Officials at the Ministry of Health and Social Development have announced that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the British Virgin Islands.

The Government of the British Virgin Islands assures the public that there is no confirmed case of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 in the British Virgin Islands.

After consultation with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and other senior health officials, a decision was made that cruise ship M/V Costa Favolosa will not be allowed to call on the Virgin Islands today.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development advises citizens and residents to exercise a high degree of caution when traveling to South Korea, Singapore and Italy (northern Italy) in response to the increase of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) cases.  

Officials at the Ministry of Health and Social Development have raised the travel advisory alert to level two in response to the increase in cases of COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus).

Officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Development have met with local freight and cargo shipping companies to discuss precautionary measures in response to COVID-19.

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses like the common cold that can progress to more severe and fatal infections such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. At the end of 2019 new strain of coronavirus was detected in Wuhan City, China and later named coronavirus disease 2019 (or COVID-19) by the World Health Organisation (WHO).  On January 30, 2020 the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Mister Speaker, I thank the Honourable Minister for Health and Social Development and his team for keeping the public informed about the status of the virus and how the Territory is mitigating the risks associated with its outbreak.

Officials from the Public Health Unit and the Environmental Health Division continue to meet and sensitise key border front-line personnel to discuss preventative and control measures and provide updates regarding COVID-19....