Health Department Confirms Territory’s 97th COVID-19 Related Death

CHRISTIANSTED — The Virgin Islands Department of Health has confirmed another COVID-19 related death, bringing the territory’s toll to 97.

After notifying next of kin, Health announced that the deceased is a 77-year-old man on St. Croix.

Health also urged unvaccinated residents to get vaccinated, noting the COVID-19 vaccine “can prevent severe illness and death.”

To schedule an appointment to be vaccinated, call 340-777-8227 or visit covid19usvi.com/vaccines.

Walk-ins are accepted at the Community Vaccination Centers in La Grande Princesse on St. Croix and at the department’s clinic at Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas.

Meanwhile, a frequent reader of the Virgin Islands Free Press said caregivers are also affected as COVID-19 deaths increase territory-wide.

“I hope the hospitals provide counseling for all caregivers who have faced so much death,” Vivian Greaux said from St. Thomas. “I am a nurse (retired) and losing a patient wears hard on you. I can imagine the helplessness they feel and it is no way near over. Let us keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

To report a suspected case of COVID-19, call 340-712-6299 on St. Croix or 340-776-1519 on St. Thomas. Residents with a medical emergency should call 911. For more information, visit covid19usvi.com. For COVID19 updates, text COVID19USVI to 888777.

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.