that persons must be off waters from 6:00 p.m. The exclusion zone at the border area remains in place and commercial ferries are allowed to operate up until curfew time,” said Honorable Malone.
The new decision comes on the heels of a full recovery of all recently confirmed covid-19 cases. Honorable Malone said “today I am happy to report that the final case that was detected during that period has now recovered. The total number of recoveries recorded now stands at 70 with no active cases and one death.”
While thanking the community for their continued compliance and cooperation, the minister asked that the territory remain vigilant.
“Let me be candid! The fact that we have no positive cases on record today does not mean that the BVI is ‘COVID-19 Free’. Surveillance, screening and testing services are conducted on a daily basis in an effort to detect and isolate any imported or locally acquired infections, provide treatment to patients, and trace and isolate contacts. These actions are taken to minimize the risk of transmission in our community,” Minister Malone added.
Of the 5,193 persons tested to date, the territory has seen seventy one confirmed cases of coronavirus, with seventy recoveries and one death.