The minister, who was speaking on ZBVI on March 16, said 5,344 were vaccinated on Tortola, 911 on Virgin Gorda, 68 on Jost Van Dyke, and 80 on Anegada.

Based on estimates from the World Bank’s data catalogue which places the territory’s population at 30,030, the number of people vaccinated so far represents a little more than 21 per cent of the BVI populace.

The minister said a majority of the vaccinated persons are frontline workers who are serving the public in different sectors.

“We were specific in term of frontline person; healthcare workers, Customs and Immigration — all those persons who have to interact not only with those coming into the country but persons inside the homes for the elderly, those who work in prisons,” the health Minister explained.

He added: “We offer no apology for keeping our institutions safe. We had to adhere to a lot of the protocols so that unlike a number of other countries, our seniors could be protected in the homes for the elderly, the inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison would not be subjected to [the virus]. We have called on our civil servants to go above and beyond and they have responded well in terms of fighting this pandemic.”

The BVI was one of the first countries in the Caribbean to begin its COVID-19 vaccination programme. Some sections of the public are still doubtful about the AstraZeneca jabs but elected leaders and public figures continue to encourage persons to be vaccinated, saying a fully vaccinated community could be the key to the full reopening of the territory.

There is currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the territory.