Mapp Announces 12 Noon To 4:00 p.m. Curfew Lift For Saturday, Start Of Limited Commercial Flights At St. Thomas Airport

Governor Kenneth Mapp on Friday held his second press conference following Hurricane Maria’s passage in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Below, find the latest updates from the administration’s recovery and relief efforts.

1. The governor has extended the suspension of the 24-hour curfew on St. Croix, giving residents from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday to conduct business. The governor said more time would not be allowed because first responders needed to clear the roads, and he did not want the government to be held liable for anyone injured as a result of debris.
2. Mr. Mapp also changed the curfew hours for the St. Thomas St. John District. Effective Saturday, the curfew hours in the aforementioned district is 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Previously, it was 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m.
3. The USS Wright, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was scheduled to arrive at the West Indian Company (WICO) dock at 7:00 p.m. Friday night, carrying 1 million meals to be shared between the St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix districts. A C17 aircraft was also scheduled to arrive with 50,000 meals and 36,000 litters of water.
4. The governor said his administration along with federal partners are hoping to reopen the St. Thomas airport for limited commercial flights in the middle of next week.  The governor said the St. Croix airport needed some additional work before reopening, and added that he would provide more updates on Saturday.
5. One death related to Hurricane Maria was confirmed by the governor. The incident occurred in St. Thomas and involved a woman who Mr. Mapp said had drowned.
6. There’s a cruise ship coming to St. Croix at the end of next week to carry residents who want to leave the island. The vessel is part of the Mapp administration’s “mercy” trips, and comes at no cost to Hurricane Maria victims looking to leave the island. The governor said the arrival of the ship next weekend gives enough time for those who plan on leaving to have discussions with their families. He said the mercy mission will drop everyone off in Florida, at which point the victims will have to make their way.
7. WAPA will be getting help from outside firms that are coming into the territory to help with power restoration. The governor said while these firms will help WAPA move quickly to restore power, they are not part of the governor’s stated intention to move all the territory’s power lines underground, as such a project would take multiple years.
8. The governor accepted responsibility and apologized for delays that occurred at food distribution centers today. Mr. Mapp noted a situation at the Juanita Gardine School, which saw meals being delivered hours later than the stated time. There were reports of a similar situation occurring at the Alexander Henderson School, another distribution center. Mr. Mapp said someone would be fired for the mishap, as the problem arose because orders were not followed, he said. And the order, it appears, came from Adjutant General of the V.I. National Guard Deborah Howell, who also took responsibility for the failure and vowed to relieve the individual.
9. The distribution centers on St. Croix will be open tomorrow from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m., keeping  in line with the curfew. Today, the governor announced the addition of a fifth distribution center. The list now includes Cotton Valley Fire Station, Alexander Henderson School, St. Croix Educational Complex, Juanita Gardine School, and the Eulalie Rivera School in Grove.
10. F.E.M.A.’s Blue Roof Project, which sees heavy duty tarpaulins being professionally installed on homes without roofs or homes with damage roofs, will commence soon, the governor said, with Anna’s Retreat being the first community where the tarps will be installed, Mr. Mapp said. He said more information about how to sign up would soon be made available.
11. The recovery and debris cleanup process, which is being paid for by the federal government, includes a lot of work, and the governor urged local contractors to seek contracts with the government be signing up with the Dept. of Property and Procurement.
12. Dept. of Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty, along with the governor, will meet with business leaders in the private sector on St. Thomas on Wednesday, and later next week on St. Croix, to discuss the potential attractions and other areas of appeal in the territory as sights that tourists could visit. Mr. Mapp said the discussions were being had because there’s a possibility that cruise lines could start visiting the islands sooner than anticipated. He did stress “may”, though, and said the outcome would depend on the readiness of the territory and its people.
13. viNGN is working on internet hots spots for St. Croix
14. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and Governor Mapp recently spoke over the phone about adequate and appropriate housing for V.I. housing community residents displaced by both hurricanes Irma and Maria. The discussion was fruitful, the governor said, with Mr. Carson agreeing to address the thousands who are displaced. ” I expressed to the secretary my deep concern that we really have to address this issue, and it needs to be addressed really, really, rapidly,” the governor said.
15. Police Commissioner Delroy Richards fired two deputy chiefs in the St. Thomas-St. John District, who he said had not followed the plan he laid out in responding to the crisis of hurricanes Irma and Maria. He said two deputy chiefs in the St. Croix district would be fired as well. The governor endorsed Mr. Richards’s move, and said more firings would come in other government departments and agencies, for individuals who had simply failed to perform at a time when the government needed them the most.
16. Distribution centers will reopen on Saturday in St. Thomas (they were closed on Thursday and Friday).
17.  The mobile hospital outside the Schneider Regional Medical Center in St. Thomas that was taken down because of Hurricane Maria, was reestablished, according to FEMA. Two more were requested and will soon arrive in the territory to service both St. Thomas and St. Croix.
18. Seniors residing at Flamboyant Gardens, Whim Gardens and the facility located at the back of Sunny Isle, do not have to visit distribution centers to receive meals ready to eat (MREs), as Fire Service personnel will be delivering the MREs and water to these seniors on Saturday.
19. Dept. of Health will have minimal operation next week out of its mobile van, as the Harwood Complex building was damaged by incessant rain.
20. On Friday, disaster survivor assistance teams canvassed the St. Croix community letting residents know that FEMA is here to provide assistance. According to William Vogel, federal coordinating officer of FEMA Region II, roughly 5,625 Virgin Islanders have registered for assistance, 5,100 of whom did so for Hurricane Irma, and the remainder for hurricane Maria.
21. Port facilities now open are West Gregory, East Gregory, Homeport Pier, Crawley and Tropical Shipping in St. Thomas, and Limetree Bay and Krause Lagoon in St. Croix. Port facilities in St. John remain closed.