The Ministry of Health reported another 37 new cases of COVID-19 in Bermuda in the latest round of 1,528 test results received since the last update, with a total of 866 active cases.

• One of the new cases is classified as imported by a non-resident who arrived on British Airways BA 159 from London on 30 March 2021 and tested positive on their Day 14 test

• 19 of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact as associated with known cases.

• The additional 17 new cases are classified as under investigation. These cases are among residents with no currently identified link to other known cases or history of travel within the past 14 days.

Additionally, since the last update, there were 51 recoveries and no additional deaths.

Of the 866 active cases, 824 are under public health monitoring; and 42 are in hospital with five in intensive care.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 2,023 confirmed cases of coronavirus, out of these 1140 have recovered, and 17 persons have sadly succumbed to COVID-19.

The source of all cases is as follows:

– 274 are Imported
– 1,253 are classified as local transmission of which
• 1,156 are Local transmission with known contact/source; and
• 97 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source
• 496 are Under Investigation

Of the over 220,000 test results reported, the mean age of all persons tested is 43 years (median: 42 years) and the ages range from less than 1 year to greater than 100 years.

This evening, the Minister of Health, Kim Wilson acknowledged that Bermuda has reached the milestone of more than 2,000 people testing positive with the coronavirus since reported numbers began in 2020.

And she also took the opportunity to stress to the community a few key points regarding the importance of the COVID-19 testing process during the Stay at Home period, particularly for those who have tested positive for the virus.

“We’ve hit the ominous mark of 2,000 people having confirmed positive for the coronavirus since our recording process began in 2020,” said Ms Wilson.

“I wish to remind the public about the testing process. Specifically, if you are in quarantine or if you are positive – you must get tested on day 14 – not before. You cannot follow the travellers testing guidelines.

“Another important note, with community transmission – personal exemptions are not given unless there are extraordinarily, exceptional circumstances. I say this because, we’ve been inundated with exemption requests. And I must stress that the vast majority of these requests will not be approved.

“We must recognize that we are under a Stay at Home Order for a reason. We had to introduce a short, sharp break to stop the transmission of the virus. This means we have to stop the mixing of individuals in different households, in the workplace and in all other locations where people may gather.”

The Minister also addressed the numbers of those who are currently hospitalised and the need to help ease the strain on the hospital.

Minister Wilson said, “Yesterday (April 14), we suffered a tragic loss of life in a COVID-19 related death. This was the third death in under a week. This is an incredibly sad development, and my heart goes out to all the grieving families of these individuals.

“Bermuda we must understand the severity of this outbreak and its residual effects on our services, specifically the strain it is having on our hospital. Currently we have more than 40 individuals in hospital care, five of those in ICU. And we are all wishing and hoping that each of these persons successfully recover from this virus.

“The team at the Bermuda Hospitals Board are actively fighting on the frontlines day in, and day out, and they are using all their resources to help our fellow Bermudians survive COVID-19. So as we close out day three of this Stay at Home period, it is my hope that we continue to stay the course. I know it is challenging and at times frustrating, but we must keep the goal in mind, to reduce the number of admissions to the hospital and reduce the strain on the healthcare system.”

The Minister concluded: “We all have a role to play in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. We continue to encourage residents to speak to their doctor about getting vaccinated. If you haven’t already done so, please register to get vaccinated because vaccination is not only the key to our return to normality, but it can also save lives.

“Please follow Public Health guidelines, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distance and download the WeHealth Bermuda app.”