A return to lockdown would only “kick the can down the road” in the battle against Covid-19, the Chief Medical Officer warned last night.

Ayo Oyinloye admitted there was evidence from the third wave of coronavirus infections in the spring that “if we had shut down the island, things would have dropped exponentially – however, to what effect?”

Dr Oyinloye said getting the population vaccinated was the best way to win the war and was the top priority.

He added: “If we shut down, we will still end up facing that question.”

Wesley Miller, the chief of staff at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, said: “The reality is that Covid is widespread in the community.”

He highlighted that few cases were coming in from overseas and the option of another lockdown would only paralyse the island.

Dr Miller said: “From a medical perspective, it’s not so much restrictions at this stage.

“It’s following public health guidelines and taking up the vaccine.”

Dr Miller said an extension of curfew for two weeks would take pressure of hospital staff because there would be fewer serious late-night crashes.

He explained: “We are less likely to have polytrauma from road traffic accidents that happen late at night and early in the morning.

“They take up a lot of resources.”