A total of 19 new cases of the coronavirus were reported yesterday, the health ministry announced.

The infections were found in 1,271 test results returned to health officials.

The news brought the island’s total number of cases to 516.

One case came in from overseas – a resident who arrived from Atlanta on Wednesday and tested positive on arrival.

A total of nine cases were classed as on-island transmission and associated with known contacts or clusters.

The others nine cases, all among residents with no links to known cases or travel history in the past 14 days, were said to be under investigation.

The number of people who have recovered since the last update is six.

The island has 240 active cases, with 237 under public health monitoring, and three in hospital.

None are in critical care.

A total of 267 people have recovered from infection and the death toll remains at nine.

The mean age of active cases is 35, ranging from an infant to 80.

Bermuda has had 290 on-island transmissions and 142 cases that came in from overseas.

On-island transmissions with a known contact amount to 268.

There are 22 cases listed as on-island infections with unknown contacts and 84 cases are under investigation

One infection has been moved to the from overseas category – a resident who arrived from New York on November 25.

A total of ten cases have changed from being under investigation to transmission with a known contact, and one case went from being under investigation to on-island transmission with an unknown contact.

The seven-day average of the real-time reproduction number 1.46, and the island’s country status is “clusters of cases”.

Kim Wilson, the health minister, said several new strains of the coronavirus had emerged in Britain.

She said the PCR test for the virus was able to cover multiple target genes of coronavirus.

Ms Wilson said there was no evidence to suggest that new strains of the virus in the UK were associated with changes in disease transmission, severity, antibody response or vaccine efficiency.

The Government earlier this month upped the fee for residents who arrived without a pretest from $30 to $300.

But Ms Wilson said the fee increase had been delayed until December 25.

She said there had been a delay in the test regime organised by the Costco wholesaler chain in the United States and that tests would not be available until December 21.