Bryan said 10,000 stimulus checks totaling $9.5 million were mailed to Virgin Islands residents

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said during a Government House press briefing on February 8, 2021, that 10,000 stimulus checks totaling $9.5 million had been printed and mailed to Virgin Islands residents.

Bryan said the Bureau of Internal Revenue had established a hotline, 340-714-9325, for residents with questions about stimulus and tax refund payments. He said additional payments were anticipated and that eligible tax filers who had not filed a 2019 income tax return or Form 1040 needed to do so by March 15, 2021. He also said Social Security recipients without a filing requirement did not need to file a return because the bureau would use information previously received from the IRS to determine eligibility for second stimulus payments.

Officials also said the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency's vaccination hotline, 340-777-8227, had received 600 requests for COVID-19 vaccine appointments since its launch the previous week, including 540 by phone and 60 through the website. About 41% of the calls were from seniors age 65 or older, according to Bryan.

Department of Health Medical Director Dr. Tai Hunte-Ceasar said that since December 16, 2020, the department had administered 12,094 vaccinations, including 2,967 second doses.

The government also announced pop-up COVID-19 testing on February 9 at Home Depot on St. Thomas from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and at Canegata Recreation Center on St. Croix from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; on February 10 at the V.I. Port Authority Gravel Yard on St. John from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and on February 11 at Fort Christian parking lot on St. Thomas from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and at Canegata Recreation Center on St. Croix from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

As of January 31, 2021, the Virgin Islands Department of Labor had issued 52,908 unemployment insurance checks totaling $43.5 million, 29,348 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation checks totaling $50.1 million, 7,888 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance checks totaling $13.1 million, and $6.2 million in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, according to the briefing.

Officials said the territory's weekly COVID-19 positivity rate was 2.3%, with 71 active cases. They reported 43,160 people tested to date, 2,466 positive tests, 2,371 recoveries and 24 deaths. One COVID-19 patient was hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix and four were hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-announces-distribution-of-10000-stimulus-checks-to-residents/