COVID-19 Update 3 March 2022

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 4860 test results, and 73 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 1.5%.

These results are from testing done on:

§  Sunday: 9 positive out of 955 results (0.9% positivity)

§  Monday: 34 positive out of 2033 results (1.7% positivity)

§  Tuesday: 30 positive out of 1872 results (1.6% positivity)

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

The additional 67 new cases are classified as either local transmission (22) or under investigation (45). 

Additionally, there were 67 recoveries and 0 deaths.

There are 173 active cases, of which:

·         166 are under public health monitoring; and

·         7 are in hospital, with 0 in intensive care.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 11634 coronavirus cases, out of which 11338 have recovered, and sadly there have been 123 coronavirus-related deaths.

The source of all active cases is as follows:

·         31 are Imported

·         52 are classified as local transmission

·         90 are Under Investigation

The source of all confirmed cases is as follows:

·         2297 are Imported

·         8999 are classified as local transmission of which:

o   4166 are Local transmission with known contact/source and

o   4833 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·         338 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. For age distributions and overall transmission categories, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update. The seven-day average of our real-time reproduction number is 0.70.

Since January 11th, 2021, Bermuda residents have received 125,085 vaccinations.

Of the 125,085 vaccinations given as of February 26th, 2022:

•        52% are women and,

•        48% are men

86.9% of all residents over 65 years have had at least one vaccination, and 85.6% are fully immunized.

To date, 73.9% of the population has been vaccinated (1 dose), and 72.2% of the population has been immunized (2 doses).

Additionally, 71.5% of those eligible have received their booster.

“Beginning tomorrow, March 4th, at 6 am, the Government is making the following changes to the Emergency Powers Regulations,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP. “Large group sizes will increase from 100 to 200 people, and table sizes for restaurants, bars and clubs are no longer limited to a maximum of 10 people.

“Effective March 7th, quarantine provisions will change for fully vaccinated persons. Currently, people who are not symptomatic and are close contacts and are fully vaccinated or boostered over six months are required to quarantine for seven days and test out on day 7.

“Those people will not be required to quarantine as a close contract. They will be required to get tested as soon as possible, and if tested negative, take daily antigen tests at home. They must also follow strict public health guidance until Day 7, wear a mask around others, avoid indoor public places, don’t attend large gatherings or high-risk settings, follow public health guidance, monitor symptoms and avoid large gatherings and high-risk settings until Day 14. This simply means there is now no difference for quarantine provisions for boostered or fully vaccinated persons.

“The Ministry of Health is also reminding people that if you want a first and second dose COVID-19 vaccine free of charge at Pier 6, the last day you can come is Thursday, March 10th.

“We can still give 1st doses at Pier 6 after March 10th, but you won’t be able to get a 2nd dose free at Pier 6, as there is not enough time before they close on March 31st.

“As always, to decrease the odds of getting the coronavirus, increase fresh air ventilation wherever possible indoors and avoid the three “Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings. Continue to follow Public Health guidelines, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, and maintain physical distance.”