Government

The Department of Planning is pleased to announce the next phase of our file management system ‘Energov’. The Department successfully went live with the first phase of this paperless system in August 2019.

Director of Planning, Victoria Pereira said, “Energov has provided the Department with a platform to streamline many of our services and provide user-friendly options for customers.

Good day, 

Today, the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming is reminding the community that the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) is currently accepting applications for its upcoming recruit camp.

The Ministry of Health has been informed that there are social media posts currently circulating with misinformation about the Vaccination Centre accepting walk-ins for the COVID-19 vaccine.

A ministry spokesperson stated, “This is absolutely not true. Vaccinations are being given in accordance with the ministry’s Vaccine Allocation Strategy which has been shared with the media, and posted online.”

“Vaccinations are only given to residents who have a confirmed appointment and the Vaccination Centre is NOT OPEN to walk-in traffic.”

Good Evening Bermuda, I am pleased to share with you about how the COVID-19 vaccine works, how it was fast-tracked, and the first viral genome sequencing data.

As we all know, Bermuda’s COVID-19 vaccination program started yesterday, after vaccines arrived on island last Friday.

How the mRNA vaccine works

Good Evening Bermuda,

Apologies for the late start this evening. Yesterday, our island reached a significant milestone in our fight against the Coronavirus with the vaccination programme getting underway here in Bermuda.

The Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, the Opposition Leader Mr. Cole Simons, the Government’s Science Advisor Dr. Carika Weldon, seniors, essential workers and I received our first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Good Afternoon,

There were 813 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and five were positive for COVID-19. All of the new cases are classified as imported with details as follows:

§  1 resident who arrived on Delta 584 from Atlanta on 6 January 2021 and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  2 residents who arrived on Jet Blue 62231 from New York on 10 January 2021 and tested positive on their arrival test

§  2 residents who arrived on American Airlines 308 from Miami on 10 January 2021 and tested positive on their arrival test

The Ministry of Public Works reminds the public that Christmas tree collection will be held on Saturday January 16^th and Saturday January 23^rd.  

The public is advised to adhere to the following Christmas Tree collection schedule:

Today, the Minister of Labour released the following statement on the impact of two critical pieces of legislation to the Bermuda labour force:

• The Employment Amendment Act 2020; and
• The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2020.

The overarching aim of the Ministry of Labour is the expansion of jobs within Bermuda. In order to ensure that this is achieved, the legislative framework in place must be up to date, comprehensive and fair.

The Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, JP MP has today provided an update on the plans for Education Reform, Virtual School Open Houses and school registration.  

Minister Rabain stated, “The Government is undertaking Education Reform, however, there will be no closure of any schools for September 2021 and preschool, primary, middle and senior school registration is scheduled for later this month and in early February. 

Good day, 

There were 1427 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and four were positive for COVID-19.  Two of the new cases are classified as imported. One of the new imported cases is a non-resident who arrived on DL 584 from Atlanta on 4 January 2021, and tested positive on day four. The other new imported case is a resident who arrived on DL 617 from New York on 8 January 2021, and tested positive on their arrival test.

Editor admits error and has changed story online and will issue a correction in tomorrow’s printed edition

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming.

Many will all be aware that the public schools are scheduled to resume this week Wednesday, 13 January. 

In preparation for this, the Department of Public Transportation (DPT) has been working with the Bermuda Minibus Association (BMA) to arrange transportation for public school students. 

Good day,

We apologize for the delays being experienced as persons try to get through to the vaccine registration number. Our team is working extremely hard to answer as many calls as possible and we ask for you to be patient.

Alternatively, we ask that you send an email to: vaccine@gov.bm with the subject: Registration Data.

You must include the following information:

Name

DOB: day/month/year

Full Address

Phone (Cell/Home)

Email

Occupation

A Ministry of Health spokesperson provided details of events that will take place as the first COVID-19 vaccinations are administered in Bermuda. “There will be two vaccination events taking place tomorrow, Monday 11 January 2020.

