Four hospital staff tested positive for Covid-19 after they were screened “due to associations with community outbreaks, symptoms or known exposures”.

A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokeswoman said last night that 29 tests were carried out on staff suspected to be at risk for those reasons.

She added: “BHB has a specific process for staff who may have had exposures at work or who are symptomatic.

“They are assessed by our Employee Health Services team and referred to the Department of Health clinic for testing.

“Some staff have also been tested due to their association with nursing homes. To date there have been four positives.”

The figures were provided to The Royal Gazette in response to questions.

It wasn’t possible to get the exact dates for the positive results from BHB but the spokeswoman explained that they were not new results and would have been included in the government figures when they were confirmed.

She said they came in over the last few weeks. BHB previously reported that as of April 12 just seven of its staff had been tested in total.

The spokeswoman said last night that the EHS team reviewed any “potential internal exposures” for all positive results for the coronavirus in staff.

She added: “To date, we thankfully have not had any confirmed transmission of Covid-19 between staff or between staff and patients.

“But we remain on high alert for this, as it has happened in overseas hospitals.”

All BHB staff have had the option of being tested at the Government Southside drive-through centre for essential workers since it opened last Friday.

The spokeswoman said the BHB was “unable to confirm the numbers of staff” tested at Southside. But she added staff were “encouraged to get tested along with other essential services personnel”.

She said: “Protecting staff is our priority, with appropriate testing and appropriate use of personal protective equipment, in line with guidance against the latest advisories from the Centres for Disease Control, the World Health Organisation, the Pan American Health Organisation and Public Health England.”

• Note: this story has been amended to make clear that the four positive results for BHB staff members are not new results and would have been included in the overall total number of positives provided regularly by the Government when they were confirmed