CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A bipartisan team of governors from five states and Puerto Rico have signed-on to a letter that Governor Albert Bryan sent to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chairwoman of President Biden’s COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, asking the CDC to issue updated regulations to […]
Category: Health News
32 Countries In Americas Have Detected Infection By 1 of 3 ‘Variants of Concern’
BRIDGETOWN — The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said 32 countries and territories in the Americas have reported the presence of at least one of the three “variants of concern” of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, according to a new Epidemiological Update. These variants may increase transmissibility of the virus, increase its virulence, or […]
Norwegian Cruise To Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination For Guests And Crew
HAMILTON — Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said today it would require mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all guests and crew when it restarts trips from U.S. ports in July. The company’s announcement follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance last week to the cruise ship industry, including the need […]
ROOFIE SLIP? Police Investigate Partying Threesome That Ended In Rape On St. Croix: VIPD
KINGSHILL — A police affidavit detailing a rape case on St. Croix includes shocking details about the alleged sexual assault, but the suspect’s defense attorney said Saturday that the case is not as clear-cut as it seems. Timothy A. Morgan, 24, of South Carolina, was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with first-degree rape, first-degree […]
Cuba’s Tourism Workers Reinvent Themselves As Lockdown Lingers
HAVANA — Trumpeter Carlos Sanchez serenaded tourists in Old Havana for 30 years, earning handsome tips — until the coronavirus pandemic hit and Cuba closed its borders a year ago on April 1. Now the 57-year-old ekes out a living repairing fans. The global vaccination drive is sparking hopes worldwide of a tourism rebirth this […]
Caribbean Appeals To Biden To Share Vaccines With U.S. ‘Third Border’
HAVANA — Several Caribbean island nations have issued a plea to the United States to share its stockpile of COVID-19 vaccines with the region as it has said it would with Mexico and Canada, calling on it not to neglect its “third border.” The independent island states of the Caribbean archipelago — except for Cuba, […]
TRASHED! Red Hook Dumpster Site Looks A Fright! But Who Will Clean It Up?
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — People are up in arms about the maintenance of a trash bin site on St. Thomas. Residents say the dumpster site — maintained by the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority — is unsightly, unhealthy and dangerous to navigate in its current condition. People on social media begged the Bryan-Roach Administration of transparency […]
We Need A Better Approach To U.K.-Caribbean Relations: OP-ED Column
There is an old saying that you wait ages for a London bus and then two — or even three — come along at once. It is not an expression, as far as I am aware, that has ever been applied to policy statements affecting U.K.-Caribbean relations. However, in the space of just 14 days […]
Unequal Treatment With SSI, Medicaid, Comes At A Staggering Cost To USVI
CHRISTIANSTED — A new report, Shadow Citizens: Confronting Federal Discrimination in the U.S. Virgin Islands, from the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands (DRCVI) reveals drastic disparities resulting from federal programs that discriminate against the U.S. Virgin Islands. The new report, available at www.drcvi.org, adds to mounting public scrutiny surrounding racial inequity, voting rights, and healthcare […]
VIDOJ Says It Will Prosecute Travelers Who Present Fake COVID-19 Results At Arrival
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Attorney General Denise George has announced that anyone found submitting false COVID-19 documents or forged test results to the USVI travel screening portal will be prosecuted pursuant to V.I. Code tit. 14, § 843. AG George will also be joining a coalition of attorneys general representing states, districts, and territories, in a […]