Good morning and thank you for joining me today.

Earlier this week, I announced that the Government would extend the public health emergency for 30 days, expiring on 25 October 2022. An additional and final Extension Order for a further 37 days, will take us to 30 November.

With the passage of Hurricane Fiona, and following an Emergency Measures Organisation (EMO) meeting earlier this afternoon, the Minister of National Security, Michael Weeks provided the following.
Minister Weeks said, “By all accounts, we had a very long night and some very tense moments during the early morning hours. But in true Bermuda resilience fashion, we withstood the effects of Hurricane Fiona and thankfully, there was no loss of life or serious injuries.

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 3007 test results, and 45 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 1%.

These results are from testing done on:

·         Tuesday: 20 positive out of 726 results (2.8% positivity)

·         Wednesday:  2 positive out of  430 results (0.5% positivity)

·         Thursday: 1 positive out of 380 results (0.3% positivity)

The Department of Health is reminding the public to register for the Bermuda Parish Garden Competition 2022 with the theme ‘Let’s grow together.’ The categories are School Garden, Community Garden, Non-Traditional Garden, Small Garden and Large Garden.

The registration deadline is September 22 at forms.gov.bm/gardencompetition. The contest will begin on September 23 and ends on November 25. 

Entrants must submit photos of their gardens between 21 and 25 November. Call 278-6469 or email nutrition@gov.bm.

“As outlined in the government’s platform of 2017, members of the public will recall several commitments designed to enhance our citizens’ lives,” said Minister of Public Works, Lt. Col. the Hon. David Burch,OBE (Mil), ED, JP, MP, as the Ministry launches a public consultation on improving Bermuda’s water sector.

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 7334 test results, and 58 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 1%.

These results are from testing done on:

·Tuesday: 4 positive out of 695 results (0.6% positivity)

·Wednesday:  10 positive out of  616 results (1.6% positivity)

·Thursday: 8 positive out of 392 results (2.0% positivity)

·Friday: 6 positive out of 1872 results (0.3% positivity)

·Saturday: 7 positive out of 1875 results (0.4% positivity)

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 5,011 test results, and 128 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 3%.

These results are from testing done on:

·         Tuesday: 37 positive out of 937 results (3.9% positivity)

·         Wednesday:  26 positive out of  579 results (4.5% positivity)

·         Thursday: 9 positive out of 699 results (1.3% positivity)

The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce that there are currently 1170 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available. The original expiration date was June 2022. However, the manufacturer has extended the shelf life past the original expiry date.

The Minister of Health is encouraging parents to register their children who have asthma, on the 2022/23 Bermuda Student Asthma Registry. 

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 3973 test results, and 200 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 5%.

These results are from testing done on: