Under the latest restrictions, faith-based organisation are only allowed limited gatherings of up to 20 people.

But the outspoken clergyman said the territory has ‘clearly demonstrated a capacity and willingness’ to follow government-prescribed precautions as well as those that residents impose on themselves.

He, therefore suggested that this is should be seen as an incentive for the government to relax the restrictions on churchgoers.

“There are churches who have masks, there are churches who have the thermometers to check your temperature, they have set up the safe distancing and all that good stuff. So I am appealing to this government to increase those numbers - if that can happen as early as this weekend - to 50 parishioners,” Skelton Cline said during his Honestly Speaking radio programme on Thursday.

“That’s my appeal to the Premier and his team; that they give serious consideration to looking at the numbers in the houses of worship on the weekends in particular,” he added while reiterating that residents have remained compliant, despite being “quarantine and curfew-fatigued”.

The limited numbers were implemented to curb the local spread of the coronavirus, which has infected eight persons in the BVI up to May 14.