Government

We started 2020 with worrying news. News of people we did not know; suffering in cities most of us had never heard of. When sometimes it seems like there is so much going wrong in the world, speaking personally, it can be all too easy to disengage. If there is one thing that 2020 has taught us, it is just how connected we all are and just how much we benefit from those connections. 

Earlier this week, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Sports, Dr. the Hon. Ernest Peets, JP, visited the newly refurbished basketball courts at Shelly Bay and Olive Bank, also know as the Jones’ Village Community Field.

Minister Peets commended the collaboration between the Department of Youth Sports and Recreation and the MoonGate Group for making the project a reality. 

Good Day Members of the Media,

There were 1257 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and none were positive for COVID-19. 

30 cases have recovered since the last update.

Bermuda continues to have 553 total confirmed positive cases. Their status is as follows.

The Minister of Health the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP today issued the following statement:

Good Evening Bermuda: 

Last week Friday, the impact of the island-wide outage went far beyond the loss of electricity. Government is aware and sensitive to the fact that many businesses lost revenue as a result of their forced closure which also had an adverse effect on their staff who would have also lost wages as well.  

This unforeseen occurrence has undoubtedly added to the current hardships being experienced by all residents, businesses and employees, due to the pandemic. The Government empathizes with all who were affected.

Good Afternoon,

There were 1000 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and six were positive for COVID-19. 

Three of the new cases are classified as imported – all were residents with pre-arrival tests who arrived on BA2233 from London on 16 December 2020 and testing positive on their day 4 test.

One of the new cases is classified as local transmission with known contact/source as associated with a known case. 

Good evening Bermuda, and welcome members of the media.

I am joined today by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Walter Roban and the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming. My colleagues will provide an update from their respective ministries. Following that, I will give an update on matters related to the coronavirus.

Minister of Health.

Thank you Premier. 

This evening, I will touch on matters to do with the Department of Corrections, the Bermuda Police Service, the Royal Bermuda Regiment, the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, and the Customs Department. 

First and foremost I wish to extend my appreciation to all of our officers in these Departments, as well as to the Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation (DRRM) Team, who under very strained conditions ensured that our emergency services continued operating during the island-wide blackout last Friday.

The Ministry of Public Works wishes to inform the public that the ongoing embankment repair works on Harbour Road in the vicinity of Burnt House Hill and Tamarind Vale will be extended into the New Year – January 29^th, 2021.

The lane closure will be extended through to Friday – January 29^th, 2021.  Working hours will continue from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm week days.

Traffic controls will be under direction of the Ministry of Public Works representatives and will be managed through traffic control signals & signage.

There were 3008 test results received by the Ministry of Health over the weekend and 20 were positive for COVID-19. 

Seven of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact/source as associated with known cases/clusters.

The remaining new cases are classified as under investigation. These cases are among residents with no currently identified links to other known cases or clusters or history of travel in the past 14 days. Additionally, 11 cases have recovered since the last update.

In view of the U.K. Government announcement on Tier 4 and specifically relating to Bermudians in the U.K. involving their travel, the London Office is advising as below.

The Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, JP, MP met with the Education Emergency Measures Committee (EEMC) to review plans for reopening public schools in the New Year.

Following the meeting, the EEMC agreed to commence term two remotely. 

The Department of Parks reminds the public that access to the new Railway Trail Bridge over Flatt’s Inlet remains off-limits to the general public as the area is a construction site and installation of the bridge is not complete.

The Friends of the Bermuda Railway Trail have erected scaffolding to access the bridge and install the bridge deck planks. This access is restricted to the site volunteers and workers ONLY.

Three of Bermuda’s pioneering artists will be recognized for their body of work when they will be presented with the Bermuda Arts Council Awards 2020 this weekend.

The Awards will be broadcast on CITV (One ch. 2 / WOW ch. 102) this evening, Sunday, December 20 at 6.00 p.m.

Last week, (December 15), the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs hosted the 2020 Holiday Heartbeats Concert, which took place on the steps of City Hall.

The event featured musical performances by local performing artists and brought the cheer of holiday music to the City of Hamilton. Recognising the Covid-19 pandemic and necessary restrictions, all public health protocols were maintained to ensure a safe, yet joyous occasion could take place and fill the air with seasonal music during the lunch hour.

Good evening, 

There were 1374 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and 11 were positive for COVID-19. 

Three of the new cases are classified as imported. This includes one resident and two non-residents who arrived on BA 2233 from London on the 13 December 2020 and tested positive on their day 4 test

Three of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact/source as associated with a known cases/clusters.

Today, the Minister of Education, Hon Diallo Rabain, JP, MP officially launched a consultation on the introduction of parish primary schools.

Minister Rabain explained, “In response to community calls for change in education, the Government of Bermuda has developed a profound and powerful vision and plan to change education.  These efforts are holistic in nature.  Therefore as a community, we must also consider taking a different approach to primary school education and how primary schools are organized.”

Good evening.

There were 1271 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and 19 were positive for COVID-19. 

