Bermuda News Updates

Good evening Bermuda,

As I begin my remarks this evening, my thoughts are with the family of the late Financial Secretary, Mr. Anthony Manders, as the family prepare to lay him to rest tomorrow. His passing is a tremendous loss to Bermuda. He was a truly dedicated public officer who gave his all in service for his country and he will truly be missed.

Today the Minister for the Cabinet Office the Hon. Wayne Furbert, JP, MP released the September 2020 Retail Sales Index.

In September 2020, the overall volume of local retail sales increased by 5.9%. This compares to the previous year’s local retail sales which reported a volume decrease of 5.1% as outlined in the Department of Statistics’ September retail sales report.

For the safety and security of the travelling public, the Ministry of Transport wishes to remind the public that unlike public service vehicles such as taxi cab services, private vehicles used for hire are unregulated, and as such, have the potential to put riders at risk.

Due to the unregulated nature of private vehicles used for this purpose, they:

·         Are not required to be maintained to public service vehicle safety standards;

·         Do not have passenger insurance should there be in an accident; and

Good Afternoon,

There were 543 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update, and two were positive for COVID-19. Both of the new cases are classified as imported. The first case is a resident who arrived on S46227 from the Azores on 16 January 2021 and tested positive on their day 8 test. The second case is a resident who arrived on B62231 from New York on 24 January 2021 and tested positive on their arrival test

Additionally, since the last update, six cases have recovered.

There are currently 30 active cases, of which;

With the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) forecasting gale and storm force winds this week, the Ministry of National Security is advising residents to take the necessary safety precautions around their homes. This includes securing any lawn furniture, outdoor potted plants, garbage bins or any other items that can be blown around during the high winds.

There were 1689 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update, and none were positive for COVID-19. 

Additionally, since the last update, 12 cases have recovered.

There are currently 34 active cases, of which;

· 29 are under public health monitoring and

· Five are in hospital with none in critical care;

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 686 total confirmed cases of COVID-19; out of those, 640 persons have recovered, and 12 persons have sadly succumbed to COVID-19.