{"id":1102,"date":"2021-02-08T23:08:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T23:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vi.gov\/covid\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2021-02-19T17:21:44","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T17:21:44","slug":"governor-bryan-announces-distribution-of-10000-stimulus-checks-to-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vi.gov\/covid\/news-post\/governor-bryan-announces-distribution-of-10000-stimulus-checks-to-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor Bryan Announces Distribution Of 10,000 Stimulus Checks to Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS \u2014\u00a0During the Government House weekly press briefing on Monday, February 8, 2021,<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said that 10,000 stimulus checks for a total of $9.5 million have been printed and put in the mail to go out to Virgin Islanders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Governor Bryan also announced that the Bureau of Internal Revenue has established a hotline \u2013 340-714-9325 \u2013<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

for residents who have questions about their stimulus and tax refund payments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cWe anticipate issuing more payments, so if you are an eligible tax filer and have not filed your 2019 income tax return or 2019 form 1040, you need do so now or before the March 15 cutoff,\u201d Governor Bryan said. \u201cAs a reminder again for those Social Security recipients who do not have a filing requirement, there is no need to file a return. The Bureau will utilize the information, which was received from the IRS and used to determine eligibility for the first stimulus payments, to issue your second stimulus payment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Governor also spoke about the success of the COVID-19 vaccination hotline at 340-777-VACS (8227) that the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) has established for people who are eligible to make an appointment with a provider to get vaccinated. The hotline is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it is staffed by English and Spanish speakers. Residents who call outside of the hours of operation should leave their name and a call-back number.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cSince we have deployed the hotline last week, we received 600 requests for COVID-19 vaccine appointments \u2013 540 by phone and 60 through the website,\u201d Governor Bryan said. \u201cRoughly, 41 percent of the calls received are from seniors age 65 or older.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Pop-Up testing sites<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This week, pop-up testing sites will be at the following locations:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n