There were 8302 test results received by the Ministry of Health since the last update, and five were positive for COVID-19, giving a test positivity rate of 0.06%. 

These results are from testing done on:

§  Thursday, July 15: 1 positive out of 2769 results (0.04% positivity)

§  Friday, July 16: 1 positive out of 1862 results (0.05% positivity)

§  Saturday, July 17: 2 positive out of 1869 results (0.11% positivity)

All 5 of the new cases are classified as imported with details as follows:

·1 resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on July 15 and tested positive on their arrival test

·1 resident who arrived on Jet Blue Airways B61731 from New York on July 12 and tested positive on their day 4 test

·1 non-resident who arrived on American Airlines AA 2044  from Charlotte on July 9 and tested positive on their day 8 test

·1 non-resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on July 13 and tested positive on their day 4 test

·1 resident who arrived on American Airlines AA 2044  from Charlotte on July 18 and tested positive on their arrival test

Additionally, there were five (5) recoveries and 0 deaths.

There are currently 15 active cases, of which;

• 15 are under public health monitoring and; 

• Zero are in the hospital.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 2535 total confirmed cases of COVID-19; out of those, 2487 persons have recovered, and sadly, there were 33 COVID-related deaths.

The source of all cases is as follows:

·338 are Imported

·2194 are classified as local transmission of which:

o   1698 are Local transmission with known contact/source and 

o   496 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·3 are Under Investigation

For information regarding age distributions, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. The seven-day average of our real time reproduction number is less than 1. Bermuda’s current WHO country status remains “Sporadic Cases”.

We have completed week 27 of vaccinations. Since January 11, Bermuda has administered a total of 82,468 vaccinations. 

Of the 82,468 vaccinations given as of July 17:

·52% are women and,

·48% are men

82.3% of all residents over the age of 65 years have had at least one vaccination, and 81.0% are fully immunised.

To date, 65.0% of the population has been vaccinated (1 dose), and 63.7% of the population has been immunised (2 doses).

“The KEMH Vaccination Centre is open for appointments and walk-ins Monday to Friday from 4.00 pm – 7.00 pm, and Saturday from 8.00 am to 12.00 pm. The Centre is closed on Sunday.” 

The Government is also announcing changes to the traveller testing regime as of Friday, July 23 2021.

“Immunised travellers arriving on or after Friday, July 23 will test on arrival, day 4 and day 10,” explained Minister Wilson. “This change moves the day 8 test to day 10 and drops the day 14 test for immunised travellers.”

“We have also upgraded the travel authorisation (TA) process. Travellers who have their TA rejected now receive a rejection email that states the TA error and allows them to re-upload documentation without calling the call centre. Once new documentation is uploaded, the traveller’s TA moves back to the TA approvals list for review. This allows for a smoother application process for those TAs that are rejected for one reason or another and will reduce the need for travellers to phone or email the call centre.”

“Parents and guardians sending their children to camps are reminded to complete the online camp registration form and follow the public health guidance on www.gov.bm/camp-guidance, where approved camps are listed,” added Minister Wilson.

“Parents and guardians are encouraged to send their children to approved camps only. Approved camps are assessed for COVID-19 compliance by public health professionals and issued a certificate of approval. Camps that are not approved risk closure by enforcement personnel.”