Good Afternoon,

Today there were 903 test results received by the Ministry of Health, and none were positive for COVID-19.

Bermuda has had 168 total confirmed positive cases. Their status is as follows:

• 151 have recovered, and
• there are 8 active cases, who are
• all under active public health monitoring;
• none are hospitalized or in critical care, and
• the total deceased remains at 9.

The average age of all of our confirmed positive cases is 58 and the age range of all of our positive cases is from 18 to 101 years.

The source of all local cases is as follows:

• 61 are Imported
• 86 are Local transmission, with known contact
• 19 are Local transmission with an unknown contact, and
• 2 are under investigation

Bermuda’s country status remains “Sporadic Cases”. The seven-day average of our real time reproduction number is less than 1.
As I announced last week, the Cabinet reviewed the traveller requirements for passengers arriving in Bermuda without a valid pre-departure test….

….And, as of Tuesday this week, any travellers arriving in Bermuda without a pre-departure test will now be required to test on arrival and quarantine for at least eight days. They will require a negative test result after day 8 to be released from quarantine. This means they will not have to do a day 4 test.

Importantly, the pre-departure test must be taken in the country from which you are departing – that is, a test taken in Bermuda will never count as a pre-departure test to return to Bermuda.

As I have said previously, we actively encourage residents to avoid non-essential travel at this time. But if you must travel, it is best to get a pre-departure test before you come back. This will keep you safe and prevent the mandatory 8-day quarantine on your return.

I also want to highlight a further update on the guidance with regards to workplace recommendations for Medium exposure risk jobs, for those who return to work after travel.

This risk level may apply to workers who have frequent and close contact with the people in high-population-density work environments, or tasks that require close and frequent contact between co-workers or between members of the public. Examples of this type of work include:

• Schools, day care centres/providers and camps (applies to both workers and attendees)
• Retail stores
• Construction
• Police
• Public transport
• And Gyms (applies to both workers and attendees)

Our Travel Policy Recommendation is that ideally employees should not return to work until they receive their 14-day test results. Employees should work remotely if possible.

If this is not possible, employees should at least wait for their day 8 test result.

The employee must comply with testing and quarantine requirements, wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and keep a physical distance of six feet from others.

For more information, please view the Safe Return to Work after Travel Guidance at coronavirus.gov.bm.

I quickly want to touch on what we are calling “Mobile quarantine”…which is the period between when travellers are released from self-quarantine after their day 14 test results.

Those under mobile quarantine should follow these ten requirements:

1. Do not attend events with large groups (e.g. weddings, parties, family gatherings);
2. Keep their social bubble small, if at all;
3. Exercise outside and not in a gym or sports club or team;
4. Keep away from crowded places;
5. Wear a mask in all public places;
6. Wash your hands regularly;
7. Stay six feet from others;
8. Choose activities that are outdoors;
9. Stay out of closed spaces with poor ventilation;
10. And do not visit elderly or immunocompromised friends or family.

And, finally, in the wake of the most recent cases, there have been some questions raised about what constitutes a ‘close contact’. I will try and provide some clarity around that point for you now…

When a positive case of COVID-19 is identified in the community, the Ministry of Health begin a process known as ‘Contact Tracing’ to determine who that person may have been in contact with and may have infected. A person can be either a ‘close contact’ or a ‘casual contact’.

'Close contact' means:

• Spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within six feet of an infected person in any setting;
• Living in the same house or shared accommodation as an infected person;
• Sitting within 2 seats of an infected person, in any direction, on an airplane.

'Casual contact' means:

• Spending less than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within six feet of an infected person in any setting;
• Being in the same room as with an infected person for less than 2 hours;
• Being on an airplane with an infected person but not sitting near them.

Spending more than 2 hours in a closed space (such as an office of classroom) with an infected person can be either a close contact or a casual contact, depending on the circumstances. Whether it is classified as ‘casual’ or ‘close’ contact will depend on the size of the room and other factors. Health officials will let you know if you are at risk or not.
If you are a close contact of a case you must complete a 14 day quarantine and should under no circumstances attend testing sites during that period, or leave your home-quarantine. Remember that a breach in quarantine is an offence. Close contacts do not get tested on days 4 and 8 like travellers. Rather, they are tested on day 14 at a location designated by the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.

Furthermore, employers of persons who are close contacts cannot require employees to test during their quarantine period, or in excess of the instructions given by the Ministry of Health Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit. To be clear: employers cannot request the breaking of quarantine for additional testing from their employees who are close contacts of a case.

During these 14 days of quarantine, a case manager will phone you to monitor any symptoms you may have. If you develop any symptoms of coronavirus, call your GP.  You'll usually find out if you are a close contact because you will be notified by the Ministry of Health contact tracing team.
If you are a casual contact you should make sure you know the symptoms of coronavirus and be aware that you may develop them. You do not need to restrict your movement. If you develop symptoms of coronavirus, you will need to self-isolate and phone your GP straight away to get a test for coronavirus.

It is important to note that persons who are close contacts of a case should not book their own COVID-19 test appointments…nor should they attend pop-up testing, as it disrupts the processing of test results. Persons who are a close contact should follow the guidance given to them individually by the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.

In addition, I would like to remind everyone that with three cases of sporadic local transmission our guard needs to be up. None of us can be complacent at this time. Bermuda and the world are still experiencing a pandemic and, without the precautions we all know – mask wearing, physical distancing and hand-washing – one case can easily multiply and spread.

For this reason, as we continue to live our daily lives in this “new normal”, we have to accept that we are not back to normal – and neither are many health services. With the return to school, this will definitely impact some of the services usually provided by Department of Health staff who now have to be utilized to control and contain COVID-19. We ask for your patience in this matter… ultimately, if there is an outbreak, we will have no schools at all. So we have to use our manpower to ensure schools and the economy can remain open, safely.

Finally, before closing, I must highlight that while we are seeing excellent compliance by the public in many settings, this is not the case across the board. Our reopening indicators for mask-wearing and physical distancing remain on Red – under 79% compliance, meaning that people are taking unnecessary risks. We see this especially at private events and on boats. I’m sure many of you would have seen the video footage of the raft-up last week-end, which was truly a petri-dish for COVID-19 transmission. Had one person been positive, everyone on that raft-up would now be quarantined and unable to work.

Unfortunately, for this reason, we will be amending the Public Health regulations to limit raft-ups to a maximum of 3 boats. And I remind the public that physical distancing is required on commercial boats – or ‘party boats’ – as well as on private boats if households are mixed.

We need our reopening indicators on Green now more than ever. So please practice prevention and report on HealthIQ.

I end by reminding us all to avoid the 3 Cs: closed spaces, crowded spaces and close-contact settings. And wear your masks, always.

Stay safe, Bermuda, and thank You.