Good Afternoon,

Between Sunday and today there were 335 test results received by the Ministry of Health; and one was positive for COVID-19.

Bermuda has 141 total confirmed positive cases. Their status is as follows:

• there are now 20 active cases, of which
• 12 persons are under active public health monitoring, and
• 8 persons are hospitalized
• There are currently no COVID-19 cases in critical care
• a total of 112 have now recovered, and
• the total deceased remains 9.

The average age of all of our confirmed positive cases is 61 and the age range of all of our positive cases is from 18 to 101 years.

The average age of persons hospitalized is 78 and their age ranges from 66 to 91 years.

The average age of all deceased cases is 74 and the age range is 57 to 91 years.

In terms of the race breakdown: 57% of all cases are Black, 40% are white and 4% are other or unknown.

The source of all local cases is as follows:

• 41 are Imported
• 84 are Local transmission, with known contact
• 11 are Local transmission with an unknown contact, and
• 5 are under investigation

Bermuda’s country status remains “Local Transmission – Cluster of Cases”. The seven-day average of our real time reproduction number is 0.60.

Today I’m pleased to announce the launch of our reopening indicators. These indicators will inform the public and the Government on how we are doing as a country towards our gradual reopening, and whether it is safe to move to the next phase.

The indicators include both outcome measures such as the number of daily cases and hospitalizations, but also, importantly and in alignment with WHO standards, they include preventive behaviours by the public and health system capacity to manage an outbreak. They will be reported with an easy to read traffic-light system to inform the community how we are doing.

The indicators comprise 11 individual measures which are grouped into 4 categories, as follows:

• Preventive behaviours are about wearing a face mask, practicing good physical distancing and the adoption of technology. We are using HealthIQ to inform these behavioural metrics.
• Capacity is about the country’s testing capacity and critical PPE supplies. This is critical to assess our readiness to manage COVID.
• Transmission is about our WHO country classification, the proportion of cases linked to known clusters, our reproduction rate and the number of daily new cases; and lastly
• Hospitalization reports on the number of hospitalized cases and those in critical care.

The reopening indicators will be updated once or twice a week and the enable all of us to participate in our state of readiness for the next phase.

The holiday weekend resulted in more socializing and congregation than we have had in months, and I’m pleased that overall Bermuda was on her best behavior.  Of course, there were some incidents that attracted complaints and enforcement was appropriately deployed. The situations were dealt with swiftly by Police and Regiment. But overall, most people are following the rules and simply seeking more clarity about what can and can’t be done.

I have to reiterate that the importance of physical distancing and wearing a mask are fundamental. This is the new normal. Life will not be the same for quite a long time, so let’s embrace it and help each other stay accountable.

Bermuda can take great pride in the way the majority of residents have embraced responsible actions that make us safer as a community and have kept COVID-19 spread down. These actions have saved lives.

Remember to avoid the three ‘Cs’:

• Closed places with poor ventilation
• Crowded places with many people nearby, and
• Close-contact settings such as close range conversations

Try to stay six feet apart from others. And if you must be within a six-feet range, always wear a mask and avoid getting any closer than three feet

Your mask should be worn in any closed space, like a store, a bus or taxi. And it should cover your nose and mouth fully. Evidence around the world has shown that countries where mask-wearing is consistent, have fared better with COVID-19.

Remember that it only takes one infected person to cause an outbreak… and an outbreak can put vulnerable persons at greatest risk.

Wearing a face mask in public places, and keeping six feet apart from others will keep us all safe, but most of all, the persons in our community who are most vulnerable.

I also want to remind the public about the current directives for the retail industry regarding deliveries…

A person making a delivery should telephone ahead to ensure that the delivery can be received.

A person making a delivery to a private residence should leave the goods outside the customer’s door and telephone or otherwise inform the customer that the delivery has been made.

Where it’s necessary for a delivery person to enter a private residence, this can only occur if there is not ongoing isolation or quarantine there. In those cases no entry is allowed.

When entry is permissible, strict precautions are to be followed. These include questioning the residents to ensure that no one on the property is showing any symptoms of COVID-19 and strict physical distancing and mask-wearing by residents and delivery persons.

A person making a delivery shall not require a customer to sign for receipt of a delivery and every effort should be taken to reduce the time spent within the residence.

A person making a delivery must comply with all further directions of the Minister of Health regarding cleaning, sanitization, use of personal protective equipment and other precautions to be taken before, during and after deliveries, as published on the website coronavirus.gov.bm.

If a person making deliveries does not comply with these requirements, the Minister of National Security may order that person to stop making deliveries.

More generally, I would like to remind the public that there is abundant guidance on the website, which is extremely helpful. We get a lot of queries about what can and cannot be done; what is open and what isn’t. I invite everyone to refer to the Closures Schedule online, which details exactly what is open, what the general rules are for each setting, and the things we can’t do yet. Go to coronavirus.gov.bm on the “Resources” tab under ‘Guidance’.

I also want to remind everyone of the importance of testing, particularly for front-line persons who have a lot of interaction with the public such as beauticians, hospitality and retail. Please take advantage of the testing opportunities. There are openings to book at the Southside drive-through on Thursday 10am to 7pm; and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 1pm. Ge tested.

Finally, I want to add a quick closing note regarding the use of masks by children. I have heard of situations recently where some well-meaning parents have put masks on very young babies. Please don’t do this; it is dangerous. Children under 2 should not wear masks.

Children aged 2 to 10 should only wear masks for brief periods of time; such as when at the grocery store or other retail stores. Masks are not to be used by children aged 2 to 10 for prolonged periods of time, such as in daycare or school settings. Children in this age group are prone to fiddling with their masks and not removing or wearing them correctly; which can actually unwittingly spread the virus.

Nevertheless, for older children and adults, we all need to get accustomed to the new normal and wear our face masks any time we are out in public, particularly in places where congregation occurs and in enclosed spaces. It’s a simple rule: if you are interacting with anyone who is not in your household and you are within six feet of each other, wear your mask.

Thank You, Bermuda, and stay safe.