Bryan said Democratic Senate majority could revive $2,000 stimulus proposal

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said at his Jan. 7, 2021 weekly briefing that Democratic victories in Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff elections increased the possibility that Congress could revisit a proposal to raise direct stimulus payments to $2,000 from the $600 already approved.

Bryan said the Virgin Islands would have to wait for funding from the U.S. Treasury before the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Finance Department could distribute any additional payments because the territory operates under a mirror tax system.

At the same briefing, Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said the Department of Health had received 4,825 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines since Dec. 16 and had administered 1,571 doses. She said the territory had moved from Phase 1A to Phase 1B of its vaccination plan, while Phase 1A remained open.

Encarnacion said there had been no reports of serious side effects from the vaccines, with one report of a mild allergic reaction.

Bryan also said the federal Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act extended unemployment insurance programs available under the CARES Act. He said a new Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation program would provide an additional $100 per week to certain recipients with at least $5,000 in self-employment income, but payments could not begin until guidance arrived from the U.S. Department of Labor and funds were released by Treasury.

As of Jan. 7, 2021, the Virgin Islands Department of Labor had issued 50,612 unemployment insurance checks totaling more than $40.9 million, 28,877 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation checks totaling $47.2 million, 6,522 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance checks totaling about $10.8 million, and Lost Wages Assistance checks totaling about $2.9 million.

Bryan said 874 people had been tested for COVID-19 since Dec. 31, 2020, and 78 had tested positive. As of Jan. 7, 2021, the territory was tracking 127 active cases, had recorded 2,106 positive tests and 24 deaths, and had no COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix or Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-says-change-in-u-s-senate-majority-raises-possibility-of-larger-stimulus-payments-2/