Good day.

There were 300 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update, and one was positive for COVID-19. The new case is classified as local transmission with known contact as they are associated with known cases.

Additionally, since the last update, three cases have recovered.

There are currently 26 active cases, of which;

·         22 are under public health monitoring and

·         Four are in hospital with none in critical care;

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 691 total confirmed cases of COVID-19; out of those, 653 persons have recovered, and 12 persons have sadly succumbed to COVID-19.

The mean age of all confirmed positive cases is 43 years (median: 40 years), and the ages range from less than 1 year to greater than 100 years.

The mean age of all currently active cases is 49 years (median: 47 years), and the ages range from less than 30 years (age group: 20-29 years) to greater than 80 years (age group: 80-100 years).

To protect privacy and confidentiality, age information will not be provided on the hospitalized cases.

The mean age of all deceased cases is 75 years (median: 77 years), and the ages range from less than 60 years (age group: 50-59 years) to greater than 80 years (age group: 80-100 years).

The source of all cases is as follows:

·         199 are Imported

·         485 are classified as local transmission of which:

·         398 are Local transmission with known contact/source and

·         87 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·         7 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change.  Today’s update has 1 case moving from under investigation to local transmission with unknown contact/source.

Of the over 160,000 test results reported, the mean age of all persons tested is 43 years (median:  42 years), and the ages range from less than one year to greater than 100 years.

The seven-day average of our real time reproduction number is less than 1 (0.20) and Bermuda’s current country status remains “Sporadic Cases”.

The Ministry of Health reminds the public that the COVID-19 vaccination will be an essential tool to help stop the pandemic.

“Wearing masks, physical distancing, good hand hygiene and downloading the WeHealth Bermuda app will help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough,” said the Minister of Health, the Hon Kim Wilson.

“Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. We owe it to ourselves, to our loved ones and to the Bermudian community at large to use every tool at our disposal to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus.”

“The next batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses arrive in Bermuda today, and as more doses of the vaccine arrive and become available, we will be moving to the next phases of the National Allocation Strategy. As we transition through the phases, there may be changes to the protocols. The Ministry of Health will communicate any changes that may occur.”

“Persons interested in getting the vaccine should go to: https://forms.gov.bm/covidvaccine. Filling out this form should take approximately two minutes, and it is important to note that the information you enter will be kept private.”

“Again, I will remind everyone that registering your interest does not guarantee you an appointment at this time. Supplies of the initial delivery of the vaccine are limited and must be allocated based on medical need. All submissions will be reviewed by our medical personnel and prioritised based on their assessments. Your submission will be kept on file, and you will be contacted as appointments become available.”

“For information on vaccines and how the COVID-19 vaccination will be administered, as well as frequently asked questions on the vaccine, visit www.gov.bm/vaccines.”