Good Evening Bermuda,

Tonight I am joined by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, who will provide you with an update on the latest vaccination statistics, rule changes for immunized persons, and further updates from her Ministry. 

Following the minister of Health, I will update the country on the COVID-19 regulations approved by the Cabinet earlier today which will be in effect for the next two weeks, matters surrounding Bermuda's tourism economy, and preview the House of Assembly which resumes on Friday. 

Good afternoon.

There were 242 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update, and none were positive for COVID-19.

Additionally, since the last update, there were no recoveries.

There are currently four active cases, of which;

·  Three are under public health monitoring and

·  One is in hospital with none in critical care.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 695 total confirmed cases of COVID-19; out of those, 679 persons have recovered, and 12 persons have sadly succumbed to COVID-19.

Good evening Bermuda.

I begin my remarks tonight by sending my sincere condolences to the family and friends of former Senator and Junior Minister, Laverne Furbert, who sadly passed away this weekend. 

She was fearless in her convictions and unwavering in her support of Bermuda’s workers, social justice, and equality in our society. Ms. Furbert will be fondly remembered for her strength, dedication, and vibrant spirit.

Government House issued this advisory regarding the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Following the announcement that the UK Government would make available to Bermuda a further 29,250 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and ancillary equipment, Her Excellency the Governor, Ms Rena Lalgie said, “I am pleased that Government House, through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has been able to assist the Government of Bermuda in securing additional vaccines and equipment. 

Good evening Bermuda,

As I begin my remarks this evening, my thoughts are with the family of the late Financial Secretary, Mr. Anthony Manders, as the family prepare to lay him to rest tomorrow. His passing is a tremendous loss to Bermuda. He was a truly dedicated public officer who gave his all in service for his country and he will truly be missed.

“As I had reported previously, The Ministry of Health has been working with the medical community to identify suitable locations to serve as additional vaccine centres prior to the arrival of the next batch of vaccines. This is necessary as it will allow the ministry to dramatically increase the number of vaccines we are able to administer on a daily basis and will provide residents with more convenient options to get vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health has been informed that there are social media posts currently circulating with misinformation about the Vaccination Centre accepting walk-ins for the COVID-19 vaccine.

A ministry spokesperson stated, “This is absolutely not true. Vaccinations are being given in accordance with the ministry’s Vaccine Allocation Strategy which has been shared with the media, and posted online.”

“Vaccinations are only given to residents who have a confirmed appointment and the Vaccination Centre is NOT OPEN to walk-in traffic.”

Good day,

We apologize for the delays being experienced as persons try to get through to the vaccine registration number. Our team is working extremely hard to answer as many calls as possible and we ask for you to be patient.

Alternatively, we ask that you send an email to: vaccine@gov.bm with the subject: Registration Data.

You must include the following information:

Name

DOB: day/month/year

Full Address

Phone (Cell/Home)

Email

Occupation

GPs Name

Diagnosis

Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, JP, MP, this evening announced the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has arrived on the British Airways flight from London.

Minister Wilson stated, “The first shipment for 9,750 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived, as scheduled, on the British Airways flight. The Department of Customs paperwork has been completed and the vaccine is being immediately taken to a secure storage facility.”

Mr Speaker

I rise today to inform this Honourable House of the preliminary plan for COVID-19 vaccination in Bermuda.

Preparations are well underway to bring COVID-19 vaccine to Bermuda and I will outline what we intend to achieve in the first rollout of the vaccine and how we will include the entire health system in our efforts to offer the vaccine to immunize Bermuda’s population against COVID-19.

Mr Speaker