TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Covid 19 infections in BVI

I've been sad many times for BVIslanders, usually because there was a weather event that turned lives and businesses upside down. the BVI has always come back better than before. THIS pandemic, originally fought with a lot of grit and a ton of sacrifice, is for me the saddest of all. How could Islanders just turn aside and allow a year of islandwide community sacrifice to be erased ?

Lots of things I'd like to say, but none of them fit to be said here.

While it is very disrespectful for us non-belongers to not wear masks even with vaccination and negative testing, that has not caused this upsurge,

This is a pandemic for a reason -- even if the community had been completely isolated from the outside world without vaccination rate of at least 50% eventually it would/has reached it's shores and spread like wildfire until the combination of vaccinated and survivors reaches 70%.

Shutting down tourism from vaccinated or immune visitors will not impact the spread but will add to the economic woe. The very small reported number of people with vaccination but subsequent infection are mostly in immunosuppressed people and/or false positives -- the Delta variant is not immune from the vaccine but spreads more readily. As long as visitors are required to have evac insurance to get off island so they do not add to the overburdened health care system the net positive to the community of having respecting visitors with generous tipping and purchasing from locals cannot be underestimated.

I spoke with everyone we had contact with in the past 10 days -- Only ONE has been vaccinated -- a cab driver who was among the first to be vaccinated. All had a "reason" --mostly a false fear of medicine in general and vaccination in particular -- a lot of misinformation and fake news

So sad....

Hi Will when I was there in May the drill was go to the old clinic and do the signup and pay then go to the new clinic for the exit test - arrive at the old clinic around 9:15 to get throught.

Exit testing this past week JVD

Returned yesterday thru San Juan

spent night Great harbor Jost Monday night for test Tuesday am for travel Friday. Spent Monday White Bay via taxi, a little rough for us to go/come in dinghy. Used Boatyball to ensure mooring -- most balls are boatyball but 8 or so moorsecure and some room to anchor near shore

for sure fill out your paperwork on line days before and tell them site/day --they will (did) have the paperwork and the vials for the specimens already ready to expedite the process. If you just show up if they have "extra" vials they may be able to accommodate you but will take time and the specimens go to Tortola on the 9 am ferry

We arrived to the clinic 7:30 and were 6th in the Q. Some had been told to show up as early as 7:30 we were told 7:45.

paid 70 usd each (cc accepted but took cash too in case no electricity)

nose poke and done -- 30 min . Results via email next afternoon

were told that the next day they had ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY folks scheduled -- wow.

can only imagine how many at other testing sites

camelot - thanks for the information. I sent them my form with a request for a Virgin Gorda test. I was worried about payment, as the document only states that the fee can be paid on Tortola! If I get my test done in time, I'll sail off to Guadeloupe; otherwise I will flee to St. Martin. What a mess! I can't get immigration to give me permission to leave (on a boat), yet my legal stay period is expiring...

I'd be more stressed if the anchorages weren't so lovely!

Gorda Guy.
Hi Friend, thank you. We will be there early. We only brought iPad and phones and couldn’t fill out the online forms. Had a friend here print em out, Filled them out by hand and sent back...nada. So we called clinic on VG. We have a Wednesday departure. She argued that we needed test on Monday...I tried several times to get a Sunday appointment, she was having none of it. So made appointment. Then called Tortola office “To be sure sir you ought to do it on Sunday. “. So I called and the lady was very harried but moved us from Monday to Sunday. We will take our filled out pages and be there early. I never saw anything like yesterday’s parking ..lots full in and across the road and on the street at 130 and line out the side of new building. I thought later perhaps that was people getting vaccinated in which case would be a great thing. .

Our friends who left ten days ago and were told to show up between ten and 12. Took our Jeep from savannah bay and got back 3 hrs later.

Although they don’t have many cases here yet on VG I’m sure they are doing lots of testing . I’m hoping the demand doesn’t overcome the supply of testing, but feel better with 3 days now. I booked Cape Air down and Air Caribbean back to savea few bucks. I’m hoping they show up. I worry some that incoming passengers will cancel and they won’t show. Will cross that bridge Wednesday. So sad it’s not going better..island is unusually green for this time and weather and breeze is perfect.

I haven’t seen active case rate status since Thursday. Any updates?

1100 cases

Thanks Jason - just got a notification on that. Sad but not surprising. 😥

Where did you guys get the updated numbers? I haven't seen any press releases. Also, it seems that they're restricting testing, obviously to manage workload. Do you think they may also want to make things look less bad?

https://www.284media.com/local/2021...mxuXnGqX4mjA48ylQGMJnAPf8MKV3vstb7Bqq-2U

I tend to agree with you on managing perceptions RW.

Thanks, MID. Odd that they haven't updated the counts of cases, hospitalizations, and any deaths. I'm sure it's chaotic and they have a backlog of tests.

1296 today. 17 hospitalized.

They have not updated the "poster" with the statistics but much of the information is contained in the latest statement from Dr. Georges.

July 12 Update from Dr. Georges

The most important lines from that release.. "There are currently no restrictions on first or second dose vaccinations. There are ample stocks of vaccine and more vaccine is on the way to augment stocks that are expiring on the 31st of July 2021. Please just bite the bullet and get vaccinated."

As I figured and the way it worked In every location in the US once the virus got a foothold, the government here has concluded that contact tracing and testing of asymptotic people is useless.

This happens everywhere. A population believes the virus is not as transmissible or as deadly as it is. They believe they have been spared the ravages of the plague by methods other than vaccination. We have another vacation home on a lake in southwest missouri. Like the bvi they did not believe the virus would reach them. Many near our primary residence thought the same thing until it showed up with a vengeance last winter. Honestly short of total isolation which the bvis experienced for months, vaccination or being very lucky, this virus is going to find you.

Mitigation efforts are the best we got short of vaccination. They are not even close to a substitute for vaccination.

Everyone coming here should adhere strictly to the r7les and protocols. My point has been that those most vulnerable need to isolate as hard as they can until fully vaccinated. Nothing else works..not masks or distance when people congregate together away from public and are dependent on their housemates doing same. It fails

It’s going to be a rough few weeks depending on the vaccination rates of most vulnerable. Then the combination of those recovered and vaccinated will be good enough to likely do better.

It’s a hard lesson but it is being learned everywhere vaccines have been available and the population decided there was a better path.


https://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=32815

Just to be clear this in no way condones visitors not following all protocols the government and local businesses ask of you regardless of your vaccination status.

I hope they wake up and get the vaccine. Over 99% of the deaths last month in the US were from unvaccinated.