Minister Caines - Update 27 April

This evening (April 27), the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne M. Caines, JP, MP, provided the following update during the COVID-19 press briefing.

Minister Caines said the daily Community Advisory Points continue across the island supported by the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) and Bermuda Police Service (BPS).

Minister Caines said, “As we wind down this aspect of Shelter in Place it would be useful to share some of the numbers of stops that have been recorded. Since April 6th, roughly 184,000 stops have been recorded by the BPS and the RBR at the Community Advisory Points. This is includes stops over this past weekend which included 5,621 stops on Saturday and 4,426 on Sunday.

“As a note, the upcoming summer Recruit Camp has been postponed until the fall. Anyone interested in joining the fall recruitment camp should call 238-1045 or visit www.bermudaregiment.bm/join-us. The Department of Immigration has had several inquiries from employers, agencies and individuals with respect to passports, land applications and work permits. But to be clear, regarding guest workers and work permit holders - I can advise is that we are not asking individuals who are permit holders to depart or leave Bermuda. In fact, we are working with all of our stakeholders to assist where we can. The public should be aware that each circumstance is different and our team remain readily available to work through any issues and concerns.

“Switching to the Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service – their EMTs continue to provide a vital emergency service during this Shelter in Place period. Over the past three (3) weeks:

  • The Fire Dispatch answered a total of 520 calls for service:
    • 409 were EMS related
    • 111 were Fire related
  • The BFRS also supported the British Airways air-bridge flight with an ambulance and fire crews.

“Turning to the Shelter in Place approvals for businesses to operate – on Friday, we announced that the legislated amendments would be expanded to allow additional specific businesses to operate. Altogether, the Ministry of National Security granted 105 businesses approval to operate. These businesses have very strict guidelines. The public can visit www.gov.bm to see what businesses have been granted permission to operate. Any business that opens contrary to the Emergency Powers (Shelter in Place) Regulations is liable to prosecution.

“Lastly I wish to extend my thanks to the Bermuda Red Cross who have been working in partnership with the Government to provide valuable assistance. I was informed by its Disaster Manager Ms. Diane Gordon that the Bermuda Red Cross has distributed 62,000 surgical masks to those on our frontlines and in our community.

“So we are appreciative of the efforts of the Bermuda Red Cross. On the subject of masks and gloves – the Ministry of Public Works is issuing an advisory to the community about the proper disposal of protective face masks and gloves.

“We want to ensure that we keep our island clean – so we are encouraging commuters to keep a small waste bag in their vehicle or under their bike seats so that they can easily dispose of these items – instead of littering the sides of our roads.

“Finally, this week our Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation or DRRM Team will be hard at work laying out a plan for the resumption and reopening of services. We are working collaboratively with our private sector partners and our public sector colleagues in this effort.”