BREAKING NEWS: USVI Tourism Tells Visitors Antibody Tests Won’t Be Accepted

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism just put out an important COVID-19-related message for visitors to the territory on Twitter minutes ago.

“As of August 13, results from COVID-19 antibody tests are no longer acceptable for entry or submission to the USVITravel Screening Portal,” Tourism said on social media. “Make sure that you’re up to date on the #USVI’s latest #travel restrictions and entry requirements, at http://usviupdate.com .”

People returning to the territory from the U.S. mainland who are not vaccinated have told the Virgin Islands Free Press that a COVID-19 test costs about $150.

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.