In a public broadcast Thursday afternoon, Governor Bryan announced that unvaccinated persons travelling from the BVI to the USVI must now submit a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure, adding that locally-based water taxis captains entering the USVI will be arrested if they did not have a negative COVID test.

And in a moment of candour, the Governor expressed that many persons called him to say, “now is our chance to get even with the British Virgin Islands for what they do to our sailors or fishermen.”

However, he insisted that now is the time for USVI residents to be responsible as global citizens and assist the BVI community which is currently has more than 1,600 active COVID-19 cases.

“We are doing everything we can to do to help the British Virgin Islands, Premier Fahie, his Cabinet, and all the people over there. I’ve been on the phone with the State Department and the Delegate has been reaching out trying to get assistance from DC,” Governor Bryan stated.

USVI seeks to get special COVID treatment to BVI

He said the USVI is fortunate to have the monoclonal antibody treatment, which the BVI doesn’t have and suggested that his government is working on trying to get them to us.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses. The treatment is offered to persons who go to the hospital and have not been vaccinated and it reportedly helps the body to immediately produce antibodies and fight against COVID-19, the Governor stated.

“It’s not a hundred percent and you still have to get the vaccine after you have that monoclonal antibody because it only lasts about two or three weeks,” he further explained

The governor also intimated that officials thought seriously about reducing the ferry load coming from the British Virgin Islands but said they thought better of it because all the people who are coming will have had a negative test result within 48 hours of their departure.