Bermuda News Updates

Good morning Bermuda, thank you for joining us today.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share the plans and initiatives of the Ministry of Social Development and Seniors for the 2021-2022 budget year. 

I want to take a moment to express that the Government recognises that while Bermuda’s economy has provided opportunities and a comfortable lifestyle for many, this is not the reality for all. 

Good Morning and thank you for coming.

Today, I am pleased to give an overview of the Ministry of Education’s 2021 – 2022 fiscal year budget.

The Ministry of Education’s 2021-2022 budget allocation was reduced by just over $9 million from the originally budgeted sum last year.  However, the budget is $3.6 million less than the revised budget resulting from the impact of the pandemic.

Madam President, as Bermuda and the rest of the world grapples with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly clear that during these times where physical distancing is required to keep our citizenry safe, arts and culture play a key role in bringing us together to help ensure our emotional wellbeing.

However, Madam President, despite the ability of the arts to uplift and inspire us; the individuals who are the creators of these experiences that we all enjoy have also been affected by the pandemic.  

Good Evening Bermuda,

Tonight I am joined by the Minister of Health, The Hon. Kim Wilson who will provide updates on the latest vaccination statistics, the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and further updates from her Ministry.

I am thankful to have Dr. Carika Weldon is here to discuss the efforts being done by her team at the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory to map which variants we have seen in Bermuda. 

Following the Minister and Dr. Weldon, I will provide you with an update on the COVID-19 regulations agreed today by the Cabinet and other matters.

Good afternoon.

The Ministry of Health received 333 test results since the last update, and none were positive for COVID-19.  Additionally, since the last update, there were two recoveries.

There are currently 17 active cases, of which;

·         17 are under public health monitoring and;

·         None are in the hospital.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 713 total confirmed cases of COVID-19; out of those, 684 persons have recovered, and 12 persons have sadly succumbed to COVID-19.

Good Evening Bermuda,

I am pleased to share with you a summary of Bermuda’s current testing of the recent coronavirus variants.

To recap, the last update I delivered in January, I was able to share initial findings from the first batch of viral genome sequencing results conducted by Public Health England (PHE). This included 21 samples from cases between October 27th – November 18th.