Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

COVID-19 & fearful times for VI businesses

COVID-19 & fearful times for VI businesses

There is light at the end of the tunnel on the COVID-19 Pandemic with an approved vaccine expected shortly, and new super-swift testing and tracing capabilities. However, businesses remain desperate and fearful, and that is to be expected.
Ok. This Virgin Islands swimming instructor met his key sponsor on another breezy day in paradise, at a marina and resort on Tortola.

The marina and resort manager – a charismatic man with a relaxed bonhomie- was unusually melancholic. He was clearly burdened with the horrific impact that the pandemic was having on his business.

“We need a national plan for reopening Mr Igwe,” he asserted. My revenues are down over 50%, and that is having dire repercussions for my customers and employees. ‘’There is only so much we can bear before we may have to close down, even if that means for one season he added.’’

Now this writer has supported the government’s posture that it will be directed by the science – and only by the science- in its plans for reopening the country and economy. However, he fully appreciates the concerns of business that relies on an open and free market and stress-free trading environment, to survive.

Closed borders, lockdowns, and curfews are excellent for containing and controlling the spread of the Corona Virus. However, the preceding are also a “death knell” for any economy.

And it has been a miserable year so far. The Coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands around the world. And it has also confined the rest of us to our homes for much longer than usual, and on a daily basis, as the virus has ravaged the BVI economy, especially travel and tourism.

And in the colder countries to the north, especially North America and Europe, as autumn days get colder and shorter, and Covid-19 cases surge, a dismal time looms ahead. COVID 19 appears to be a nightmare that will ever end?

The cries of the tourism and maritime industry in a country like the BVI are understandable. In the USA, Canada, and Europe, businesses have been supported by trillions of dollars of government stimulus. A country like the Virgin Islands simply cannot afford that type of overt and generous support to keep the population in jobs and out of poverty.

Consequently, the end to this horrible time is the hope that a vaccine will be forthcoming soon. Scientists around the globe are racing to develop a vaccine.

Regulators everywhere are fast-tracking approval processes.

While it is not yet clear whether any particular vaccine will prove to be safe and effective, pharmaceutical companies are preparing to crank up production of many promising candidates.

Governments are even creating a market for vaccines by placing big orders in advance.

If at least one of these bets pays off, 2021 will be a much happier year.

A vaccine offers investors renewed confidence. That is the main economic benefit in a vaccine short term. When investors - who run the global economy-feel confident, there is frequently rising confidence in consumers and businesses. That is usually the path out of recession. Economics is first and foremost about confidence.

The hope is that once a vaccine is approved and widely distributed, that humanity will finally be free to hug elderly relatives, socialize with both friends and strangers, move around as we please, and get back to work more or less normally.

In the meanwhile, governments like the Virgin Islands, that do not have the power to create trillions of dollars of stimulus, out of the creation of debt instruments that investors are willing and happy to ‘’lap up,’’ must use every effort to ensure their economies survive, by listening to the cries of their business people.

One option for the Virgin Islands is creating a regime of pandemic worker who will test, trace, and isolate residents and aliens, as a means of driving normality in the economy. That regime should be supported by a COVID19 tax and levy on travellers who should rightly cover the costs of such a program.

New technologies, like trackers on bands around the wrist, and cell phone applications, should enable COVID tracers to keep an eye on travellers who enter the territory and who prior to entry, test negative for COVID-19.

A look around the world will reveal the BVI is not unique in having locked borders and severe travel restrictions. And until a vaccine is approved and widely distributed this is going to be the norm everywhere.

In Europe, a second surge has appeared and is forcing another round of restrictions and local lockdowns. The USA, the world’s worst-affected country, is already seeing a second surge that is worrying scientists.

Yes, the government must listen to business. And the government must provide businesses with its plan to reopen the country and economy: a plan that is transparent and widely available.

But businesses too must understand the limits of government to ‘’pull a hare out the hat’’ and return to pre-pandemic normality in the time of COVID.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×