Good Evening,

I would like to begin my update by first thanking our school Leaders and staff for their hard work and the efforts put forward during the past week in engaging our students and keeping our parents updated as we navigate through this current COVID-19 situation. 

My updates will focus on three areas:

Good afternoon.

I issued a press release last night giving an update on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases there are in Bermuda. That update of 22 confirmed cases is the case at this moment in time. There are no additional cases to report at this moment.

There are 22 confirmed cases in Bermuda. Of these, ten persons of the 22 have fully recovered, two remain hospitalized in stable condition (they are not critical and they are not requiring use of a ventilator) and the others are currently isolating at home with mild symptoms.

Today the Minister of Health the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP announced that, starting on Monday, the Ministry of Health’s Ageing & Disability Services (ADS) will be conducting wellness checks on the island’s vulnerable seniors.

Premier the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP today announced of the 36 test results received today, there were five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 31 negative results. 

Three of the confirmed cases were imported and two had close contact with a confirmed case and are limited local transmission.

One of the confirmed cases arrived in Bermuda on the British Airways flight BA2233 on 15 March 2020. Another arrived on flight BA2233 on 18 March, 2020 and the third arrived on BA2233 on 20 March 2020.

Good afternoon Bermuda:

As a further measure of public safety the Governor, in consultation with the Premier, the Hon. David Burt has exercised his authority under the Emergency Powers Act 1963.  

This has allowed for the enactment of the Summary Offences (Curfew) Order 2020 where the public is required to be off the roads or highways during certain hours of darkness.

As the Premier announced yesterday, the Curfew order takes effect tomorrow, Sunday 29th March 2020, from 8.00 p.m. – 6.00 a.m. for the next three days in the first instance. 

GOOD AFTERNOON.

This has been another incredibly busy day for the entire Government team engaged in this pandemic response for Bermuda. Let me begin this press briefing by thanking the people of Bermuda who have taken the time to send messages of support for the work that is being done by your government. These are challenging times and on behalf of my colleagues and myself I wish to truly thank you for your support.

Good afternoon.

I apologize for the delay in today’s press conference. What is most important is that I am providing full and accurate information to the people of Bermuda. There are a number of moving parts and I wanted to make sure that I am fully briefed so that I could answer any particular questions and that the Minister of Health, the Chief Medical Officer, and the Minister of National Security were all in the loop as to the latest development. So again, I apologize for the delay.

Good afternoon.

I want to start this evening with a thank you.

There are many people who are working around the clock to help put processes in place that make a difference to the lives of Bermudians during this unprecedented global pandemic. We have come together and we are all working together. Bermuda, with the rest of the world, is facing a new reality. We are operating together like never before.

Following the first full day of stricter measures implemented to reduce the risk of community spread of Covid19, Premier the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP, this afternoon reminded the public of the non-essential business closures which were extended yesterday to include retail stores, cinemas, restaurants and bars. The Premier said, “This Order was not made lightly and represents the Government’s determination to reduce the inherent risks of community spread of this virus that occurs when numbers of people are engaged in even ordinary activities.”

The Bermuda Post Office (BPO) is issuing the following COVID-19 related advisory.

As a reminder, and given the current developments with COVID-19, in an effort to limit public and staff exposure, all BPO frontline customer services closed to the public March 20. The offices will remain closed until further notice. This means that local and international mail intake ceased as of March 20.