“I am sad to report today that Bermuda has experienced ten more coronavirus-related deaths,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP. “I extend heartfelt condolences to the families and friends who recently lost a loved one.”

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 3721 test results, and 99 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 2.7%.

These results are from testing done on:

• Sunday: 22 positive out of 1424 results (1.5% positivity)
• Monday: 77 positive out of 2297 results (3.2% positivity)

Six of the new cases are classified as imported with a history of travel in the previous 14 days.

The additional 93 new cases are classified as either local transmission or remain under investigation.

Additionally, since the last update, there have been 106 recoveries and ten deaths.

There are 1453 active cases, of which:

• 1392 are under public health monitoring and
• 61 are in hospital, with 11 in intensive care

Since the last public report on Monday, there have been 13 admissions and 11 discharges from the hospital.

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 5244 confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 3719 have recovered, and sadly 72 COVID related deaths.

The source of all active cases is as follows:

• 67 are Imported
• 304 are classified as local transmission of which:
  • 304 are Local transmission with known contact/source and
  • 0 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source
• 1082 are Under Investigation

Active cases by vaccination status, transmission, and type:

• Imported cases: 90% are fully vaccinated, and 10% are not vaccinated
• Local/Under Investigation cases: 20% are fully vaccinated, and 80% are not vaccinated
• Variant typing is not available at this time due to the prioritisation of test results.

The source of all confirmed cases is as follows:

• 598 are Imported
• 3010 are classified as local transmission of which:
  • 2399 are Local transmission with known contact/source and
  • 611 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source
• 1636 are Under Investigation

As investigations proceed, transmission categories may change. For information regarding age distributions and overall transmission categories, please refer to https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid19-update.

The seven-day average of our real-time reproduction number is 0.71. Bermuda’s current country status is Clusters of Cases. However, local data continues to indicate that Bermuda meets the criteria for Community Transmission. Community transmission is characterised by an increased incidence of locally acquired, widely dispersed cases, with many cases not linked to specific clusters.

We have completed week 37 of vaccinations. Since January 11, Bermuda has administered a total of 87,215 vaccinations.

Of the 87,215 vaccinations given as of September 25:

• 52% are women and,
• 48% are men

84.2% of all residents over the age of 65 years have had at least one vaccination, and 82.7% are fully immunised.

To date, 68.3% of the population has been vaccinated (1 dose), and 66.5% of the population has been immunised (2 doses).

Minister Wilson advised, “If you have COVID-19 and you are looking after yourself at home, here are a few tips from medical experts.”

“Have a friend, family member or neighbour check how you are doing daily. Arrange a regular call or talk through a doorway (not face to face).”

“If you have a high temperature, get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids (water is best) to avoid dehydration – drink enough, so your urine is light yellow and clear, take paracetamol or ibuprofen if you feel uncomfortable.”

“If you have a cough, it’s best to avoid lying on your back. Lie on your side or sit upright instead. To help ease a cough, try having a teaspoon of honey. But do not give honey to babies under 12 months. If this does not help, you could contact a pharmacist for advice about cough treatments, but do not go to the pharmacy, stay home.”

“Be sure to contact your doctor for guidance, and if you do not have a doctor, the hospital has set up a phone number 239-2009 to assist with information on the proper treatment for your symptoms.”

Minister Wilson concluded, “I encourage everyone to please do everything you can to protect you and your family from the virus.”

“Everyone in our community has an individual responsibility to help stop the spread of the coronavirus,” concluded Minister Wilson. “We are all in this together, and we must all work together to ensure our community is safe. The Delta variant is spreading fast, causing more infections in our community. I urge those who have not been vaccinated to do so now. The COVID-19 vaccines work to prevent severe illness, which may be fatal.”