The football season has been temporarily suspended owing to a dramatic rise in the number of active Covid-19 cases on island.

The Bermuda Football Association made the announcement in the wake of receiving a directive from the Minister of Health, invoking Section 88 of the Public Health Act 1949.

The Act was amended this year in the area pertaining to closing places of public resort to read:

“Where it appears to the Minister that a communicable disease of the first or second category exists in any part of Bermuda; or there is, in the opinion of the Chief Medical Officer, an immediate risk of an outbreak of such disease in any part of Bermuda, and that the closing of any school, cinema, church, hotel or other place of public resort or meeting is necessary for checking the spread or the threatened spread of the disease, the minister may order the manager or other person in charge of that place to close it; and such manager or person in charge shall forthwith comply with that order, and shall continue to comply therewith until otherwise directed by the minister.”

Four Premier Division matches were originally scheduled for tomorrow as well as two in the First Division.

Earlier in the day, the match between Southampton Rangers and Somerset Trojans scheduled for Southampton Oval had been called off because Southampton Rangers Sports Club was being shut down for “Covid cleaning”.

A Rangers club statement had initially said the match would go on before the BFA intervened by postponing it.

In doing so, the BFA made it clear that the reason had nothing to do with football or with the Rangers football team, but with a function held at the club.

Hours later, the mood has changed entirely, with the matches in the Premier Division between X-Roads and Robin Hood, Devonshire Colts and Dandy Town, and St George’s and Somerset Eagles, and the First Division fixtures between Boulevard and Ireland Rangers, and Hamilton Parish and Flanagan’s Onions having to be postponed.

“The BFA fully understands and supports this decision by the Bermuda Government,” the governing body said in a statement. “The BFA will meet with the relevant government ministries in the coming days to determine the way forward and will provide further updates in due course.”

Ten new cases of Covid-19 were revealed by the health ministry today, bringing the active number of cases to 63.

Two people are in hospital, including one who is in critical care.

The Royal Gazette is awaiting further comment from the Ministry of Health.