To date, fewer than 15,000 persons have been vaccinated in the BVI. And there continues to be a vast number of people who refuse to take the jabs even though leaders have said the territory’s economic success is tied to the full vaccination of the population.

Speaking in the House of Assembly on April 22, Malone said some members of the House are doing their best to encourage persons to take the jabs but others simply aren’t doing their part.

“I am of the opinion that not enough is being said by members of the importance of the vaccination programme. I’m not just talking nine [government] members, I’m talking 15 members — the entire House of Assembly. I will go on record as doing as much as I could and other members are doing all they could, but not all members are doing all they could,” Malone stated.

The minister’s statement seemed to be geared towards Opposition members of the House of Assembly. He suggested some are more concerned about the number of meetings they’ve been invited to by the Fahie-led administration.

“I came here at the start of this session to answer questions as to ‘how many times you invite me to a meeting’. We’ve invited you to whatever meeting we needed to for critical decisions. We didn’t invite you every time we had caucus. There is a certain protocol if you want to attend caucus. If you want to be invited to every caucus meeting, you know what to do,” Malone said.

Fully vaccinated persons to be released from immediately

Despite the widespread excitement over the COVID-19 vaccines, the government has expressed that the territory will fully reopen in June whether persons are fully vaccinated or not.

However, potential cruise passengers have stated their willingness to visit only those businesses with fully vaccinated staff.

Additionally, the BVI is moving to relax it’s COVID-19 protocols for incoming travellers as the world gets more familiar with the COVID-19 vaccines now on the global market.

Minister Malone has announced recent Cabinet decisions to change the border requirements to enter the British Virgin Islands.

Effective May 15, 2021, fully vaccinated persons travelling from overseas will be immediately released from quarantine unless they have been in close contact with a positive case.