Good evening Bermuda,
I begin by extending my heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of Bermuda to two families who experienced great loss over the Bermuda Day weekend. Firstly to the family of Amber Bridges who tragically passed after a serious road accident. And also to the family of the 33rd person we have lost to the coronavirus. You are in our thoughts and in our prayers, and we wish you much strength and comfort during this very difficult time.
It was saddening to have a weekend of celebration end with the loss of two lives, but it was a harsh reminder of how precious life is, and that we must ensure to cherish each moment we have.
Such cherished moments undoubtedly took place this past weekend as we celebrated our heritage on Bermuda Day. Whether it was along the road supporting the cyclists and runners, at Nationals Sports Centre watching talented local performers, or at home celebrating with family. We showed that we are truly beginning to move beyond the pandemic.
In addition to that we have seen the implementation of SafeKey, allow local restaurants to stay one step ahead of the coronavirus restrictions, and open for indoor dining. We are making progress, and we are reclaiming our summer, as we are retake Bermuda from the hold of the pandemic.
Moving beyond the pandemic also means getting back to work for the people of Bermuda on issues beyond the coronavirus, including our economic recovery and diversification, and rekindling positive relationships both locally and abroad that have been on hold due to restrictions.
I am speaking to you tonight from Miami, where I am leading a delegation from Bermuda Business Development Agency to meet with business and government leaders to build upon the strong economic relationship between Bermuda and Florida as well as the United States as a whole - and continuing the work to diversify our economy which is essential for our future economic prosperity.
Tonight I am joined by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, who will now provide an update to the country on our latest coronavirus test results, our latest vaccination statistics, and outline the new regulations for our move to Phase 3.
We are also joined by technical officers who will be able to answer any technical questions that we may have, including the Chief Medical Officer.
Minister of Health….
Thank you Minister. And, thank you to your team for all of their continued hard work, especially during our most recent outbreak. Thanks to our collective efforts as a community we can now move to Phase 3, allowing all businesses to open, and getting even more of our fellow Bermudians back to work. It is also great to see another day with no new cases. I must echo your sentiments to remind all residents to continue to take precautions so that we can keep this trend of no new cases going.
In addition to the move to Phase 3, sports have moved to Phase 4, and similar to the approval that has been given to Cup Match for 50% capacity with the use of SafeKey, similar approvals will be given to any large sporting or outdoor event by the Ministry of National Security.
If we remain successful in our goal of eliminating local transmission it is expected that approved percentages may be able to be increased in the future, but at this time any person or company planning a large outdoor event can be comfortable that they will be approved for 50% capacity with the use of SafeKey.
The purpose of SafeKey in the long-term was always to allow for large events to be able to occur, while reducing the risk of coronavirus for those in attendance. In addition to that, SafeKey gave us a way to stay one step ahead of coronavirus restrictions, and to allow indoor dining to recommence ahead of our move to Phase 3. This gave restaurants the opportunity for more business, and to get more people back to work.
It has been a pleasure to receive feedback from local businesses on how easy it has been to use SafeKey, and how good it has been for them to be able to open their doors completely for some, and for others, once again, to be able offer their customers a choice of whether to dine indoors or outdoors in the Bermuda sunshine.
While SafeKey will no longer be required for indoor dining as of Sunday, it will continue to be a valuable tool in allowing us to facilitate large events, while minimising risk.
Our vaccination programme, especially the Close to Home mobile vaccinations continue to be a success. Thank you to all of the doctors, nurses, the Bermuda Health Council and so many others for ensuring the mobile vaccinations run smoothly day in and day out. Thank you to all of those Bermudians who have made the choice to get vaccinated, and continue to push us towards our goal of community protection.
I also join the Minister in thanking the growing number of local businesses and organisations who are supporting our efforts to reach community protection. It is truly a pleasure to see the support and generosity of our business community to help our country continue to progress, and to make the pandemic a distant memory.
I have often said that we must work together if we are to achieve our goal of moving beyond the pandemic, and through these initiatives, the Government is continuing to work to make vaccines accessible to all, and Bermudians are continuing to follow the health guidelines: we are well on our way!
Community protection along with strong protections at our borders will help to protect us from dangerous variants that continue to emerge around the world. Many will have seen recent news from Vietnam where a variant that combines the U.K and Indian variants has been discovered. While the Indian variant continues to spread in the U.K and is expected to become the dominant variant there ,if this spread continues.
Community protection, along with eliminating local transmission will also allow us to see the end of all restrictions.
In my National Address in April, I outlined that should we reach those goals and in conjunction with strong protections at our borders, we could allow the Public Health Emergency to expire on June 24.
However, there is still work to be done, and tomorrow in the House of Assembly, the Minister of Health will lay a motion to extend the Public Health Emergency by a further 60 days from June 24. This motion is scheduled to be debated in the House of Assembly on June 18.
It is the Government’s current plan, if our trajectory of low case numbers are maintained, to keep the Phase 3 restrictions that were announced on Tuesday and that will come into effect on Sunday, in place until June 24. Following June 24, at that time almost all restrictions will fall away with the exception of restrictions on large groups and the continued requirements for mask-wearing in indoor public places.
Finally, on the issue of mandatory supervised quarantine, that is now a matter that is before the courts and therefore the Government cannot comment any further.
Tomorrow in the House of Assembly, there will be a debate on the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan. The Government has a robust economic recovery plan which covers issues as diverse as the Bermuda Digital Bank, the provision of more affordable housing, and reducing the price of food. I urge all to tune in to learn more about Bermuda’s Economic Recovery Plan and listen to the Ministers of the Government speak about important issues like Universal Healthcare and ensuring that we can upgrade the skills of Bermudians for jobs of the future.
While we are progressing, we also recognise that there are still difficult issues to tackle as a country and as a Government. However, the people of Bermuda can take confidence from this Government’s continued commitment and success in upholding our promises. One example of a promise kept was the modernisation of our Labour Legislation in Bermuda.
On Tuesday June 1, new Labour Laws came into effect and almost all provisions of the act have broad support amongst Organised Labour in Bermuda.
While there is still a single issue of contention between the Government of Bermuda and the Bermuda Industrial Union, it is my hope that this single issue does not overshadow the incredible progress made for workers in this country with the implementation of this new law.
As I close I would like to announce that following our press conference this evening, we will move to every other week. And our next COVID-19 press conference is scheduled to take place on Tuesday June 15.
With that, I’m now pleased to take any questions from members of the media.