The number of active Covid-19 cases has dropped by more than half, health officials said last night.

The news came as one new case was recorded out 1,587 results received since last Friday.

The number of active cases dropped from 26 to 12 after 15 people recovered from infection over the weekend.

The number of active cases peaked on December 22, when 253 people the coronavirus.

A spokeswoman for the health ministry said that the new case was a resident who arrived on the BA flight from London last Friday and tested positive on arrival.

A total of eight of the 12 cases are being monitored by public health officials and four are in hospital, but none are are in intensive care.

The island has recorded 692 cases, with 668 of those infected going on to recover since the pandemic hit last March.

The death toll remains at 12 people.

The latest results mean that the seven-day average of the real time reproduction number is now 0.33 and the country status remained at “sporadic cases”.

Kim Wilson, the minister of health, appealed to the public to sign up for the Government vaccination programme.

Ms Wilson said: “If enough people in Bermuda are vaccinated, the virus is less able to spread as the number of susceptible people is lowered.”

She told the public: “Getting vaccinated will protect you, and it will also help protect the people you interact with, especially those at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19.

“Those individuals in higher-risk groups include the elderly and those who are extremely clinically vulnerable.

“If you have any questions about your vulnerability, please talk with your primary care physician.”

A ministry spokeswoman added that the vaccine was free of charge.

Anyone who wants the injection should fill out the application form at https://forms.gov.bm/covidvaccine