London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

No ‘community spread’ of COVID-19 in the BVI

No ‘community spread’ of COVID-19 in the BVI

Though a number of residents recently tested positive for COVID-19, the British Virgin Islands is presently not experiencing any form of community spread of the virus and has not detected locally transmitted cases in almost four months.

This is according to the Acting Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health, Dr Ronald Georges who explained that community spread only happens when the health authorities are unable to trace confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a large number of cases.

Dr Georges made the disclosure in an interview with BVI News following the territory’s recent increase in active cases to 18.

He said: “Community spread or community transmission connotes a whole different level of risk to the population and our economy. We are clearly not at that point.”

“Where we are is that our systems have caught a situation very early in evolution where we can make a course correction and hopefully avert a more difficult situation. We can consider this a serious wake up call to make the necessary adjustments and strengthen our adherence to and enforcement of the necessary protocols,” he further assured.

Highly likely the recent cases were imported


Health Minister Carvin Malone announced on Friday January 8, that investigations were ongoing into two recent COVID-19 cases, where two visitors tested positive during their exit screening to leave the territory.

The two visitors had previously tested negative on their arrival into the territory and on Day 4 of their mandatory quarantine period.

This disparity prompted BVI News to ask Dr Georges where was the origin of the virus since the visitors’ previous two tests in the territory were negative.

He replied: “What we are looking at here is persons who have entered the territory after having already contracted the COVID-19 virus and being within the incubation period of the virus have tested negative pre-travel, Day 0, and Day 4.”

“The incubation period before infection manifests as clinical symptoms, and in particular, the virus that can be detected in the nasopharynx varies between zero and fourteen days. And in exceptional cases, [it can take] as long as 21 days. The majority of persons will test positive between one and eight days with a number taking as long as 14 days,” he explained.

No cases of transmission locally since September


Dr Georges also revealed that since the last outbreak which occurred in the territory from late August to September, the local lab has processed thousands of samples for the virus and has not detected any local transmissions since then.

“We have not detected any cases of COVID-19 transmitted in the BVI since 18th of September. It is highly unlikely and basically improbable that the infection originated in the BVI. All cases previously were detected only in persons entering the territory. Our communicable disease surveillance system and sentinel screening have likewise not detected any evidence of transmission in the territory. Data is collected on a weekly basis from all health facilities about trends in all communicable disease and syndromes. Once any increases are detected they are investigated,” Dr Georges explained.

He added: “We also have a number of areas of sentinel surveillance for COVID-19 which are ongoing. All persons seen in the Emergency Room and admitted, all persons attending for surgery in the public or private sector, any person attending any health facility with COVID-like symptoms or similar syndrome are all tested for COVID-19. In addition, all persons leaving the territory are routinely tested, and all air and sea crew and also front-line workers are periodically tested.”

Meanwhile, Dr Georges said the contact tracing efforts on the latest positive cases have had promising results, with three close contacts being linked to one case.

He also noted that all of the casual contacts linked to the recent cases have so far returned negative results.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×