Second Hurricane Maria-Related Death Confirmed; Curfew Lifted From 12 Noon To 4 p.m. Monday; Police Jail Mother And Two Children For Looting School

Here are the latest post-Hurricane Irma and Maria updates, divulged by Governor Kenneth Mapp during his Sunday evening press conference.

1. The second Hurricane Maria-related death was confirmed by the governor today. The victim, a male, died on St. Croix from a mudslide that occurred during the storm. The first incident occurred in St. Thomas and involved a woman who Mr. Mapp said had drowned.
2. Governor Mapp again temporarily lifted the curfew to allow residents to conduct business. He said the temporary lift is from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. Monday. The governor said he should be able to make an announcement on Monday relative to a daily curfew lift of four hours, which he said should give residents are sense of normalcy.
3. Firstbank and Banco Popular will open their Orange Grove branches on Monday from 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. The government will  provide V.I.P.D. officers and V.I. National Guard guardsmen for security. Bank employees will approach customers in line to assure that they’re fully prepared before arriving at a teller, in an attempt to streamline the process.
4. The government has assigned security to protect the generators of private citizens powering the AT&T towers. AT&T’s Gallows Bay tower generator was stolen, which knocked out communication throughout St. Croix on Saturday (AT&T communication was also down almost all day Sunday on St. Croix, but the issue was related to security, as private citizens could not safeguard the property all day, which forced the government to step in).
5. The governor spoke with AT&T and Sprint officials today, and the respective companies will be sending technicians on island to repair damage to their towers caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Mr. Mapp was rather perturbed with the cellphone service providers, wondering aloud why they failed to protect their property, and did not have personnel on the ground to immediately to respond to intermittent service caused by the storms.
6. The territory’s attorney general Claude Walker, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, have gotten the F.B.I. involved in the investigation of the tower generator robberies, as committing such acts against communication companies is a federal crime.
7. The V.I.P.D. arrested a mother and her two children for looting the Elena Christian Junior High School, along with two other individuals involed in the crime. The mother is now at the Bureau of Corrections, while the children are at the Youth Rehabilitation Center, according to V.I.P.D. Commissioner Delroy Richards.
8. The commissioner said the curfew would continue to be enforced, and that arrests were being made for violation of the regulation.
9. Governor Mapp decried the looting and criminal activity taking place, as well as individuals attempting to get more than their share of meals ready to eat (MREs). He said the behavior wasn’t becoming of Caribbean people.
10. All five food distribution centers on St. Croix — Juanita Gardine, Eulalie Rivera, Cotton Valley Fire Station, Educational Complex and Alexander Henderson — will open from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. The governor said while an abundance of meals have arrived in the territory, they have yet to make it to the distribution centers, therefore, instead of two cases of MREs being given to each individual, four meals and five litters of water per person will be distributed.
11. Those who are having problems getting through to the “mercy” trips telephone number, should keep trying, the governor said. The number is 340-772-0357.
12. The governor warned residents against dumping hurricane debris at dumpsites. He said residents should wait until the government reveals its plan — which should be done no later than Wednesday — of debris removal. Mr. Mapp said while residents should continue to dispose of household trash at the dumpsites, he said carrying hurricane-related debris at the dumpsites is slowing the cleanup process.
13. According to William Vogel, federal coordinating officer of FEMA Region II, the Red Hook  and Cruz Bay ports are now open for daytime operations.
14. Governor Mapp visited his home for the first time today and found that his property did not sustain damage.
15. Roughly 18 distribution centers are now open on St. Thomas, with 8,643 meals distributed on Saturday.
16. Dept. of Health received two additional health professionals from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). They will assist D.O.H. with evacuation of patients and other medical needs. Today, 20 Juan F. Luis Hospital patients were flown to Atlanta,  and 12 to Shreveport Louisiana. There are 40 dialysis patients waiting to be moved to medical facilities on the mainland, however Dept. of Health, as of late Sunday, was still working out travel details.
17. Three Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) groups have arrived on St. Croix, and D.O.H. has stationed one at the Juan F. Luis Hospital to assist the medical facility, another at the airport to aid with evacuation of patients, and a third is awaiting placement from the department.
18. WIC checks have been printed, and D.O.H. is assessing vendors who are able to process the checks. The department will have more information on the checks’ status tomorrow.
19. D.O.H. Commissioner Michelle Davis said the department is aware of the rise in mosquito population because of stagnant water throughout the territory. The department has ordered mosquito repellent, mosquito nets and dunk to place in stagnant water, and will announce distribution once they arrive.
20. All Dept. of Health directors are to attend an 11:00 a.m. planning meeting at the Charles Harwood facility on Monday.
21. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources (D.P.N.R.), will announce sometime this week the hours that non-permitted generators are allowed to operate. Mr. Mapp said there have been a number of complaints from residents who are unable to get rest at night because of the loud noise emanating from some generators. He said while the non-permitted generators will be allowed to operate, they will be required to be turned off at a yet-to-be-decided time at night.
22. Downtown Christiansted, whose power lines are underground, has been reenergized by WAPA. The governor said Frederiksted may be turned on sometime tomorrow. WAPA will receive linemen from other U.S. jurisdictions to aid with power restoration.
23. FEMA welcomed the SS Wright vessel, which brought 1.1 million meals to the territory. FEMA also welcomed a C17 aircraft, which brought 50,000 meals and 32,000 litters of water.