Bryan, Education officials outline school reopening options as start date moves to Sept. 8

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and Virgin Islands Education Department officials said on July 16 that the territory was considering three options for reopening public schools—virtual instruction, in-person classes or a hybrid model—while delaying a final decision as officials monitored a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Bryan had announced on July 13 that the start of the school year would be pushed back to at least Sept. 8. Education Commissioner Racquel Berry-Benjamin, St. Croix Superintendent Carlos MacGregor and St. Thomas-St. John Superintendent Stephon Jurgen said the department’s planning covered classroom distancing, lunches, busing, sanitization, class sizes and online learning.

During the same COVID-19 briefing, Bryan said the recent rise in cases in the Virgin Islands was centered at the Limetree Bay refinery on St. Croix. He said measures at the facility included a freeze on incoming contractors, temperature checks at the gates, a two-week lockdown of the man camp and testing of workers every 14 days. He said the government had considered a temporary shutdown of the facility and would curtail operations if testing trends worsened.

Bryan also said the territory’s travel-restriction list had expanded to 13 jurisdictions: Puerto Rico, Arizona, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, Idaho, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kansas and Louisiana. Travelers arriving from those places were required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within five days before arrival or enter a 14-day quarantine.

The administration said the Labor Department had implemented the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, adding 12 weeks of benefits if needed. As of that week, the department had issued 23,551 unemployment checks totaling $17.76 million and 18,829 federal pandemic unemployment checks totaling $30.16 million, for a combined $47.91 million.

Health officials reported 123 active COVID-19 cases on July 16. The territory had conducted 5,453 tests, with 5,036 negative results, 249 positive results, 168 pending tests and six deaths. One patient was hospitalized on a ventilator at Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix, and one patient was hospitalized at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-education-officials-give-details-on-school-reopening-plan/