Bermuda’s nurses were saluted yesterday in recognition of their life-saving service during the coronavirus pandemic.

International Nurses Week was marked by the Bermuda Nurses Association in a ceremony at City Hall with Kim Wilson, the health minister, who thanked them for going above and beyond during an exceptionally difficult year. It also marked International Nurses Day.

John Harvey, Acting Mayor of Hamilton, said the community had endured "the greatest health crisis of a generation“ for more than a year.

He added: “And nowhere has this crisis been felt more acutely than by those on the frontlines; I am, of course, talking about our nurses.

“Your work and lives were thrust into centre stage like never before, and suddenly you became the most visible profession on the island.

“Never has your hard work or dedication to others been so obvious or your sacrifices so apparent.

“But you have always been there of course – silently doing your job, saving lives, helping us heal, holding our hands through sickness and difficult news.”

On behalf of the community, Mr Harvey thanked nurses for their sacrifices.

“You have been dealing with a pandemic that never seems to end and demands everything of you,” he said.

“I encourage all of us in Bermuda to take today to consider the positive force these hard-working men and women have been and continue to be in our lives.”

Mr Harvey called on the public to remember “the hardship they have seen, and the emotional load they may carry”.

He added: “Thank them. Say a kind word. Smile. Give up your seat for them on the bus; they may have been on their feet for hours – rushing from patient to patient to make sure they have what they need."