The Virgin Islands Daily News, Dean Greenaway
The British Virgin Islands has recorded its 39th COVID-19-related death since the pandemic began, but neither Health Minister Carvin Malone or any other BVI Health Services official has made a public announcement.
The change was quietly noted on the Dec. 10 COVID-19 Dashboard, which shows the territory currently has 40 active cases. However, it does not offer any information about the latest victim of the virus. The same silence from BVI officials occurred after the 38th death appeared on the Oct. 20 COVID-19 Dashboard.
Some 36 of the 39 deaths in the territory occurred during a three weeks period in July. The first COVID-19 death occurred last year.
When no statement was made related to the 38th death, The Daily News reached out to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronald Georges for clarification and confirmation.
“An older gentleman with multiple comorbidities wasn’t really an active case at the time of death, but was precipitated by COVID,” he responded, but said he didn’t recall the age of the deceased and “didn’t want to do a release out of respect for the family.”
Georges did not respond to a Daily News request for more information on the 39th death.
Based on the Dec. 10 Dashboard, 37 of the 40 currently active cases are on Tortola and five individuals are hospitalized. Two of the cases were detected on entry into the territory and seven are related to travel.