“The first will take place at 10am at the newly created Vaccination Centre, with people who be the first recipients of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine which arrived in Bermuda on Friday evening. Dr. Heather Armstrong, Senior Medical Officer will discuss the vaccination processes in place at the Centre.

All public schools will reopen for in-class learning on Wednesday, 13th January 2021. 

The decision was made by the Education Emergency Measures Committee (EEMC) at a meeting held yesterday.

A spokesperson for the EEMC said, “Bermuda Public school buildings are operational and prepared for the return of staff and students. Remote learning will stop and schools will function under normal schools hours and operate in strict adherence to the public health guidelines.”

All public schools will reopen for in-class learning on Wednesday, 13th January 2021. 

The decision was made by the Education Emergency Measures Committee (EEMC) at a meeting held yesterday.

A spokesperson for the EEMC said, “Bermuda Public school buildings are operational and prepared for the return of staff and students. Remote learning will stop and schools will function under normal schools hours and operate in strict adherence to the public health guidelines.”

Good day, 

There were 886 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and six were positive for COVID-19.  One of the new cases is classified as imported by a resident who arrived on DL 584 from Atlanta on 7 January 2021 and tested positive on their arrival test.

The remaining five new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact as they are associated with known cases.

Additionally, since the last update, 11 cases have recovered.

There are currently 89 active cases, of which;

Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, JP, MP, this evening announced the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has arrived on the British Airways flight from London.

Minister Wilson stated, “The first shipment for 9,750 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived, as scheduled, on the British Airways flight. The Department of Customs paperwork has been completed and the vaccine is being immediately taken to a secure storage facility.”

The Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, Dr. the Hon. Ernest Peets, JP, is today highlighting the success of award-winning Bermudian author Mrs. Florenz Webbe Maxwell. 

Minister Peets said, “On behalf of this Government, I called Mrs. Maxwell to extend heartfelt congratulations on the continued success of her book Girlcott.”

Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns, stated, “I join the many people who have paid tribute to our colleague and friend, Financial Secretary, Anthony Manders. He was an outstanding financial advisor to Premiers and Ministers. He had the unique ability to clearly explain complex financial matters to non-financial people. As a part of the Public Service Executive, he was able to bluntly communicate key financial points to his colleagues, moving us to action.  

Today, the Finance Minister and Premier paid tribute to the late Anthony Manders, the Financial Secretary to the Government of Bermuda.

“Anthony was a truly dedicated public servant who always focused on delivering for the people of Bermuda. His role as the Financial Secretary was an important one, and he took this responsibility seriously,” said the Minister of Finance, the Hon Curtis L. Dickinson.

There were 781 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and five were positive for COVID-19.  One of the new cases is classified as imported by a resident who arrived on BA 2233 from London on 1 January 2021 and tested positive on their day four test.

The remaining four new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact as they are associated with known cases.

Additionally, since the last update, seven cases have recovered and sadly one has died.

There are currently 91 active cases, of which;

The Ministry of Public Works wishes to inform motorists and pedestrians that there will be a lane closure taking place on South Road near the Paget Traffic Lights for repairs to the road side wall.

The lane closure will be on the Westbound Lane on South Road and will take place on Tuesday 12^th January and Wednesday 13^th January, 2021 between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm.

As Bermuda prepares for the arrival of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Ministry of Health held a dry run vaccination exercise on 5 January 2021.

The exercise provided an opportunity for the Department of Health and partner agencies to conduct a test run of the documentation and vaccination process of those who choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Post-exercise debriefings were held yesterday morning, 6 January, to evaluate the exercise and determine what worked well and the changes that need to be made.

As we enter into 2021, sadly the Bermuda Road Safety Council and our community are saddened to hear of the first road fatality of the year and we send our most heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Oronde Wilson Jr.

January is a time of new beginnings and a fresh start. Many in our community and the world over are looking to reset and start over after a challenging year. In doing so, we should all take time to think and consider how we can be and do better on our roads.