Good evening Bermuda,

I begin tonight by offering my heartfelt condolences to the families of Ra-Che Williams and Quan-Marley Lowe who lost their lives recently. It is saddening to lose any life in our community, but the loss of young life bears a special sorrow. 

While I know that my words alone are not enough to make up for the loss that the families and friends of these young men are dealing with, I wish for them to know that they are in our thoughts and in our prayers.

For well over a year now, we have consistently been reminded of the preciousness of life. We have worked hard and collectively sacrificed to protect our loved ones, our friends, the vulnerable, and those who are working on the frontlines. 

Our sense of unity and social responsibility propelled us through some of the darkest days last year. We did this despite the fact that it was uncomfortable and despite differences of opinion. We came together in the name of defeating the coronavirus and protecting Bermuda.

That goal has not changed and the Government cannot shy away from the responsibilities and duties that we have sworn to uphold. We remain dedicated to protecting the people of this country, even if it means making unpopular decisions. 

Today there was a protest at the grounds of the Cabinet Building, and I with my Cabinet colleagues went outside to accept a document submitted by the group for the Government’s consideration. Peaceful demonstrations such as this are the cornerstone of a free society, and I am proud to lead a country where persons have the right to assemble for causes they support, and respect the rights and views of those who may have been in attendance today. 

In order to continue to move beyond the pandemic, difficult decisions will still be necessary, and they, like mandatory quarantine, will not be decisions everyone agrees with. But, I and the Ministers of your Government will continue to make those difficult decisions in the best interest of the country. Strong leadership will be necessary in the face of criticism and differing views but the Government will remain focused to see Bermuda through the challenges ahead. 

Strong leadership does not mean that we will make decisions without listening to the concerns of the people, but that we will listen as intently as ever to you in order to lead and to make decisions effectively. This not only includes listening to your concerns surrounding the coronavirus but also means addressing the social and economic issues that you elected us to tackle on October 1. 

The Government is not perfect, as we are made up of humans, and we will make mistakes. We recognize the issues that took place with the revised travel authorization process when the mandatory quarantine commenced on June 20. We heard the frustrations and the obstacles faced by Bermudians who were traveling, and have worked diligently since then to improve our processes while doing what is necessary to keep our border secure. 

And as was indicated last week I apologise for the challenges that were encountered.

Despite personal opinions, including my own, the science and data show that supervised quarantine is a necessary measure to protect our island from dangerous variants that could threaten the freedoms that we have worked so hard to get back. This progress cannot be taken for granted - as we have seen many countries who lacked border protections forced to move backward and be forced to re-implement restrictions. 

Tonight, I am joined by the Minister of Health, The Hon. Kim Wilson, the Minister of National Security, The Hon. Renee Ming, the Minister of Youth, Culture & Sport, Dr. the Hon. Ernest Peets, and the Government’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ayo Oyinloye.

First, we will hear from the Minister of Health, who will provide the country with an update on our latest coronavirus test results, vaccination progress, and changes to large group sizes as agreed by the Cabinet, as well as other matters from her Ministry.

Minister of Health…

Thank you Minister, and thank you to your team at the Ministry and all of the teams who continue to work on the frontlines of this pandemic which is not over. While it is disappointing to now have the Delta variant on our shores, it solidifies our need for vigilance. We are fortunate to have a sound and accessible testing programme for anyone who wishes to know their status. I encourage Bermudians to take advantage of this, get tested, know their status, and encourage their family and friends to do so as well.

Our strong testing regime has been possible thanks to the hard work of so many Bermudians, many of them from the Government’s Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory. MDL serves as an excellent example of how publicly owned services can help to reduce the cost of healthcare in Bermuda.

To give us more insight into the Beta and Delta variants I now invite the Government’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ayo Oyinloye to provide us with his informative presentation which will help us to better understand what we are dealing with here in Bermuda.

CMO…

Thank you very much Chief Medical Officer for that very informative presentation.

Next to share information with the people of Bermuda will be the Minister of National Security who will provide an update from her ministry and also an update on the details regarding supervised quarantine...

Minister Ming….

Thank you Minister Ming, and thank you and your team at the Ministry of National Security for managing this very important operation. It is necessary in this moment while dangerous variants continue to spread around the world. 

By protecting ourselves at our borders, we also protect our current freedoms with very limited restrictions, we protect local businesses and jobs, and we protect our healthcare system. We also allow ourselves to enjoy the things that we have missed such as enjoying our local sports events and traditions.

In keeping with sport, we will now hear from the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Sport on large group exemptions, as well as changes to cricketing regulations..

Thank you, Minister Peets. I am sure I can safely speak for many in Bermuda when I say that it is a joy to have cricket back and to be able to enjoy it safely. This is yet another sign of our collective progress, that we can return to the events and activities that we have missed for some time, using tools like SafeKey to enjoy them with reduced risk of coronavirus, and a peace of mind that is so valuable to an enjoyable experience while the pandemic is still a part of our reality. 

I look forward to the cricket season continuing, I look forward to Eastern Counties, and I certainly am looking forward to Cup Match.

As I said earlier tonight, and as the Government has said since January, vaccines remain the most effective tool we have against the coronavirus. We have been fortunate to have an outstanding vaccination programme, thanks to the hard work of many of our public officers and healthcare professionals, and volunteers.

We have seen 64% of the total population and 77% of the eligible population make the personal choice to get vaccinated, which combined with strong regulations helped to reduce local transmission and get us to a place where those regulations could be relaxed.

The Government’s position remains, as the CMO said, that getting vaccinated is a personal choice and that persons should do so only after speaking to their doctor first. Please, I implore you to speak to your doctor before making the choice to get vaccinated to ensure that it is right for you and to minimize any possibility of an allergic reaction.

With the arrival of over 4,000 doses last week, there is an opportunity for anyone who has not received the vaccine yet to do so and to help get us to our goal of 70% of the population being fully immunised.

We have seen that as vaccinations increase, the effect of coronavirus decreases, and Governments grow in their confidence to relax restrictions, allow for more activity, and begin their return to normal as we have here in Bermuda. 

To those who have already taken the steps to be vaccinated, I thank you for doing your part. To those of you who have chosen not to or cannot, but make the effort every day to follow the health guidance to protect you and others I thank you as well for all that you do.

In addition to vaccines, we must continue to manage and balance the risk for our entire community. We have seen an end to the majority of restrictions, but we have wisely held on to our indoor mask mandate as we must keep protections in place where there is an increased risk such as indoor spaces. We will continue to be cautious in our decision making, which will be led by the data. 

The reduction in group sizes from 100 to 50 is a precaution, due to the new variants that the CMO outlined, it is important that we do not throw caution to the wind and rush on the road to normality which could set back our progress. We know that the pandemic is not yet over but we also know that as a country we are in a very fortunate position, and in a place where we can enjoy our summer, and spend time with friends and family, and enjoy our traditions. In order for this to continue, we must work together, recognize our collective priorities, and do what we can to achieve our goal that is a country united, moving beyond the pandemic.

Thank you...