CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A 72-year-old woman on St. Thomas became the second person to die of the novel coronavirus in the territory, Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. said in a press conference this afternoon.
Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said the unidentified woman got COVID-19 virus from “community spread,” which meant that health officials don’t know for sure how she got the virus.
Bryan said the woman had “underlying health issues” and was living at home before she was transferred to a hospital with a severe case of the novel coronavirus.
“She had been hospitalized over the several days but she got worse as time continued at the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital,” the governor said. “And our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family and her loved ones on her departing.”
An 85-year-old man with underlying health problems on St. Thomas was the first person linked to a location in the territory by the Virgin Islands Department of Health. The release of that information was delayed by territorial health officials at least 24 hours about 12 days ago.
Testing of people showing symptoms of COVID-19 and contact-tracing is non-existent in the U.S. Virgin Islands unless someone is hospitalized or can prove contact with a confirmed virus case, so no new cases have been reported in nine days.
On April 5, the VIDOH announced that one person had died in the territory but waited at least 24 hours to state that the man with Anguilla contacts died on St. Thomas.
PUI update (458 CUMULATIVE TOTAL): As of April 16, 2020
Positive: 51 (14 STX; 35 STT; 2 STJ)
Negative: 373 (150 STX; 203 STT; 20 STJ)
Pending: 34 (4 STX; 28 STT; 2 STJ)
Recovered: 46/51 recovered
Deaths: 2
