Government

Good Afternoon Members of the Media and the people of Bermuda,

Today I am joined by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson and the Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, as we elaborate on the statements made in the House of Assembly today regarding the updates to COVID-19 public health regulations, schools moving to Phase 2, and items pertaining to our borders and tourism.

We will soon hear from the Minister of Health on the updates to the public health regulations, followed by the Minister of Education regarding schools.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to provide an update on work of the Ministry of National Security in addressing gang violence. Specifically I will address some of the root causes, our existing gang violence reduction programmes, proposed programmes and our multi Ministry approach.

Mr Speaker,

This morning I rise before this Honourable House to lay the Bermuda College 2020-2021 Annual Report and its 2021 Audited Financial Statements, as required under Section 8 (2) of the Bermuda College Act 1974. I will also report on the Government’s $300,000 annual grant and the College Promise Merit Award programme, both of which are provided as financial support for students to attend Bermuda College.

Mr Speaker,

Mr Speaker,

I rise this morning in this Honourable House to provide an update on the on-going impact of COVID-19 in our schools and the preventative measures that have been put in place in both our public and our private schools to keep our children safe.

Mr Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Transport, acknowledges the sobering fact that 16 lives have been lost to road traffic accidents in 2021 – I extend my condolences to the families and friends that are grieving the untimely loss of a loved one.

Mr. Speaker, with only a few weeks to go until Christmas, holiday parties will be taking place, which is why the Bermuda Road Safety Council’s (RSC) slogan for December is – Designate YOUR Driver!

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members,

This time last year, I provided this House with an update on COVID-19 public health guidance. At the time, we had about 270 confirmed positive cases and one or two people in hospital. That was the beginning of our second wave.

As I speak to you today, with our fourth wave dwindling, we have had 5730 confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than 300 hospitalisations and, sadly, 106 COVID-10 related deaths in the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to provide the House with an update on the present critical status of the Tynes Bay facility.

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago on November 10^th, in a press conference, I spoke of the critical state of Tynes Bay and our need to invest heavily for it not to fail. This morning, I will give an update of the ongoing battle the engineers and technicians at Tynes Bay are waging to get the plant back up and running – and the serious challenges we are all facing in terms of the island’s ability to dispose of its waste.

The Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, Dr. the Hon. Ernest Peets, advised today that Large Group Exemptions will continue to require the use of SafeKey at indoor and outdoor events.

Flexibility will be permitted for specific populations engaged in an antigen testing regime. 

However, in general spectators and guests will continue to require SafeKey at all large gatherings.

The Ministry stressed that Sport Large Group Exemptions will continue with the antigen testing regime for the sports group as detailed in the Return to Sport Guidance.

 As part of the Government of Bermuda’s Energy Transition Projects, which include the transition of the Public Bus Fleet to zero-emission vehicles, the Ministry of Transport recently hosted an E-Mobility Summit. The Department of Energy and RMI facilitated the virtual event for local and regional stakeholders from the public and private sectors on 22 September, 2021.

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 4528 test results, and six were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 0.1%.

These results are from testing done on:

·Sunday: 3 positive out of 1592 results (0.2% positivity)

·Monday: 0 positive out of 1679 results (0.0% positivity)

·Tuesday: 3 positive out of 1257 results (0.2% positivity)

Three of the new cases are classified as imported with a history of travel in the previous 14 days.

Good morning Bermuda,

With the Christmas Holidays fast approaching, I am joined this morning by Assistant Collector of Customs, Mr.Richard Amos, to highlight some of the processes and regulations for importing goods into Bermuda. These reminders will assist the public in ensuring that they receive their packages with minimal delays.

A high volume of items will be imported into Bermuda overthe next few weeks leading up to Christmas. The Customs Department would like customers to exercise patience as their items are processed.

Today, November 25th, the Ministry of Social Development and Seniors acknowledges the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Minister, the Hon. Tinee Furbert, JP, MP, expressed, “Violence against women and girls is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. Globally, it is estimated that 736 million, which represents 1 in 3 women, have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner violence in their lifetime.”

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

I stand before you today to provide an update on the Economic Investment Certificate (EIC) program.

It is with great pleasure that I announce that in the eight months since the launch of this initiative on March 1st, 2021, the total investment of EIC holders in Bermuda is over 39.5 million dollars ($39,541,923.94), which includes $14.3 injected into the economy from real estate purchases made this year.  This is a significant and positive result, and we have not even reached the one year mark yet.

“A giant of the Caribbean Region,” remarked Premier David Burt today after news of the passing of Sir James Mitchell,  former Prime Minister of St. Vincent & The Grenadines. “Born in Bequia, Sir James was a proud Vincentian and a man who led the Island nation as Prime Minister from 1984-2000.”

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 5,606 test results and 9 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 0.2%. 

These results are from testing done on:

• Thursday: 8 positive out of 2,192 results (0.4% positivity)
• Friday: 0 positive out of 1,985 results (0.0% positivity)
• Saturday: 1 positive out of 1,429 results (0.1% positivity)

Six (6) of the new cases are classified as imported with history of travel in the previous 14 days.

Good day to members of the media and the listening public. Thank you for your attendance and for watching this Press Conference.

Last week, I announced that the Government would introduce a Bill to facilitate renewable energy technology developers testing their products in Bermuda. I stated, “This legislation will lay the groundwork for additional investment in Bermuda, whose innovation can reduce the cost of electricity for local consumers.”