Covid-19: death toll rises to 28
The death toll from Covid-19 rose to 28 last night after another fatality was announced.
The news came as Kim Wilson, the health minister, said that 15 people had recovered from infection since yesterday and the number of active cases had dropped from 550 to 545.
Ms Wilson said: “Sadly, we have one more Covid related death to report today.
Government has lifted some Covid-19 public health safety restrictions - including those for weddings.
Bermuda College and public and private schools will be allowed to reopen to let students and pupils sit exams.
Outdoor weddings of up to ten people can also be held – but receptions will not be allowed.
The Minister of National Security will also be able to grant large group exemptions for events to be held on or after May 9.
But Government said physical distancing and other health regulations must be observed.
“My sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
A total of 11 new infections were logged out of 777 test results that came back to health officials today – a positivity rate of 1.4 per cent.
The island’s death toll from the disease has shot up dramatically in the past month.
In the first year of the pandemic – from March 2020 – there were 12 deaths. In the past month, there have been a further 16.
The surge in fatalities has been attributed to the UK variant of the disease, believed to have entered Bermuda at the end of last year.
But public safety restrictions imposed by Government two weeks ago seem to have brought numbers down.
There are now 540 cases of Covid-19 on the island compared to 904 infections 12 days ago.
There have been 78 new cases in the last seven days compared to 255 the week before and 288 the week before that.
There were 25 people in hospital yesterday, the lowest since April 8, with four in intensive care - the lowest since April 2.
Ms Wilson confirmed that none of the new cases had come in from overseas.
Four new cases were classified as on-island transmissions with known contacts.
The other seven new cases were logged as under investigation.
They are all among residents with no identified link to other known cases or history of travel in the past 14 days.
The news came against a backdrop of a slowing rate of vaccinations.
David Burt, the Premier, said earlier this week that herd immunity, 70 per cent vaccination, might not be reached by the end of May as at first predicted.
But Ms Wilson pushed the programme.
She claimed that people wanted the vaccine “but are putting it off for various reasons”.
Ms Wilson said: “I strongly encourage those sceptical about taking the vaccine to get as much information as you can.”
She told the public: “Speak to your physician about your concerns and what is best for you.”
Ms Wilson highlighted the extra pop-up sites available to get vaccinated.
She said: “The Bermuda College vaccination centre will continue to be open next week for walk-ins from 9am to 1pm from Monday to Friday.
Ms Wilson added: “The Bermuda College vaccination centre is not open on weekends.”
For weekend appointments, register at gov.bm, call the Covid-19 helpline at 444-2498 or attend this weekend’s walk-in pop-up vaccination clinic at TCD.
This story has been amended to say that the number of active cases has dropped from 550 to 545.
Need to
Know
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
