I am grateful to be back in the office after Kristin, Nia, Ed and I spent time with our family in California that we have not seen in two years. As we all know Christmas is for children, and for Kristin and me it was a joy to see Nia and Ed playing with their cousins who are now old enough to play and to see them interact with the cousins that they met for the first time.
I am thankful for the Hon. Walter Roban and the Hon. Diallo Rabain for covering whilst I was on a family vacation
Like every other country around the world, Bermuda’s public health system is facing challenges due to the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant. I want to thank all of our public officers, and all public health teams who worked tirelessly over the holidays, doing their best to provide critical services for our country. However in some places, we fell short, and I want to acknowledge those may have been inconvenienced in one way or the other.
I am however pleased that all of our pre-schools are open, all but one of our primary schools are open, and all but one of our middle schools are open. As a parent, I have seen the impact that remote learning has had on the development of our students, and the Government is of the firm belief that the best place for students to be is in the classroom. I understand that there are those who take a different view, but it is our job to make the tough calls. I’m grateful for our teachers who are heroes in our midst and I want to thank them for persevering through the challenges.
Though I was off-island, and there were various ministers travelling and taking a vacation on the island during the holiday, all Ministers kept in touch with their counterparts as is standard practice. Government Ministers have worked tirelessly and for long periods without breaks, into the early hours of the morning and on weekends during this pandemic. Ministers are humans and must have time to recharge, and time with their families, otherwise they will not be able to perform to the best of their abilities. Having witnessed the sacrifice of Ministers during the Pandemic I encouraged them to take leave as their health and wellbeing are important to me.
I look forward to getting back to work this New Year to continue delivering on the agenda that we were elected to carry out. I am confident that Bermuda will continue to persevere as a country so long as we work together and all do our part, just as we have over the past two years.
We will have tough weeks ahead, and we will be challenged. Like other countries, we will likely report record infections in the coming weeks. Public services will be affected and some classes may have to switch to remote temporarily. However I am determined to lead a country that is not subject to the whims of the pandemic, but one that moves beyond the pandemic and we as a country must learn to live with this virus.
The Omicron variant will not defeat us, as long as we work together as a country and all take personal responsibility for our actions recognising that they don’t just affect us, but each other.
I remain in service and continue to be humbled for the opportunity to serve the island I love.