Bermuda News Updates

Voters who turn out for the General Election on Thursday will have “an extra layer of protection” from Covid-19, a Government spokeswoman said today.Saliva tests for the coronavirus will be offered by the Ministry of Health for officials employed by the Parliamentary Registrar, as well as election candidates, tonight and tomorrow night.Opening hours at the Perot Post office test centre on Queen Street in Hamilton will be extended from 6pm to 9pm both nights to allow tests to be carried out

Bermuda will get “guaranteed access” to Covid-19 vaccines when they become available, it was revealed this evening.Kim Wilson, the health minister, said the Bermuda Government had entered a contractual commitment that could deliver vaccines for 20 per cent of the population when an approved vaccine against the coronavirus strain arrived.She said the island would have access to approved vaccines through the British Government as well.The news came as the island’s Covid-19 count remain

The Bermuda Government will give an update on Covid-19 at a press conference today.It will take place at the Government’s AB Place media room at 5.45pm.The Royal Gazette will provide a live video on this page.

The public was today asked to “be kind” to friends, colleagues and even themselves as part of a campaign designed to boost mental health.The Bermuda Hospitals Board, through the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, will mark Mental Health Awareness Week from Sunday.Kindness will be the theme of the campaign and MWI will highlight its connection to good mental health.A BHB spokeswoman said: “While we all know that when someone is kind to us it makes us feel good, research now shows that i

Police officers have reached an “amicable agreement” with the Government after months of negotiations. The deal between the Bermuda Police Association and the Government negotiating team over pay and other cuts forced by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has still to be ratified.But Emmerson Carrington, the chairman of the BPA, said: “The BPA is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement in principle with the Bermuda Government.”This agreement sees the BPA accepting

British Airways will switch its Bermuda service from London Gatwick airport to London Heathrow from the end of March.The airline will fly Boeing 777s on the route, and the travel time from Heathrow to Bermuda is expected to be seven hours and 20 minutes.The first regular daily flight from Heathrow will be on March 28, and is scheduled to depart from Terminal 5.The BA service to Bermuda has already undergone a change this year. The service stopped on March 20 when regular scheduled co

Later today, the Minister of Community Affairs and Sports, the Hon. Lovitta Foggo will participate in the premiere screening of Broadcasting Black, a locally produced film which explores the often overlooked contribution of black media to the success of the 1959 Theatre Boycotts. Broadcasting Black was the brainchild and creation of Dr. Dana Selassie and it will be screened at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) at 6.00 p.m. today. It will also be shown on the Department of

Life reinsurer Athene Holding Ltd is donating 200 laptops to the Bermuda public school system for the 2020-2021 school year. The donation aligns with Athene’s commitment to education-based initiatives in its communities as part of its broader corporate responsibility strategy. It also supports the Ministry of Education’s strategic plan to modernise the public-school learning environment to ensure Bermuda’s youth have cutting-edge technological tools they need to participate in the global economy.

Bermudians Ashley Fubler and Izabella Arnold have joined the pupillage programme of Walkers Bermuda.The law firm announced that both young women will undertake training in the firm’s Corporate, Finance, Funds and Insurance practice group for six months and a further six months with the Insolvency and Dispute Resolution team. Ashley Fubler began her legal studies in 2014 at the University of Hull where she obtained her Bachelor of Laws with Upper Second Class Honours. She then went on to stu

The Progressive Labour Party will hold a General Election press conference today.It will take place at the party’s Alaska Hall headquarters at 2pm.The Royal Gazette will provide a live video on this page.

