"As we confront the challenges being presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, I want us as young people, the youth of this Territory, to remember that we are resilient. This means that we withstand, we recover, we overcome," Hon de Castro said in a social media video released March 26, 2020.

She added that the territory is well prepared given the insight of Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1) and his team to prepare for the virus and that the Virgin Islands (VI) has the benefit of learning from the experiences of other countries that have already had an encounter.

In a direct appeal to the youths of the Virgin Islands, Hon de Castro said the virus does not discriminate in terms of who becomes affected since youths can also put others, especially grandparents, at risk.

Abide by the Curfew - Hon de Castro

"My message to our young people is this, we are vibrant and sometimes we feel we are invincible and as young people, we believe that we are not generally affected by COVID-19; however, based on what we have seen happening in other countries, no one should feel that they are exempt from his virus."

The Junior Minister urged youths to abide by the curfew, practice good personal hygiene, social distancing and stay at home.

Hon de Castro also called on youths to look out for others, "even if you can't physically visit them, reach out online or by phones. Let's just keep an eye out for each other and help out when we can, but in a safe and responsible way," she said.