Government

Minister for the Cabinet Office Wayne Furbert said, “In July 2020 consumers paid 1.4 per cent less than they did for the CPI basket of goods and services in July 2019.” The Minister also explained, “Between June 2020 and July 2020 the average cost of all goods and services decreased 0.5 percentage points.”

Government House is pleased to announce that the VFS Global team will be returning to the island 3rd & 4th Novermber for all persons requiring biometric testing.

The online booking system is open for customers to book appointments for visas. Online applications can be found at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-

immigration.

Due to COVID – 19 restrictions we are unable to facilitate walk-in appointments.

Good afternoon,

I wanted to have this briefing today because I think it’s becoming critically important to reinforce some of the guidelines for large group gatherings and the approval process for such events. 

Additionally, we have seen a number of events and activities taking place over the last few months, and there has been concerns raised that individuals at these events are not following the appropriate guidelines. 

The Department of Marine and Ports Services is advising the public that the 2020/2021 winter ferry schedule will come into effect on Monday, November 2^nd 2020.

As a reminder, in an effort to provide adequate physical distancing when travelling on public ferries, available seating remains limited to 50% of normal capacity.

When boarding, a ferry boat crew member will provide hand sanitizer and announce when the seating capacity has been reached.

All passengers must wear a personal face mask when using any form of public transportation.

Between October 23, 24 and 25, there were 2,643 test results received by the Ministry of Health and three were positive for COVID-19. These cases are classified as imported and arrived on the following flights:

Following a weekend of violence which has tragically left one man dead and two men in hospital recovering from gun shot wounds, the Minister of National Security, Renee Ming offered the following.

The Ministry of Labour can advise that it was recently made aware of a group of Fairmont Southampton hotel workers due to receive their redundancy payments today, October 23, 2020, have assembled outside of the hotel after receiving communication from their employer informing them that their redundancy payments will be delayed. These events are most unfortunate, particularly in the current economic climate.

Recently, the Junior Minister of Labour, Senator Arianna Hodgson gave opening remarks in support of the employers and job-seekers at the Fairmont Southampton Career Fair. 

Held on Tuesday, 20 October, and organized by the Fairmont Southampton Talent and Culture Team, the event held exclusively for the former hotel staff, had over 10 employers participating and looking to hire additional staff.  

The Junior Minister met with employers and chatted with job-seekers about their plans, goals, and ambitions. 

Yesterday, there were 996 test results received by the Ministry of Health, and 2 were positive for COVID-19. The most recent cases are classified as imported having arrived on BA2233 from London on October 17^th  2020. Case isolation and contact tracing has begun. The cases are symptomatic residents who received a positive test result on their Day 4 test, having had a negative pre-departure test.  

Bermuda now has 190 total confirmed positive cases. Their status is as follows:

Hamilton, Bermuda, October 22, 2020 – Premier the Hon. E. David Burt, the Minister responsible for Tourism, today announced that MP Wayne Caines, will be the next Chair of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) Board of Directors, effective immediately. MP Caines replaces former Chair, hotelier Paul Telford, whose three-year Board term concluded this month. Kim Swan, MP for St George’s West, also joins the BTA Board.

The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming, JP, MP, provided the following update regarding Hurricane Epsilon.

Minister Ming said, “The Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) determined that a meeting wasn’t required today, however I can advise that we’ve been keeping a close eye on the forecast track of Hurricane Epsilon.

Yesterday, there were 588 test results received by the Ministry of Health, and none were positive for COVID-19. 

 Bermuda now has 188 total confirmed positive cases with status as follows:

• 4 active cases, who are
• all under public health monitoring, and
• none are hospitalized or in critical care;
• a total of 175 have recovered, and
• the total deceased remains 9.

The average age of all of our confirmed positive cases is 56 and the age range of all of our positive cases is from 9 to 101 years.

The third year of the Government’s Professional-Student Relationship Programme ended early due to the Coronavirus.  The custom completion ceremony to honour collaborators and participants was unable to proceed; however, the Government takes this opportunity to thank all those who helped contribute to this year’s programme.

Good afternoon,

As we have heard from Dr Guishard, Thursday evening and most of Friday will be windy with some strong guests. As such we do need to be mindful in our everyday business like riding bikes. 

The EMO have a tentative meeting planned for Thursday afternoon, in case Hurricane Epsilon veers towards Bermuda and we have to take immediate action. 

Good afternoon,

Earlier today, the Emergency Measures Organisation met to get the latest update on Hurricane Epsilon. Hurricane Epsilon continues to be a potential threat to Bermuda, but based on the latest forecast, this weather system is expected to be similar to what Bermuda experiences during a winter gale. 

The  Department of Parks is advising that due to the high surf conditions, from 1:00 pm today until further notice, the Lifeguard Service has temporarily ceased operations at Horseshoe Bay beach. 

High surf signs have been erected, and in the interest of safety, members of the public are urged to refrain from entering the water until the signs are removed. 

The public will be advised when Lifeguard Services will resume.  

The Department thanks the public for their cooperation and apologises for any inconvenience caused.

Yesterday, there were 649 test results received by the Ministry of Health, and none were positive for COVID-19. 

 Bermuda now has 188 total confirmed positive cases with status as follows:

• 5 active cases, who are
• all under public health monitoring, and
• none are hospitalized or in critical care;
• a total of 174 have recovered, and
• the total deceased remains 9.

The average age of all of our confirmed positive cases is 56 and the age range of all of our positive cases is from 9 to 101 years.

Good Afternoon Bermuda, and welcome members of the media.

Today, I am joined today by the Minister of Health who will be providing an update to the public on the latest from her Ministry including the most recent Coronavirus test results. Following that I will give an update on matters related to the Tourism, The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, and our recently concluded Tech Week. 

Minister of Health:

Thank you minister.

The Accountant General’s Offices (including the Cashiers’ Office) will be closing at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday October 22, 2020 to allow the staff to attend the funeral of one of their colleagues. 

The offices and cashiers will re-open on Friday, 23 October at 8:30 am.

Today, the Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo V. Rabain, JP, MP announced that Bermudian student, Katherine Grainge, is the recipient of a full scholarship to University of St. Andrews in Scotland.  Ms. Grainge is the first student to receive this prestigious scholarship made possible by the generous donation of long-time Bermuda resident, Mr. Chris Maybury and Mr. Karim Alibhai, founder and principal of GenCom. 

Today the Minister for the Cabinet Office the Hon. Wayne Furbert, JP, MP, released the July 2020 Retail Sales Index publication from the Department of Statistics (attached). 

The Minister of National Security, the Hon. Renee Ming, JP, MP, advised that she will chair an Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) Executive Meeting tomorrow to get the latest update on Tropical Storm Epsilon – which is forecast to become a hurricane on Thursday.

The Cabinet Office today advised that this year’s Remembrance Day observance will be a closed event. There will be no public admission to the Cabinet Office grounds and the following streets will be closed from 9:30am on 11 November:

• Front Street between Queen and King Streets.
• Parliament Street between Front and Reid Streets.
• Court Street between Front and Reid Streets.

Streets will reopen at the conclusion of the ceremony at around 12:00pm. 

The Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons. JP, MP, expressed her admiration for the commitment, dedication and hard work of the 29 volunteers that completed Mirrors two and a half-day volunteer life coach training over the weekend. The new programme entitled “Coaching For Success” (CFS) will provide additional support and resources to Bermuda’s youth.