Governor Albert Bryan is considering new dining and beach restrictions that could help curtail the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Between Friday and Saturday, the Department of Health (D.O.H) reported 25 new cases of the virus: 6 on Friday and 19 on Saturday. The department reported zero new cases on Sunday. The administration said Governor Bryan and his Covid-19 task force would continue to closely monitor the virus's spread, which will inform the decision-making process in the coming days. The governor is scheduled to hold a briefing today at 2:00 p.m.
Of the 19 cases reported Saturday, 18 were on St. Thomas and one on St. John. There were no reported cases on St. Croix in D.O.H.'s Saturday report. The Friday report of 6 cases saw one on St. Croix and five on St. Thomas. St. Thomas saw seven cases of community spread over the weekend, while 12 cases were under investigation, meaning D.O.H. was still attempting to determine the means through which the virus had spread from one person to another.
A man reported missing by his girlfriend on Thursday was found dead the next day at about 6:00 a.m. at Cabrita Point Beach. On Thursday at 7:58 p.m., a woman called the 911 Emergency Call Center to report that her boyfriend was missing around 1:00 p.m., her boyfriend went snorkeling at Cabrita Point and had not returned home. The Virgin Islands Police Department officers, St. Thomas Rescue, and the U.S. Coast Guard searched, but he was not located, police said.
On Friday at roughly 6:00 a.m., the body of a male in snorkeling gear was found on the shoreline at Cabrita Point. The body was later identified as 48-year-old Robert James Holliday, Jr. Cause of death was pending an autopsy, according to Mr. Derima.
Puerto Ricans demanded answers Monday after botched primaries forced officials to reschedule voting at centers lacking ballots, an unprecedented decision being called a blow to the U.S. territory’s democracy. Hundreds of voters were turned away from shuttered centers that received ballots several hours late or never received them at all. It was the first time primaries have been halted and led many to worry that it has cracked Puerto Ricans’ confidence in their government and could affect the outcome of upcoming November general elections on an island with a voter participation rate of nearly 70%.
Governor Wanda Vázquez and other officials from Puerto Rico’s two main parties demanded the resignation of Juan Ernesto Dávila, president of the election commission. Meanwhile, questions about why Puerto Rico held a primary if ballots were not available and how it was possible that no one knew about the problem until it was too late remained unanswered.
While another primary is scheduled for August 16, some expect lawsuits and legal loopholes to potentially upset those plans.