Good evening Bermuda.
On April 23rd, the new moon represented the start of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. Here in Bermuda, on behalf of my family and the Government of Bermuda, I would like to extend greetings and warm wishes to our local Muslim community. Ramadan Mubarak!
Bermuda is a country of diversity… diversity which enriches our culture, and our community. I join Bermuda in thanking our Muslim community for the positive contribution that they continue to make in Bermuda. Of course, I'm saddened because I normally get to attend events to celebrate but this year these events cannot happen.
Never far from our hearts are the people who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 and those who are right now battling this virus. Our prayers continue to be with you. Also, never far from our thoughts, are those who have been economically displaced by this pandemic. Thousands of Bermudians in the blink of an eye found themselves without an income and without the means to provide for themselves. In response, the Government through the Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, launched the COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance Program. We are getting a number of phone calls and emails from persons anxiously awaiting their Unemployment Benefits and though over 5,000 residents have been paid over $7.7 M to date, there are still some persons who have not yet received a payment.
No later than Tuesday of next week, 28 April, the Government will process and deliver instructions to our banking partners to process and pay Unemployment Benefits to over 2,000 new applicants and approximately 500 people that submitted in March, but have not yet received benefits due to processing problems and incorrect banking information that was submitted. Individuals who have previously received benefits will be paid on the regular two week cycle: next week Thursday and Friday. To speed up applications and processing, the Ministry of Finance has deployed a team of internal and external resources to work through these applications to ensure that payments are made no later than next week Tuesday.
Persons who submitted an application but have not received email confirmation that their employer has verified and validated their application should call their employer and ask them to do so. Meanwhile, all employers should check and take the necessary steps to validate the applications that they have received as quickly as possible. The Department of Workforce Development continues to work hard to process these applications, and that Department themselves have received more resources to assist in that endeavor.
There are some persons who have challenged the Government about whether or not it's doing enough in this regard. What I would say is that the enormous effort to create a system and to process payments for 5,000 persons already and looking to do an additional amount this upcoming week is proof positive that though the Government is closed, the Government continues to work and will continue to deliver for Bermudians.
Now more than ever, Bermudians must be prepared to invest in themselves and take advantage of the grants, scholarships, and student support available. Please take advantage of the training courses that we are providing via the Department of Workforce Development and online through the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.
Earlier today, drive-through testing of Bermuda’s essential workers began at Southside. There were some hiccups in the beginning, but I'm told that things are in full swing now. I'd like to extend my thanks to the Minister of Public Works, who is helping to make sure that all is going smoothly. Essential workers’ testing is arranged via the essential workers’ employers, so that means it's being organized by the Regiment, the Police Service, the Fire Service, and the other employers of essential workers. This testing will continue throughout this weekend.
We are further encouraged that as of yesterday Bermuda has the highest per-capita testing rate in the Caribbean. While this news is encouraging, we cannot forget the lives that have been lost or the 55 people that are currently fighting COVID-19, either in the hospital or at home in isolation. You remain in all of our thoughts and prayers and we will continue to provide the resources, manpower, and collective energy of our Government towards containing COVID-19.
The Minister of Health will now provide an update from the Ministry of Health, and will also detail the COVID-19 modeling, which is being made public today, and which will inform our community of what to expect in the weeks and months ahead. Minister.
The Minister of Health reads her remarks.
Thank you Minister of Health. Now the Minister of National Security will provide an update on his Ministry, also matters surrounding the airbridge flight from London which is arriving now, and also information on how taxi operators can apply to be eligible for the provision of delivery services. Minister.
The Minister of National Security reads his remarks.
Thank you Minister. And just to make sure that it is clarified, persons who own a taxi service must be approved by applying on the permitted business application website, and only permitted taxis will be able to operate so make sure you go to the website which can be found at coronavirus.gov.bm to go ahead and make that particular application.
As I've mentioned previously, the gradual easing of some restrictions will be done in a way that limits the risk of transmission. We need to make sure that we continue to keep people supplied during this Shelter in Place. And we need to make sure that people who are sheltering in place have the necessary support while working from home, facilitating homeschooling, and activities for their children, and supporting students who are now doing online learning. We want to help people navigate this new normal that will be with us for the next week.
With my Cabinet colleagues’ support, the following changes will be made in time for Monday, April 27. I have asked the Governor to further amend the Shelter in Place regulations to add office supplies, computers, and computer supply stores to the list of permitted businesses. These will open on the same basis as other permitted businesses, also with the permission of the Minister of National Security, meaning that they'll only be open from Monday to Wednesday, and only for prepaid and pickup services, or they can be done via delivery services as the Minister of National Security just indicated.
Home-based businesses will be able to operate for the delivery of their goods, only again, someone cannot visit someone's house. Small businesses able to convert to home-based delivery operations will be permitted to either replenish or secure stock from their existing business venue for the purposes of delivering items from home. Also, wholesale food suppliers will now be permitted to engage in home delivery. I'm confident that the Ministry of National Security team will act quickly to grant the permissions, so that persons with the surnames of A to F are able to take advantage of this on Monday.
As your Government, we receive many emails, voice notes, social media posts, and tweets of support and encouragement. Many of you are keeping us in your prayers, wishing us well, and encouraging us to protect our own health under these trying times. We are truly grateful for your support! This week I received encouraging letters from Alexis Sousa, a 10 year old who attends Purvis Primary, and Angelo Burgess, a P5 student at Purvis Primary. Both of them took the time to write gracious letters of appreciation for the work that my team and I are doing to keep Bermuda safe. I was able to give Alexis a call earlier today, and I wanted to give Angelo a call as well, but we didn't get his number in time. So Angelo, if you're watching, thank you very much for your letter. The letter that you sent and the appreciation and encouragement expressed in that letter means a great deal to me.
While we receive plenty of encouragement from our community, there are some who have questioned the bipartisan approach that we have taken, keeping the opposition informed and welcoming their ideas and contributions. Just for the record, in April we had three WebEx meetings with members of the Opposition. On April 3, myself, the Minister of Health, and the Chief Medical Officer in addition with other officials from the Ministry of Health had a general update via WebEx. Last week, on April 15, it was myself and the Minister of Health to give an update on the preliminary modeling information; and also last week on the 17th of April, myself, the Minister of Health, and officials from the Bermuda Hospitals Board were there to give an update on measures that were taking place for preparation at the King Edward Memorial Hospital. I've spoken on the phone with the Leader of the Opposition a total of 15 times in March and April.
Earlier today, the Minister of Education also extended an invitation to all members of the Legislature, including the Opposition, to participate in the learning activities of our students.
Despite the adversarial nature of the Westminster system, our record during the COVID-19 pandemic is clear, and our minds remain open, our doors remain open, and our phone lines remain open. Every member of the Legislature has access to us by email, or even via social media. And I will say that many of them do take advantage of that. It is very important that during this time that we continue to work collectively in order to save lives. I am going to do my best to remain above the fray, so that we can have our energies focus on the work at hand, rather than what our Westminster system will actually have us devolve to.
In closing, to all those involved in protecting our health, caring for those who have contracted COVID-19, patrolling our highways and byways to enforce Shelter in Place, keeping us fed, and helping the Government to keep you informed: thank you very much! And before I go to questions, I actually got in a little bit of trouble on Wednesday when I went home, because I promised my children that the next time I did a press conference, I would say hello, and I went home and Nia said, “Daddy, you said you were going to say hi to me and you didn’t.” So sweetie, I’m sorry. And Nia and Ed, Daddy says hi, he’ll be home soon!
Happy to take your questions.