The Ministry of Health received 8358 test results since the last update, and 125 were positive for the coronavirus, giving a test positivity rate of 1.5%.

These results are from testing done on:

• Monday, August 30: 35 positive out of 2479 results (1.4% positivity)
• Tuesday, August 31: 31 positive out of 2983 results (1.0% positivity)
• Wednesday, September 1: 59 positive out of 2896 results (2.1% positivity)

12 of the new cases are classified as imported with history of travel in the previous 14 days, with details as follows:

• 1 resident who arrived via British Airways BA 159 from London on 19 August  and tested positive on their day 10 test
• 1 non-resident who arrived via Air Canada AC 942 from Toronto on 20 August  and tested positive on their day 10 test
• 1 resident who arrived via Jet Blue B61731 from New York on 21 August  and tested positive on their day 10 test
• 1 resident who arrived via Delta Airline DL 617 from Atlanta on 21 August  and tested positive on their day 10 test
• 1 resident who arrived via United Airlines UA 1985 from Newark on 22 August  and tested positive on their day 10 test
•  1 non-resident who arrived via Jet Blue B6203 from Boston on 28 August and tested positive on their outbound test
• 1 resident who arrived via American Airlines AA 825 from Philadelphia on 28 August and tested positive on their day 4 test
• 2 residents who arrived via United Airlines UA 1985 from Newark on 28 August and tested positive on their day 4 test
• 1 resident who arrived via American Airlines AA 1863 from Charlotte on 30 August  and tested positive on their arrival test
• 1 resident who arrived via United Airlines UA 1985 from Newark on 30 August  and tested positive on their arrival test
• 1 resident who arrived via Jet Blue B61731 from New York on 31 August  and tested positive on their arrival test
• 39 of the new cases are classified as local transmission with known contact as they are associated with known cases.
• The additional 74 new cases are classified as under investigation. These cases are among residents with no currently identified link to other known cases or history of travel in the past 14 days.

Additionally, since the last update, there were 40 recoveries and 0 deaths.

There are 290 active cases, of which:

• 283 are under public health monitoring and
• 7 are in hospital with 1 in intensive care

Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 3048 confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 2724 have recovered, and sadly 34 COVID related deaths.

The source of all active cases is as follows:

• 48 are Imported
• 108 are classified as local transmission of which:
  •  108 are Local transmission with known contact/source and
  •  0 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source
• 134 are Under Investigation

Active cases by vaccination status, transmission, and type:

• Imported cases: 39 (81%) are fully vaccinated and 9 (19%) are not vaccinated
• Local/Under Investigation cases: 59 (24%) are fully vaccinated and 183 (76%) are not vaccinated
• Of the active cases by variant type: 0 are Alpha, 0 are Beta, 125 (43%) are Delta, 0 are Gamma, 0 are wildtype, 21 (7%) are not able to be determined and 144 (50%) are not available.

The source of all confirmed cases is as follows:

• 470 are Imported
• 2423 are classified as local transmission of which:
  • 1916 are Local transmission with known contact/source and
  • 507 are Local transmission with an unknown contact/source
• 155 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 above 1.

Although Bermuda’s current country status is listed as Sporadic Cases, local data indicates that Bermuda currently meets the criteria for Community Transmission.  Community transmission is characterised by an increased incidence of locally acquired, widely dispersed cases, with many of the cases not linked to specific clusters. It is vital that all persons follow the Public Health Regulations and take measures to ensure that they protect themselves and their family from exposure to the coronavirus.

“Because of the current volume of coronavirus testing on island, the public is advised to please be patient while waiting to receive your test result,” said Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP.  “The PCR COVID-19 test result turnaround time is expected to be a minimum of 24 hours, though results may take longer.”

“I must also remind restaurants, bars and clubs that in addition to SafeKey there is still a requirement to collect contact tracing information. We are in the midst of a growing outbreak, and an essential part of controlling outbreaks is via contact tracing. This is the main way to stop further spread.”

“Patrons must provide accurate contact tracing information including full name, phone number, home address, email address, date and time of arrival.”

“The contact details of patrons must be recorded and kept for 21 days. If requested, this information must be provided to Public Health Officers to assist with contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Establishments that are required to use SafeKey, must verify the validity of the SafeKey by going to verify.gov.bm and must compare the details to the customers identification.”

“Our testing labs and contact tracers are all very busy with the volume of testing and new positive cases,” added Minister Wilson. “They are to be commended for the hard work they are doing to help manage this current outbreak. My sincere thanks to the dedicated Department of Health staff and all of our stakeholders for helping to get us through this difficult period.”

Vaccination remains the best protection against the virus, and there will be a pop-up vaccine clinic at Lindo’s in Devonshire on Tuesday September 7, 10 am – 2pm, and Thursday September 16, 3 – 7pm.

The vaccine clinic at the King Edward Memorial Hospital is open for appointments and walk-ins, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm – 7pm, and Saturdays from 8am – 4pm.

As always, to decrease the odds of getting the coronavirus, avoid the three “Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings.

Each of us has a role to play in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Follow Public Health guidelines, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distance and download the WeHealth Bermuda app.

“The pandemic is far from over, and since its start, we have less people working in Bermuda, which means less people to support our heavily subsidised healthcare system. The pandemic has affected all of us, and the Government is committed to solutions to provide quality health insurance that is affordable and accessible. While we work on health insurance reform, we are determined to find the most cost-effective way to provide new prescription drug benefits for those people using the Government’s Health Insurance Plan and fulfilling our promise to increase the prescription drug benefits for our seniors on FutureCare.”