Three people are in hospital with Covid-19, including one in intensive care, as the number of active cases jumped to 53, the health ministry said last night.

The news came as the Government announced 21 new cases were recorded from 8,614 test results through Sunday, representing a test positivity rate of 0.2 per cent.

Of the new cases ten were locally transmitted – six with a known contact and four with no known contact, bringing the total number under investigation to ten. The four new cases under investigation had not travelled within a fortnight.

This is the highest number of active cases in Bermuda since May 24. All three cases in hospital are unvaccinated people and they are the first to be admitted to hospital since June 16.

There were four recoveries and no deaths.

The rise in Covid-19 cases appears to being fuelled by the virulent Delta variant. While government did not release Delta variant figures last night, figures provided to The Royal Gazette earlier yesterday for cases through July 27 showed nine out of ten active cases were Delta variant.

Three of the active cases are of people in their 70s while seven are of people in their 60s. Six people aged under 10 have been infected.

Bermuda has now recorded 2,589 cases of Covid-19 since March 2020. Out of those 2,503 have recovered and 33 have died.

Of all the cases 366 are imported, 2,213 are local transmission. Of the local cases 1,718 are with a known contact and 495 are local transmission with an unknown contact. Ten are under investigation.

The seven-day average of Bermuda’s reproduction number is less than one and the island’s WHO country status is “Sporadic Cases”.

For more information about the active cases visit https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update.

The health ministry also reported that the number of Covid-19 vaccinations continued to only inch up. It said 64.1 per cent of the population had received two doses of the vaccine, up just 0.2 per cent from 63.9 per cent last Tuesday.

A further 1.3 per cent of the population has had one dose, down from 1.3 per cent last week, suggesting the rate of new vaccinations continues to slow.

Since January 11, Bermuda has administered 83,208 vaccinations of which 52 per cent are women and 48 per cent are men. A total of 82.5 per cent of residents over the age of 65 have had at least one dose and 81.3 per cent are fully immunised.

The ministry continues to advocate that residents get vaccinated.

The spokeswoman added: “Vaccination is recognised globally as one of the single most important measures that individuals can take to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community, from severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths.”

The ministry also confirmed that it has helped to vaccinate Viking Cruise Lines crew members owing to delays in their own supply.

A spokesman said: “It continues to be the commitment of the company that all crew and passengers are vaccinated and the ministry supports this responsible course of action. The vaccine supply used by Viking will be replaced by Viking so there is no loss to the Bermuda community.“

Residents can walk in to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital vaccination centre. This week the vaccination centre will be open on Thursday from 4pm to 7pm, and Saturday from 8am to 4pm.

Members of the public can register for a vaccination appointment via: https://vaccine.resqwest.com/web/

Asked what contingency plan was in place by the government in case there is a spike in Covid-19 cases following the Cup Match holiday, Ms Wilson told The Royal Gazette: “We will continue to closely monitor any changes in the number of cases. The ministry along with relevant partner departments will review any steps that need to be taken to address any increases in transmission.”

She added: “We’re also reminding the public about the need to use SafeKey for both indoor as well as outdoor events and large group activities. The public is urged to remain vigilant when it comes to protecting themselves and others from the coronavirus.

“We continue to urge members of the community to make responsible decisions in terms of engaging in the proper health and safety guidelines such as wearing masks, proper hand hygiene etc.”

Of Bermuda’s new 11 imported cases, two are residents who arrived on the Delta Air Lines flight from new York on July 29 and tested positive on arrival.

One was a visitor who arrived on the JetBlue flight from Boston on July 29 and tested positive on arrival.

One visitor who tested positive arrived on the American Airlines flight from Charlotte on July 29 and tested positive on their outbound test while another arrived on Delta Air Lines from Atlanta on July 23 and tested positive on their outbound test.

A resident arriving on American Airlines from Miami on July 22 tested positive on their day eight test then another visitor who arrived on Jet Blue from Boston on July 31 tested positive on arrival.

Another visitor arriving on JetBlue from New York on July 28 tested positive on their outbound test while a resident arriving on Jet Blue from Boston on July 27 tested positive on their day four test.

One resident on the Sata Airlines flight from the Azores on August 1 tested positive on arrival and a resident who arrived on United Airlines from Newark on the same day tested positive on arrival.