The Ministry of Health received 9495 test results since the last update, and 31 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 0.3%.

These results are from testing done on:

§  Thursday, August 5: 5 positive from 3015 test results (0.2% positivity)

§  Friday, August 6: 8 positive from 2509 test results (0.3% positivity)

§  Saturday, August 7: 12 positive from  2271 test results (0.5% positivity)

§  Sunday, August 8: 6 positive from 1700 test results (0.4% positivity)

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

§  1 non-resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on 5 August  and tested positive on their arrival test

§  1 non-resident who arrived on American Airlines AA 2044 from Charlotte on 2 August and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  1 resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on 29 July  and tested positive on their day 8 test

§  1 resident who arrived on Jet Blue B6203 from Boston on 2 August and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  1 resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on 3 August  and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  3 residents who arrived on United Airlines UA 1985 from Newark on 7 August and tested positive on their arrival test

§  1 resident who arrived on American Airlines AA 2044 from Charlotte on 7 August and tested positive on their arrival test

§  1 resident who arrived on Air Canada AC 942 from Toronto on 7 August and tested positive on their arrival test

§  1 non-resident who arrived on Jet Blue B6203 from Boston on 5 August and tested positive on their outbound test

§  1 resident who arrived on American Airlines AA 2044 from Charlotte on 4 August and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  1 resident who arrived on Jet Blue B6203 from Boston on 4 August and tested positive on their day 4 test

§  2 non-residents who arrived on United Airlines UA 1985 on 8 August and tested positive on their arrival test

§  1 non-resident who arrived on Delta Airlines DL 584 from Atlanta on 8 August and tested positive on their arrival test

14 of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact as they are associated with known cases.

The additional 1 new case is classified as under investigation. This case is among a resident with no currently identified link to other known cases or history of travel in the past 14 days.

Additionally, since the last update, there were 19 recoveries and 0 deaths.

There are 83 active cases, of which:

·         80 are under public health monitoring and

·         3 are in hospital, with 1 in intensive care

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 2645 confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 2529 have recovered, and sadly 33 COVID related deaths.

The source of all cases is as follows:

·         389 are Imported

·         2243 are classified as local transmission of which:

o   1748 are Local transmission with known contact/source and

o   495 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source

·         13 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. For information regarding 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 less than one (1).

Bermuda’s current WHO country status remains “Sporadic Cases”.

“Of the imported active cases, 26 (70%) are fully vaccinated, and 11 (30%) are not vaccinated. Of the active cases, which are Local Transmission or Under Investigation, 18 (41%) are fully vaccinated, and 28 (59%) are not vaccinated.

“By type, of the variants associated with active cases, 0 are Alpha, 2 are Beta, 70 are Delta, 0 are Gamma, 0 are wildtype, 11 are not able to be determined, and 0 are not available.”

“The Delta variant is highly transmissible, causing more infections and spreading faster than the Alpha (UK) variant,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP. “It is essential everyone, vaccinated or not, actively gets back to the basics: wear a mask indoors, practice good hand hygiene and keep physically distanced from those not in your household.”

“All public spaces must have hand sanitiser available for patrons and maintain accurate contact tracing records. This includes all businesses, restaurants, bars, gyms, beauty salons, and workplaces. This is not voluntary, this is a requirement, and enforcement action may be taken against businesses that do not comply. It is vital that all individuals and businesses do their part to control the spread of the Delta variant in Bermuda, and we will do that by remembering the basics.”

“Also, as a reminder for travellers, when filling out a Travel Authorisation (TA), please know it will be rejected if the TA is incomplete or the information provided is not correct. However, the ‘rejection’ email tells the traveller what is missing from, or needs to be corrected in, the TA form. Most importantly, that email now contains a link that travellers can use to access their TA form and upload the missing or corrected information. Travellers are encouraged to carefully read the rejection email they receive and use the link to correct their TA rather than calling the COVID Hotline.”

“The vaccine against COVID-19 is one of the single most important measures to keep our community safe, and community immunity is our best chance of ending this pandemic and returning to normality. Do the research, talk with your doctor and make an informed decision about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. There is a wealth of information about the vaccines online at gov.bm.”

“As always, avoid the three “Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings.”

Each of us has a role to play in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Follow Public Health guidelines, wear a mask indoors, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distance and download the WeHealth Bermuda app.