U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS \u2013 During his weekly briefing on Monday, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. issued new mandates in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Territory, including limiting funerals to groups of 10, closure of restaurants that don\u2019t comply with the executive orders, confiscating of boats that engage in \u201crafting\u201d or tying up together and fines for those caught not wearing a mask in places where it is required.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Governor also reiterated the point that of the three groups of COVID-19 cases, travelers comprise the fewest number of positive infections with 69, while community spread accounts for 145 cases and 268 are attributed to close contact with someone who was positive for the virus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn this pandemic, we cannot afford to go on hunches. We must let the data be the guide,\u201d Governor Bryan said. \u201cFollowing the data, we know that our main vulnerability for the spread of this virus is at social events occurring in our community where individuals are not adhering to the guidelines issued by the CDC and the Department of Health.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
To curb the spread of the virus in the Territory, Governor Bryan instituted new mandates.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Funerals<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All funerals or memorials are limited to immediate family members only and no more than 10 family members at any one time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Restaurants<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Restaurants have been put on notice that Enforcement Officers will be strictly enforcing all applicable guidelines to operations of restaurants during COVID-19. Any violators will be subject to closure for 30 days and imposition of an administrative fine by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Boaters<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There shall be no \u201crafting\u201d (boats tying up together) in any bays or anchorages of the Territory and all vessels must be 12 feet apart at all times, except in the case of a medical emergency. Also, no vessels are allowed to anchor in any designated swimming area. Violations of these boating restrictions can result in a fine of up to $10,000 per incident and possible seizure by the Government of the Virgin Islands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Masking<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Individuals found to be in violation of the masking order will be subject to a fine of $50 for the first offense and $100 for each additional offense.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Governor Bryan said the COVID-19 spread currently is worst in the St. Thomas-St. John District, where there are almost 100 active cases on St. Thomas alone. Unlike on St. Croix, where it was possible to trace the nexus of the virus spread at the Limetree Bay facility, Department of Health officials are unable to determine a \u201cground zero,\u201d and the place where the spread is occurring is not at all obvious, the Governor said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWe cannot continue to have a policy where all the innocent suffer for the few guilty. We will be enforcing these mandates beginning today, and we will be unforgiving,\u201d Governor Bryan said. \u201cNo exceptions. We will fine you, confiscate your boat and close your business if we must. This pandemic is not going away any time soon, and we must adapt to life around it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unemployment<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n COVID-19 cases<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Governor Bryan\u2019s next update is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday, August 17.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n ####<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS \u2013 During his weekly briefing on Monday, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. issued new mandates in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Territory, including limiting funerals to groups of 10, closure of restaurants that don\u2019t comply with the executive orders, confiscating of boats that engage in \u201crafting\u201d or tying up together and fines for those caught not wearing a mask in places where it is required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-post"],"yoast_head":"\n\r\n
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