Bermuda have been drawn against Barbados in the first of their possible two-round Concacaf Gold Cup Preliminary Round matches.At the first ever Gold Cup draw conducted last night in Miami, United States, the preliminary round draws which included the 12 Concacaf Member Associations competing for the final three spots in the 16-team Group Stage were made. For the two-round Prelims, the participating national teams have been divided into six matches.The draw pitted Bermuda against Barbados in

The Progressive Labour Party branded attacks over a loan to a United States music promoter a “desperate” election attack.A party spokeswoman said Anthony Blakey, who disappeared after taking a $800,000 loan to start a music studio, had previously been involved with entertainment at the America’s Cup.The spokeswoman said: “If this company was so disreputable, with no connection to Bermuda and no experience in the country, as the OBA wants Bermudians to believe, then why did their America’s C

A new Progressive Labour Party administration would introduce an amended health plan after the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the island’s finances, the Government said.The PLP announced in its platform last week that the programme would be launched in collaboration with the BermudaFirst advisory group and deliver access to “affordable universal healthcare for all”.A government spokeswoman said later: “The revised Bermuda Health Plan mentioned in the governing party’s platform will be different

A new Bermudian company is planned to reinsure $5 billion of annuities issued by American Equity Investment Life Holding Company.Värde Partners, a hedge fund, will establish the new reinsurer.The plan is the product of a strategic partnership between American Equity, Värde and Agam Capital Management, LLC, an insurance solutions provider. American Equity, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Värde will jointly set up a company to manage the ass

Private investment will drive many of the projects promised in the Progressive Labour Party’s platform for the October 1 General Election, the Premier said last night.David Burt explained that the PLP had put together a collaborative document with input from union partners and other groups and that the island faced “a unique opportunity” amid the coronavirus pandemic.He said: “We do not have a large amount of grandiose promises inside of this platform that are going to cost public money bec

Party platforms are essential documents when voters are deciding who they are going to elect in a General Election. Of course, they are not the only factor in the decision. A party’s previous record and the calibre of candidates are also crucial. And, of course, platforms are also only a guide to a party’s decisions, if elected, during their term of government. Events interfere almost from Day 1 to prevent or change every promise. Indeed, no one could have predicted that the world would be hit by

All Yasmin Cann really remembers is the excruciating pain.If pressed, she can tell how doctors at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital put her in the ICU and plugged her into tubes; how she was then operated on by specialist surgeons at Lahey Hospital & Medical Centre – but that is only because she has heard her mother, Beverley Cann, tell the story repeatedly.The one-two punch of a massive aneurysm rupture and a stroke at age 34 left Yasmin unable to walk, read or do even the most basic o

The Spot restaurant can continue its role as a Hamilton institution, but it needs youthful energy and ideas to carry it forward.Owner Thomas “Ted” Powell has put the Burnaby Street business up for sale. It has been closed since mid-March due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.The popular eatery was established in 1945 by Arthur Foote, and has been run by Mr Powell since 1971.”There are not many individuals who have been in the trade for so long,” Mr Powell said.”

Stevie Dickinson and crew Micah Raynor won the Kacy Simons Memorial Regatta with a race to spare on Sunday.The Comet sailors posted three straight victories competing on the windward/leeward racecourse offshore of Mid Atlantic Boat and Sports Club, the regatta hosts, to clinch the four-race series comfortably.Maxwell Curtis Jr and crew Stefan Furbert finished second with Gladwin Lambert and crew Stefan Maybury rounding off the podium in third.Dickinson passed leader Curtis on the fir

More than 90 per cent of people in a poll this year said that the Government had handled the Covid-19 crisis well.A survey by Total Research Associates and Narrative Research found that 92 per cent of the 400 people they talked to between April 22 and 29 were satisfied with the overall response to the pandemic.One third said they were completely satisfied with the response and 60 per cent reported they were “mostly satisfied”.The main reasons were said to be the Government’s strong c

Leaders of the island’s political parties pushed messages of unity and building a better future in a pre-election forum last night.Topics covered included education, the economy, healthcare reform and the environment in panel interviews set up by Community Voices for Democracy with help from Bermuda Youth Connect.The leaders of the Progressive Labour Party, the One Bermuda Alliance and the Free Democratic Movement each had more than 30 minutes to answer questions and talk about their ideas

Dennis Brown has broken his silence over his reasons for taking a “back seat” from coaching duties at Somerset Trojans.The former Somerset and Bermuda captain has revealed he was forced to hand over the reigns of the Premier Division side to his nephew, Danvers Seymour Jr, after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and other ailments last summer.”In July I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure so immediately I took a back seat in order to stabilise my personal health,”