COVID Cases on STX ‘Remain a Concern,’ Health Commissioner Says

The number of COVID infections continues to be much higher on St. Croix than on St. Thomas and St. John, Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion lamented at Tuesday’s weekly Government House news briefing.

“The number on St. Croix remains a concern,” she said. “I ask that you continue to protect yourself and put yourself in your hands.”

There were 24 new cases in less than 24 hours as of Tuesday morning, which the commissioner attributed to social gatherings. Total cases were 82 infections on St. Croix, seven on St. Thomas and none on St. John. There was one person on a ventilator Tuesday at the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix and there were no COVID patients at the Schneider Regional Medical Center.

Encarnacion introduced the director of the COVID task force, Wanson Harris, who talked about policies and procedures. The task force comprises staff from the V.I Police Department, the Departments of Health, Planning and Natural Resources, Licensing and Consumer Affairs, Waste Management, the Taxi Cab Commission, Fire Service and Superior Court Marshals.

Harris said the group is charged with enforcing the governor’s COVID-19 executive orders and the V.I. Code.

“Their job is not to shut businesses down. Their job is to keep people safe,” Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said at the briefing.

Harris said most of the coronavirus infractions have involved mass gatherings and people not wearing masks. First, the proprietor is warned and educated about the law. Then each incident is recorded and reported to Harris daily.