This was revealed by Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1), who was at the time speaking during a December 7, 2020, update on the reopening of the VI’s borders, alongside Minister for Health and Social Development, Hon Carvin Malone (AL).

“One of the challenges we will face in terms of projection of numbers is that the numbers are more so it required more manpower for us in terms of manning the app and with certain aspects that would call for more prompt response,” he said.

Hon Fahie continued, “Like the health certificate or the other areas that would need to be responded to a little more promptly, they lacked a little bit due to us never projecting that the numbers would have been that way,” he said.

The Premier said while roughly 500 people have returned to the VI since the December 1, 2020, reopening, the administration already has plans in place to address the challenges with processing tourists who will arrive at the T.B. Lettsome International Airport.

Roughly 500 entered VI since Dec 1, 2020 - Premier Fahie

The Premier said while roughly 500 people have returned to the VI since the December 1, 2020, reopening, the administration already has plans in place to address the challenges

“The Minister of Health is already addressing that, I'm putting all the necessary manpower in place so persons who experience that should see real significant improvement in the next day or two."

Tourists who arrived in the Virgin Islands (VI) from December 1, 2020, have to adhere to strict requirements, including GPS tracking and multiple negative COVID-19 testing before they are allowed unrestricted access to the territory.