Governor Bryan announces “Skills-for-Today,” a $9 million workforce development initiative dedicated to putting Virgin Islanders to work through free training programs
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — During the Government House weekly press briefing on Monday, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced that the Bryan-Roach Administration has completed the distribution of American Rescue Plan stimulus checks with the mailing of 4,985 checks totaling $6,993,910, most of which went to Social Security beneficiaries.
To date, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Department of Finance successfully executed three large federal programs each with different sets of rules and guidelines by paying out more than $226 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief to Virgin Islands residents in less than a year.
Residents who have not received the most recent stimulus payment by the end of this week and have reason to believe they are eligible for one, should follow up with the Bureau of Internal Revenue Bureau by visiting either of their offices in Sunny Isle on St. Croix or in Red Hook on St. Thomas, or by contacting the BIR hotline number at 340-719-9325.
Skills-for-Today program
Governor Bryan also announced the start of the Department of Labor’s “Skills-for-Today” program, which is part of the Bryan-Roach Administration’s initiatives dedicated to putting Virgin Islanders to work.
Skills-for-Today is a $9 million workforce development program that will support the training of more than 600 individuals
- 400 in construction trades, including masonry, electrical, plumbing and carpentry
- 75 in administrative services, including projects management and grants management
- 165 in on-the-job training in other industries, including hospitality, health care, marine, IT and cybersecurity
The “Skills-for-Today” program is being managed by the Virgin Islands Department of Labor and ICF Incorporated LLC.
Vaccinations administered
• 43,64 first doses (54.4% of eligible population)
• 35,151 persons fully vaccinated (44.3% of eligible population)
Anyone 12 and up is eligible to receive the vaccine. Please make sure to have a parent or guardian accompany any minor wishing to get vaccinated, and must bring an ID for both the minor and the parent or guardian.
Anyone who thinks they may have contracted COVID-19 can call the Epidemiology hotline at 340-712-6299 or 340-776-1519. For more information, visit covid19usvi.com.
For information about the COVID-19 vaccines, call the VITEMA hotline Mondays-Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 340-777-VACS (8227).
Pop-Up testing sites
This week, pop-up testing sites will be at the following locations:
• Home Depot on St. Thomas on Tuesday, June 22, from 1 to 3 p.m.
• Charles Harwood Complex on St. Croix on Tuesday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to noon.
• The V.I. Port Authority Gravel Yard on St. John on Wednesday, June 23, from 1 to 4 p.m.
• Charles Harwood Complex on St. Croix on Thursday, June 24, time from 10 a.m. to noon.
• Fort Christian Parking Lot on St. Thomas on Thursday, June 24, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Residents can pre-register for testing online at www.covid19usvi.com/testing and free vaccines are available at the pop-up testing sites.
COVID-19 cases as of June 5
• 1.87% positivity rate
• Currently tracking 87 active cases (22 STX; 62 STT; 3 STJ).
• 125,343 individuals tested to date.
• 121,575 of those tests were negative.
• 3,762 tests came back positive.
• 3,565 tests came back positive.
• 30 fatalities.
• One COVID-19 patient is hospitalized at Juan F. Luis Medical Center on St. Croix.
• One COVID-19 patient is in ICU at Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.
The Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in the government and ensuring that recovery projects are completed as quickly as possible. Visit transparency.vi.gov