Good Afternoon,

Today there were 207 test results received by the Ministry of Health; and none were positive for COVID-19.

Bermuda continues to have 114 total confirmed positive cases. Their status is as follows:

• there are 60 active cases, of which
• 44 persons are under active public health monitoring, and
• 16 persons are hospitalized 
• a total of 48 have now recovered, and
• the total deceased is now 6.

I realize some members of the media have a great appetite for intimate details about patients, including how many are on ICU and on ventilators. These are small numbers of people who can easily become identifiable in our small community, so I ask you: if it were your loved one, would you want their information discussed in the press? Probably not. I know I would not want it for myself. So, while I can tell you that there are 4 COVID patients on ICU currently, this is not a figure we will report routinely out of respect for those 4 patients and their families. I ask that you to refrain from seeking further details on such small numbers of identifiable people.

The average age of all of our confirmed positive cases is 60 and the age range of all of our positive cases is from 18 to 95 years. The age of persons hospitalized ranges between 57 and 91 years, and the average age is 76.

Just under 2,800 (2,791) people have now been tested for COVID-19. This represents 4% of our population and it is an excellent rate compared to the region overall, placing us among the top 10% in the world. Aggressive testing will continue next week, prioritizing physician referrals, contacts, nursing homes and essential workers including public officers. The drive-through will operate daily from 2pm to 7pm.

As I have mentioned before, the island’s increased testing capability means not only that more people can be tested, but also that we can retest people who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 to ensure that they no longer carry the virus.

I am sure many of us are eagerly awaiting the lifting of sheltering in place tomorrow. But, please, as the Premier and I have already said, this does not mean that everything goes back to normal ….we are not out of the woods yet…and testing does not make us safe!

I’m increasingly worried that I hear people of all ages – young and older – are already planning parties and gatherings. Please don’t. People still need to avoid moving about and congregating with different households as much as possible. The fact that we have more freedom of movement now, does not mean that we can move freely as if COVID-19 did not exist.

COVID-19 is still with us and will be for the foreseeable future. So avoid gatherings, avoid mixing households, and avoid moving around unnecessarily.

The more we move around, the more we expose ourselves and others. The more people we have contact with, the more risk of contracting COVID or transmitting it to others.

So do not see the end of Shelter in Place as a green light to party. It is merely an amber light to proceed with caution… physically distant, masked and in small groups.

It’s probably worth noting that we are shifting our language from ‘social distance’ to ‘physical distance’.  This is to emphasize the protective measure that staying six feet or two meters apart offers in preventing COVID spread. Likewise, wearing a face mask and minimizing congregating and movement serve to create physical distance between people to prevent transmission.

The point is to be physically separated, not socially isolated. This is important as we move through our gradual phases of re-opening and transitioning to a new normal.

The Premier has already outlined the precise stipulations of how we will proceed in Phase 1 of the reopening…and hopefully everyone has had time to absorb that information and will abide by the restrictions. How will we know if you aren’t? Among other things, we would see a rise in hospital admissions for the virus or signs of community transmission, which the island has avoided so far. If this happens we would have to start looking at suppression measures, including recommending a return to shelter in place to bring COVID under control once again.

As we start to remove our movement limitations, I would like to remind the public that it is Vaccination Week in the Americas.

Unfortunately, we do not yet have an effective vaccine for COVID-19 and, until a vaccine for COVID19 is available, immunizations can and must be delivered by our health services alongside the response to COVID-19. Here’s why:

First, we must vaccinate to protect our health workers, the elderly and vulnerable populations from other respiratory infections, such as influenza and pneumococcus, which can lead to more hospitalizations and may be harder to diagnose in the context of COVID-19.

Second, if we fall behind on routine immunizations, particularly for children, we risk outbreaks, thus overwhelming hospitals and clinics with preventable diseases in addition to COVID-19.

The impact on our health systems would take months or even years to reverse. Remember, ICU capacity is among the factors that would determine if our hospital could cope if COVID-19 cases were to increase sharply.

COVID-19 is putting our health systems to the test. Going forward, the challenge is to ensure that our health systems deliver on our priority health programs, even while responding to COVID-19… which is why we also want to continue to encourage persons with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s) – such as diabetes, hypertension and COPD – to manage their conditions as much as they can so they do not end up in the emergency room.

In addition to physical distancing to prevent COVID, technology is going to be a big part of how stay informed and monitor our health. In this vein, I’m pleased to highlight the Bermuda Health Council’s establishment of an online health monitoring tool called HealthIQ.

The Health Council worked with young local talent, Gabriel Jones who is an 18 year old Saltus student, and a seasoned software engineer, Lee McArthur, to launch HealthIQ which will help us, as a community, to track symptoms based on COVID criteria. It will also provide users with individualized information and follow-up by professionals based on various risk factors (such as being medically vulnerable), and track trends and gaps so that we can better identify places where partners like donors and the Third Sector can focus resources. 

This data is very important as we plan for and transition from Phase I, to Phase II, Phase III, and Phase IV.  This data will make sure we are informed so that we do not skip vital steps in our recovery and are not forced to start back from square one.

By having this critical data, the Health Council will be able to support the Ministry’s Incident Command Team and the contact tracers in their work to identify and contact persons if they are feeling unwell and provide support and advice on what to do.  

HealthIQ will also provide the island with more insight into where potential cases of COVID-19 may be and give us a proactive way to address them… giving us tens of thousands of eyes so that we can all stay safe.  As we have seen in other countries such as South Korea, the more information known about the community, the better decisions the population can make about their movement and the public health measures they must adopt. 

We are asking that each household go to healthiq.bm and enter your information immediately and update it often. This is especially important as we all start to head out of our homes more.  We need all 64,000 represented in this data so all of our 64,000 can move forward. Give yourself and your community a better understanding of how we're all doing.

As I wrap up, I would like to remind all food businesses that are opening tomorrow that they must ensure that the premises are fully cleaned and pest-free before opening. A guidance note in this regard can be found at coronavirus.gov.bm.

In closing, I would like to remind you to continue with physical distancing (keep six feet between you and others), wear a mask in public places, practice respiratory hygiene, and wash your hands frequently with soap and water for no less than 20 seconds.

Thank you.