Officials urged continued COVID-19 precautions ahead of holiday season in U.S. Virgin Islands

Government House officials said on October 26, 2020, that the territory was monitoring rising COVID-19 case rates in U.S. states and was adjusting local travel-screening and other protocols as needed ahead of the holiday season.

At the weekly COVID-19 briefing, Communications Director Richard Motta Jr. said 21 states had recorded infection-rate increases of 10% or more from the previous week. He said officials were working to improve screening of incoming travelers and amend existing protocols.

Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion urged residents to continue wearing masks, washing hands, using hand sanitizer and maintaining social distance. She also advised against higher-risk Halloween activities, including traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treat events, and indoor haunted houses and costume parties.

Encarnacion said the Health Department planned to contact organizers of some Halloween events to provide safety guidance. She also said residents preparing or distributing treats should wash their hands and wear masks, and that costume masks were not an appropriate substitute for protection against COVID-19.

Officials reported 22 active COVID-19 cases in the territory as of October 26, 2020. The Health Department said 23,643 people had been tested, with 22,269 negative results and 1,348 positive results. It reported 1,305 recoveries and 21 deaths.

Officials said no COVID-19 patients were hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix. Two COVID-19 patients were hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas, including one on a ventilator.

Government House also said the Virgin Islands Department of Labor had issued 76,685 unemployment-related checks totaling $85.53 million, including unemployment insurance, federal pandemic compensation, pandemic unemployment assistance and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue extended the deadline to file a 2018 income tax return or Form 1040 to receive a stimulus payment to November 21, 2020, and said payments would continue through December 31, 2020.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/administration-urges-continued-covid-cautions-social-distancing-for-upcoming-holiday-season/