One of the new cases is classified as imported – a resident who arrived on DL 617 from Atlanta on 16 December 2020 and tested positive on their arrival test

Nine of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact/source as associated with a known cases/clusters.

The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming advised this morning that the Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation (DRRM) Team is currently monitoring the island wide power outage.

Good evening Bermuda,

I wish to begin by speaking to matters to do with the Department of Corrections. This evening, the Ministry of National Security can advise that there are confirmed positive Covid-19 cases within the Department of Corrections. I can also confirm that all persons have been tested. 

The positive cases have been isolated and I can assure the community that all of the necessary health protocols and recommendations are being followed in accordance with guidance from the Department of Health.

Good evening Bermuda,

I wish to begin by speaking to matters to do with the Department of Corrections. This evening, the Ministry of National Security can advise that there are confirmed positive Covid-19 cases within the Department of Corrections. I can also confirm that all persons have been tested. 

The positive cases have been isolated and I can assure the community that all of the necessary health protocols and recommendations are being followed in accordance with guidance from the Department of Health.

Good evening Bermuda, and welcome to the members of the media.

I am joined today by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, who will be providing an update on the latest from her Ministry. Following the Minister of Health will be the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming who will give an update from her ministry. 

Following Minister Ming, I will discuss the decisions of the Cabinet meeting which took place on Tuesday, and support that will be given to those employees and businesses who have been negatively affected. 

Minister of Health.

Good Afternoon,

There were 1397 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and 12 were positive for COVID-19. 

One of the new cases is classified as local transmission with known contact as associated with a known case.

The remaining new cases are classified as under investigation. These cases are among residents with no currently identified links to other known cases or clusters or history of travel in the past 14 days.

Additionally, 6 cases have recovered since the last update.

This year, in lieu of a Christmas party Premier, the Hon E. David Burt, JP, MP, will give 250 toys to the Department of Financial Assistance and Child and Family Services for children in need. Toys and gifts were generously were purchased from the Peoples Pharmacy and the Annex Store. Both of these establishments kindly extended generous discounts for this initiative. The Premier was joined today at the gift presentation by Senator Lindsay Simmons, who assisted in procuring the gifts, as well as Ms.

Good Afternoon – welcome to Darrell’s Wharf where I am joined by the Executive Director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, Mrs. Erica Smith and the Acting Chief Engineer, Mr. Tariq Christopher to expand on the Short Term Stimulus Programme, including its methodology and tendering process and contract award to a maximum value of BMD $13,385,000.

Good evening.

There were 1208 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and 18 were positive for COVID-19. 

Two of the new cases are classified as imported, testing positive on their arrival test,  having arrived on DL 584 from Atlanta on 14 December 2020, and both having negative pre-arrival tests

Two of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact/source as associated with known cases/clusters.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for joining us today.

Bermuda certainly has seen our challenges recently with the increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19. I would like to commend the team at the Ministry of Health and all of their stakeholder partners and front line workers for the significant work they are doing to stop the spread of the coronavirus here, and keep this island safe.

In my remarks today, I will cover three areas. They are as follows:

·         The Government’s new Unemployment Benefit;

Good day to members of the media and the listening public. 

I am joined here today by the Minister of Finance and Erica Smith, Executive Director of the BEDC.

Introduction

In today’s press conference I will provide an update on two (2) areas:

1. Work From Bermuda Statistics and Renewals for the 2^nd Year;
2. Department of Workforce Development Programme Updates. 

1. Work From Bermuda Statistics and Renewals for the 2^nd Year

The Department of Public Transportation (DPT) is pleased to advise the public that the bus service will resume daily operations tomorrow (17 December).

The Ministry of Health undertook a risk assessment and is satisfied with the workplace protocols in place at DPT.

This confirmation and the enhanced department protocols allow for a safe return of the public bus service.

The Hon. W. Lawrence Scott, JP, MP, The Minister of Transport  

Good day members of the media and the listening public, thank you for joining us here today. 

Many of you will be familiar with the Bermuda Road Safety Council and the Bermuda Water Safety Council’s efforts over the years to raise public awareness and improve how people use and travel on Bermuda roads and waterways. Since the two organizations inception, while they have always shared similar objectives, they have always operated independently. 

The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming offered the following in the wake of several “concerning incidences” which have occurred in the East End recently.

Good evening.

There were 1043 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update and 11 were positive for COVID-19. 

Three of the new cases are classified as imported, all testing positive on their arrival test, with details as follows

§  1 resident who arrived on DL 584 from Atlanta on 13 December 2020 with no pre-test

§  1 non-resident who arrived on BA 2233 from London on 13 December 2020 – *airline crew with no pre-test

§  1 resident who arrived on BA2233 from London on 13 December 2020 with a negative pre-test

The Department of Public Transportation (DPT) wishes to advise the public that the bus service remains suspended pending advice from the Ministry of Health. 

The Customs Department recognizes that the 2020 holiday season is an extraordinarily busy time, with residents importing courier packages from abroad in record numbers. In that regard, Customs is encouraging the public’s patience as it works to clear packages for residents and courier services.

The Department understands the public’s eagerness to have their packages cleared as swiftly and as efficiently as possible.