U.S. Virgin Islands entered 'Open Doors' phase of COVID-19 reopening on June 1, 2020

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said on June 1, 2020, that the U.S. Virgin Islands had entered the "Open Doors" or blue phase of its COVID-19 reopening plan, lifting restrictions on leisure travel and issuing operating guidance for restaurants, bars, hotels, taxis and safaris.

Bryan said thermal scanners were being installed at the airports and other measures were in place to track visitors and their health. He said it was inevitable that travelers infected with COVID-19 would enter the territory and noted that asymptomatic cases would not necessarily be detected by thermal screening or questionnaires.

The government reported two active COVID-19 cases as of June 1. It said 1,815 people had been tested, with 1,741 negative results, 70 positive results, 63 recoveries, four pending tests and six deaths. No COVID-19 patients were hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix, and one patient was hospitalized on a ventilator at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.

Bryan also addressed unrest across the U.S., condemning racism, social inequities and violence, and urging residents to support the Virgin Islands Police Department and report criminal activity.

The Department of Finance said it had completed another run of 6,169 stimulus checks on May 30, 2020, totaling just under $10 million. The government said nearly 25,000 checks totaling $39.9 million had been issued to date.

Officials said 33,737 residential customers had received $250 YES credits and 6,221 commercial ratepayers had received $500 credits, for a total of nearly 40,000 ratepayers.

The Virgin Islands Department of Labor said it had issued 9,058 unemployment insurance checks and 4,380 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation checks totaling $16,692,922. The department also said it had secured a contract with InTouch Call Center to handle COVID-19-related employment security and unemployment benefit inquiries.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/usvi-officially-enters-open-doors-phase-of-territorys-plan-to-safely-resume-operations-in-response-to-covid-19/