St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (July 9, 2020) – On Thursday, officials from Limetree Bay Terminals, LLC and Limetree Bay Refining, LLC (Limetree Bay) announced an increase in COVID-19 positive cases at the facility. President and CEO Brian Lever said the company is working with the V.I. Department of Health (DOH) and the Office of the Governor to enhance Limetree Bay’s existing plan, in order to slow the spread of the virus within the facility.
“We continue to follow the guidance of the local and federal government to ensure the safety of our workforce, and we are currently working with the DOH and Governor Albert Bryan to come up with the best strategy to arrest the spread of COVID-19 at our plant,” said Lever.
As part of that strategy, Limetree has decided to implement a program to test all its contractors and employees for the COVID-19 virus on a recurring basis. All personnel will be scheduled for COVID-19 testing at either ProHealth or DOH, and following initial tests, all individuals will be retested every 14 days until further notice.
Limetree Bay remains committed to ensuring the health and safety of its personnel, and in response to the rise in cases at the facility, the company continues to strengthen and add to its protocols including:
- Mandatory facial coverings for all personnel when in the presence of other individuals, regardless of recommended social distances
- Restriction of all unnecessary business travel
- Continued contact tracing and testing of persons who may have been in contact with an individual who tested positive, or experienced symptoms of the virus
- The addition of an onsite paramedic to monitor and track individuals who are within designated quarantine or isolation areas
“Governor Bryan and Commissioner Justa Encarnacion have been very supportive of Limetree Bay and our efforts to mitigate the spread of this virus, and I would like to publicly thank them for working with us through this crisis,” added Lever.
There are no plans to cease operations at the facility at this time, but the management team is considering all avenues to protect its workers.