Good morning and welcome to Bermuda.

On behalf of the Ministry of Health, it is  my pleasure to start the morning by extending a warm, welcome to our friends from the islands of Anguilla and Cayman; representatives from the World Health Organization; the Pan American Health Organization: Public Health England, technical officers from the Bermuda Government, the Ministry of Health and a special acknowledgement to our partners from the health and community sectors; representatives of the tobacco retail and wholesale sector in Bermuda.

Good morning everyone,

On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I am very pleased to be with you this morning to
offer our support to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda.

Let me start by first congratulating the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda for
organizing this your third medical conference.

The Ministry of Health recently held their annual Healthy Schools Awards Ceremony for public and private schools that consistently promote healthy nutrition, eating and wellness among its students and staff.

The Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson and the Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain and the Commissioner of Education, Kalmar Richards presented Gold Star Award of Achievement awards to 23 primary, middle and senior schools.

Good morning

In April I announced during Vaccine Week in the Americas that The Ministry of Health had outlined plans to address the low vaccination coverage for children at six months of age.  Today I am pleased to share the results of our initial investigation of the state of Vaccine Hesitancy (VH), which is defined as the delay or refusal of vaccinations.

The Ministry of Health will hold a town hall meeting on the Standard Health Benefit (SHB) premium on Thursday, 16 May at 6pm at St Paul AME Centennial Hall.  Minster of Health Kim Wilson, JP, MP and Dr Ricky C. Brathwaite, Acting CEO of Bermuda Health Council will explain the changes that will be implemented on 1 June.

The Ministry of Health is advising the public about a recall of frozen Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips and Tyson Fully Cooked buffalo chicken strips.  This is a voluntary manufacturer recall due to potential contamination by metal fragments.

Tyson Foods, Inc. has decided to expand a voluntary recall originally issued on March 21, 2019 of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strip products made at one location between October 1, 2018 and March 8, 2019.

Local distributors Butterfield and Vallis have recalled the following material codes:

Moms, daughters, sisters and girlfriends start your Mother’s day celebrations with a dose of healthy fun.  The Department of Health is inviting all women to Moving Sisters, a Pre-Mother’s Day happy hour experience on Friday, 10th May 2019, from 5:30 to7 p.m. at City Hall, Hamilton.

Move for Health Day is recognized annually on May 10th to encourage physical activity.  This year, the Department of Health is combining Mother’s Day with Move for Health Day to bring you Moving Sisters.

Good morning members of the media

I have invited you today in very unfortunate circumstances. It saddens me to have to highlight a particular company’s actions, but the impact to policy holders and the public is the most important thing to me at this time.

The Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, JP, MP wishes to remind the public that there will be no increase to the premium for the mandated package of insurance or to HIP or FutureCare premiums in 2019.

Press Statement by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, JP MP

Good afternoon

I am pleased to advise the public today that this year the Government will not be increasing the public’s standard health insurance premium, or the premiums for HIP or FutureCare.

The standard premium rate, or SPR, is the premium for the mandated, basic health insurance package in Bermuda. By law every insurance policy has to include this package, and its price is regulated.