Post Office Mystery Being Solved

The unknown  substance that was discovered at the Post Office’s Sorting Unit on the 22 May has been sent to Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) in Trinidad for testing.  CAREC is expected to analyse the substance and determine whether or not it is of a life threatening nature. Government hopes to receive these results by the end of this week. [The picture shows the emergency measures taken when the suspect substance was discovered]

An undisclosed, but most likely substantial, amount of mail that was in the sorting facility at the time of the incident is still quarantined and will not be distributed to impatient addressees until there is  scientific evidence of no risk involved.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Hon. Ronnie Skelton told Members of the Legislative Council at the 1 June Sitting, that while none of the officers exposed to this substance have fallen ill, the situation alerts us of the dangers that some of our public servants face on a day to day basis. Hon. Skelton disclosed that Government intends to pursue the implementation of technology and additional measures to safely check incoming mail and cargo.

The Minister thanked the staff of the Post Office for their vigilance and he encouraged them to continue to use extra precautionary  measures when sorting mail. Hon. Skelton said that he sympathises with the staff of the Sorting Unit for any undue stress and discomfort that they may have suffered as a result  of this unfortunate incident.

Several postal workers were exposed to the envelope that contained the white powdery substance that was discovered in a piece of mail at the Sorting Unit which is located at the Maduro Building (the old home of the Corporate Registry, adjacent to the Walter Francis Highway).

The substance was found in a package on May 22 while an officer in the unit was going through mail that had arrived in the Territory earlier the same day. The Forensics Unit of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force has since sent the substance to a laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago for analysis.

On the same date seven of the nine officers who came into contact with the substance were released from  Peebles Hospital where they were observed and treated. However, two officers who came into direct contact with the substance were quarantined and given precautionary treatment. The Sorting Unit was also quarantined, and Hon. Skelton mentioned that it will remain that way until the receipt of the CAREC results.

Meanwhile, all unprocessed mail that entered the Maduro Building on or before the day of the incident will not be sorted until it is reopened. In the interim, sorting operations have been temporarily relocated to the Post Office’s Main Street building.