COVID-19 Update 17 February 2022

“Bermuda has recorded another coronavirus death,” announced Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP. “I extend sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, and I pray that they find comfort in the memories of their loved one.”

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 3465 test results, and 70 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 2.0%.

These results are from testing done on:

§  Sunday: 18 positive out of 914 results (2.0% positivity)

§  Monday: 27 positive out of 1359 results (2.0% positivity)

§  Tuesday: 25 positive out of 1192 results (2.1% positivity)

16 of the new cases are classified as imported with a history of travel in the previous 14 days.

The additional 54 new cases are classified as either local transmission (35) or under investigation (19). 

Additionally, there were 64 recoveries.

There are 211 active cases, of which:

·         202 are under public health monitoring; and

·         9 are in hospital, with 0 in intensive care.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 11316 coronavirus cases, out of which 10983 have recovered, and sadly there have been 122 coronavirus-related deaths.

The source of all active cases is as follows:

·         29 are Imported

·         87 are classified as local transmission

·         95 are Under Investigation

The source of all confirmed cases is as follows:

·         2246 are Imported

·         8286 are classified as local transmission of which:

o   4083 are Local transmission with known contact/source and

o   4203 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·         784 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. For age distributions and overall transmission categories, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update. The seven-day average of our real-time reproduction number is 0.69.

Since January 11, 2021, Bermuda residents have received 123,728 vaccinations.

Of the 123,728 vaccinations given as of February 12, 2022:

·         52% are women and,

·         48% are men

86.9% of all residents over the age of 65 years have had at least one vaccination, and 85.6% are fully immunized.

To date, 73.2% of the population has been vaccinated (1 dose), and 71.9% of the population has been immunized (2 doses).

Additionally, 70.4% of those eligible for a booster have received their booster.

“There are still quite a few people who are eligible for a booster but have not gone to get it,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP. “If you are eligible for the booster, please get it as soon as possible. The booster improves your chances of not catching the virus, or if you contract the virus, your symptoms will most likely be mild. There is just over a month left before our free mass vaccination programme ends.

“The Omicron variant is still in our community. Although our active coronavirus cases are decreasing, people are still catching the Omicron variant, and unfortunately, some are dying. Please continue to do all that you can to protect yourself and protect others.

“Wearing a mask indoors, or outdoors if you cannot physically distance will help stop the spread of coronavirus. Mask wearing is one of the most effective public health measures to fight the coronavirus.

“We all must do our part and continue to avoid the three “Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings. Continue to follow Public Health guidelines, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, and maintain physical distance.”