An Online Blog About the Daily Happenings of St. John, USVI
Good Morning! I hope you all had a great weekend! On Friday, the British Virgin Islands’ Minister of Health and Social Development, Honourable Calvin Malone, released a statement in regards to loosening restrictions on seaport traffic and border restrictions and quarantine protocols in an attempt to increase visitor traffic into the territory.
Read moreBVI Loosens Quarantine Restrictions to Increase Visitor Traffic
Happy Hump Day! And, we are halfway through the week! How’s everyone doing out there? Things seem to have calmed down a WEE bit on St. John this past week. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still super busy, but it doesn’t feel like we are bursting at the seams anymore. And, seemingly, the government imposed mandates in regards to COVID-19 have remained effective through the Winter and Spring Break booms. On Monday, Governor Bryan announced a few more small steps to loosen some of the current COVID restrictions in light of positive cases remaining low and vaccination distribution remaining high in the USVI.
Read moreGovernor Bryan Loosens Restaurant and Beach Restrictions
Good Morning! And a happy Thursday to you all. We received some updates from the BVI and from Governor Bryan this week and I wanted to get you all up to date. I have also been continuing to receive a ton of messages in regards to COVID testing for travel. So, let’s get to that first.
Read moreVirgin Islands Update – Current USVI COVID Information and BVI Seaport Re-Opening
Ah, the BVI…Zipping around from one stunning island to another, Painkillers at Soggy Dollar Bar, lobster quesadillas from One Love, lobster from Sydney’s, honey rum and corn hole at the Bee Line, jumps off the Willie T, exploring The Baths and beautiful local characters with charisma and charm and the ability to make you laugh. I cannot believe it has been a year. And it’s looking like it’s going to be a bit longer for pleasure boats and day trippers.
Every week, I check the BVI government pages, scanning them for information about an eventual re-opening that makes sense for USVI residents and visitors. And for several weeks, there have been no updates. But, on Friday, and after several weeks without a chirp, there was a bit of movement with a press release from the BVI Ports Authority and a statement from Premier Fahie. Both releases were dated March 19.
Read moreBVI Welcomes Back Cruise Ships, Pushes for April 15 Seaport Opening
Good Morning and a very happy Thursday to you! I have some friends currently visiting us from the states and they had some interesting stories to tell about their airport experiences. One of them told me that people were actually being turned away from boarding their American Airlines flight to St. Thomas in Philadelphia for not having the proper documentation in regards to COVID testing and the USVI Travel Portal. Another said that some passengers arriving on their Delta flight in St. Thomas had no idea that they needed any documentation and were being pulled aside and delayed in their disembarkation process in order to get tested and fill out the documentation on site.
So, I wanted to do a quick update about testing requirements in order to travel to the USVI. For some of you readers who follow along every day, I apologize for the redundancy of this update (But, there is some info on the Travel Portal that you might find useful!). For those of you reading about this for the first time, I hope it’s helpful and contributes to a seamless travel day for you!
Good Morning! I have received a TON of messages about updated COVID-19 testing requirements for entering the USVI. A lot of people are receiving their second round of vaccinations around the country…And that is fantastic! Unfortunately, you still need to provide a negative test or anti-body test in order to board your flight to the territory. Here is the most updated information from the USVI Department of Tourism and some info from the CDC about the vaccination and maintaining social distancing protocols.
Read moreUpdated COVID-19 Testing Requirements for Travel to the USVI
Good Morning! The Governor updated the Territory yesterday afternoon and is making some upcoming changes to COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and taxi cab capacity limitations. Additionally, I’ll be inserting a brief update here today about the latest push back on the opening of BVI seaports.
Read moreCOVID Update- USVI Loosens Restrictions on Beaches and Businesses
The winds have shifted here in the USVI. Today we no longer focus on the number of positive COVID-19 test results, although those numbers are very, very low! In the Governor’s press conference yesterday, he marked the coming one year anniversary of a year of response and hardships for our community and small business owners.
This one year anniversary reveals a new chapter and new goal of working as a community towards herd immunity. As of yesterday, 12,000 Virgin Islanders had been vaccinated, and the Governor has set a community goal of 50,000, or half of the population of the territory, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months.
So today, we focus on growing the number instead of decreasing it. Say what you will about the administration and their accelerated efforts towards the COVID-19 pandemic. St. John is currently busier than I have seen in recent years. And active cases are below 100. Something is working.
This is not a plug for vaccinations…I believe that we have all been on our own very individual paths through all of this pandemic. And each person’s stance on vaccinations do not delineate from that belief. Here, I’ll tell a story of a milestone for a local clinic, a story of a community working together and my own personal experience in receiving the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. Because during my experience, I was once again reminded of how truly fortunate I feel to live in this community and how grateful I am for the hardworking people who make the wheels turn behind the scenery and the beautiful backdrops!
Good Morning Everyone and a happy Wednesday to you! Despite having written about all of this information in posts along the way, I am seeing a TON of questions, both here and on my general Facebook feed in regards to the BVI seaports, COVID testing for entry and the new CDC International guidelines. The Governor will not be addressing us again until the 25th, so, in lieu of a regular weekly COVID update, I wanted to outline these three recent topics of pertinent information for you to have all in one little package 🙂
Last week, the Governor’s COVID- 19 Press Conference was cancelled on Monday and delayed to Thursday due to a fiber optic cable being damaged on St. Croix. Therefore making it impossible for the live stream. Since there will be no press conference today, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some travel information from last week’s update. He notified us that we would not see him again for an update until the State of the Virgin Islands on January 25, 2021.