Addressing the issue at a press conference during the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout today, Thursday, February 11, 2021, Premier Fahie said: “COVID-19 is not over, and if I had my way, which I know would cause a stir, the curfew would have increased!”

He explained: “Because at the end of the day with some of what is happening and with some of our people not adhering to some of the measures that you are seeing, we realise that some of us have gotten comfortable and not adhering to the fact that we have to be more careful. So it is a sign to let our people know that we are not out of the woods and for us to reduce it or remove it will be up to us.”

The Imposition of a new Curfew Order (No.3), 2021, for the Virgin Islands, came into force today, February 11, 2021 at 2:00 am.

Some persons are not abiding!

It was only yesterday, February 10, 2021, that the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) disclosed that two persons were charged on January 30, 2021, for breach of curfew.

“Yes we have a lot of people abiding by the six feet, the masks etc., but we still do have some not abiding by it, and COVID-19 only takes one. It takes a lot of work and resources to bring the COVID-19 cases down now to eight confirm active cases but eight cases nonetheless and that has nothing to do with other areas that may exist in terms of people being asymptomatic, so you never know. So we have to be more careful. There are areas that we have gotten complaints about where late nights certain activities are happening, and persons are going there without masks.”

Honourable Fahie informed that the Social Distancing Task Force and the Police have started visiting those places more, “because if you do not address these areas and be more strict on them and put more measures in place to help people police themselves, then before you know it, some things slip through the cracks and then one person has it and then two persons and then we are up in numbers and then we have to close down.”

He said it would cost the government between $3 -4 million “on the low side just to close this territory one a day for government, not overall.

“So we are talking about millions of dollars one person can cost us, so if we can continue to put measures in place to give them a clear indication that we are not out of the woods as yet, that is what we are going to do. Now it is not going to be popular to some, but we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the greater good,” he added.

It was only yesterday, February 10, 2021, that the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) disclosed that two persons were charged on January 30, 2021, for breach of curfew.

New Curfew Order

The Imposition of a new Curfew Order (No.3), 2021, came into force today, February 11, 2021, at 2:00 am.

According to the Order (no.3), 2021, the curfew is for the purposes of controlling, suppressing or preventing the spread of COVID-19 and for the protection of all persons within the Territory.

The Order is valid until Thursday, February 25, 2021.