Good Afternoon,
Thank you, Premier.
I want to open today by reminding us all that, as we have seen around the world, COVID-19 is a rapidly-evolving situation.
The disease was only discovered in late December and in less than four months, it’s ravaging the world. Just when we think we understand how it works, it throws us a curveball:
- Until recently, asymptomatic individuals were not thought to be contagious… but now it has been found that persons without symptoms can transmit the disease
- Until last week evidence indicated that you could not get it twice… and now the evidence is still being gathered as to what may be happening in this regard.
I think the take away from all of this is that the evidence is growing as the disease spreads. Guidance changes daily. No country has it completely under control. But, with your help, we think Bermuda has a strong chance of faring better than many.
And now, today’s testing results update.
Today, there were 38 test results received, however they were received at 5pm so are still being processed and the individuals have to be informed. Luckily, there were no additional hospitalizations, and there were no reported deaths today.
Test results were received late today, so the full report is not yet available, but will be posted online as soon as possible.
As we can see from the numbers I have just read, while COVID-19 is a mild condition in 80% of people, it can make some vulnerable persons seriously ill. Seniors and persons with prior chronic conditions are at a higher risk and need to take extra steps to avoid becoming unwell – this is called ‘Shielding’, which I mentioned briefly yesterday and want to touch on more now.
Vulnerable persons are persons who are at a high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to an underlying health condition, and may require an admission to hospital.
Vulnerable persons are those who have one or more of the following conditions or circumstances:
- Solid organ transplant recipients
- Individuals with specific cancers
- Women who are pregnant, especially those with significant congenital or acquired heart disease
- Individuals currently taking immunosuppression therapies that will significantly increase the risk of infections
- Those with severe respiratory conditions including cystic fibrosis, severe asthma or severe COPD
- HIV-positive persons not managed by HIV treatment or those who have a low CD4 cell count
- Individuals with severe combined immunodeficiency
- And those with severe obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher….or those with poorly controlled chronic conditions, especially related to heart disease, respiratory illness, or diabetes.
Shielding is a measure to protect the extremely vulnerable population by minimizing interaction between those who are vulnerable and others.
The shielding measures that must be taken are:
- Stay home at all times. This means no trips to the grocery store or pharmacy… Ask a friend, neighbour or family member to bring supplies where possible or use delivery services if you can. Most pharmacies on island are offering a delivery service, so you can contact your local pharmacy to inquire.
- Minimize all non-essential contact with other members of your household.
- Avoid any face-to-face contact.
- Strictly avoid contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus, which include high temperature and new or continuous cough.
- Do not attend any gatherings.
Visits from those who provide essential support to you should continue, however, caregiver and healthcare professionals should stay away if they have any symptoms of COVID-19.
All people coming into your home should wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds on arrival to your home and often while they remain in your home.
All of this advice can be found at coronavirus.gov.bm.
But the main thing we can all do now to protect our vulnerable is to follow the current Shelter in Place directive. A risk to one is a risk to all.
Did you know that there are 2,243 people in Bermuda with uncontrolled diabetes? Or 1,357 individuals with an immune deficiency diagnosis? Or that there are 8,625 people over 65 receiving complex care? I’m sure we all know a vulnerable person in our community…
It is along this thought that the Ministry of Health is today launching its “Who Are You Protecting?” campaign.
We are asking members of the community to submit a short clip (no more than 15 seconds) about who they are protecting by sheltering in place. For example, "By staying inside, I am protecting my grandmother who turns 85 next week." "I am protecting my sister who has chronic asthma." "I am protecting my neighbour who has cancer." etc.
If you do not live with that individual, hold up a photo of them… or have your child draw a picture of them…The more creative, the better.
Don’t wait! Take time to submit one tonight.
People can send them in to the Ministry of Health via email to moh@gov.bm with the subject line Who Am I Protecting? or by Whatsapp to 504-6045.
The deadline for submissions is Monday April 20th. They will be posted across social media and YouTube next week.
Under Shelter in Place, there are several requirements of businesses that are still allowed to operate. I want to share that the Government has published directives for safe operations by permitted businesses under the Emergency Powers (Covid-19 Shelter in Place) Regulations 2020.
This advice includes the following:
- Limit the number of people in your establishment at any given time to maintain social distancing two metres (six feet) between customers while shopping and during checkout. This can be achieved with pre-measured markers throughout the store and at checkout lanes.
- Encourage customers to use cards and avoid cash transactions as much as possible.
- Encourage customers to use a delivery option if possible, to reduce congestion at your establishment. Social distancing should be maintained even during delivery and deliveries can only be carried out by an authorized person.
- Encourage and facilitate hand washing and hand sanitising for customers before they enter your store and, where practical, place sanitising stations throughout the store, particularly at checkout.
- Regularly clean and sanitise frequently touched areas within the store
- And, finally, a cloth face covering must be worn by all persons working onsite during their shift to slow the spread of the virus and avoid transmitting it to others. In addition to wearing a cloth face mask, employees should practice regular and frequent hand hygiene, avoid touching the face and maintain social distancing.
Further details on the above can be found at coronavirus.gov.bm.
Echoing my earlier statement at the weekend, I want to thank St. John Ambulance, who has been helping the Ministry of Health and, indeed, the entire island, throughout this pandemic.
I can also announce that this week a $20,000 grant was provided to them from the Emergency Fund for providing transport for persons in the community with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and for whom urgent transport via Emergency Medical Service services is not required. Specifically, this refers to either persons without means to safely transport from their residence or the quarantine station to the COVID-19 testing center; or persons requiring transport from their residence to a quarantine station for isolation.
This $20,000 will cover approximately 40 trips and can be boosted as needed.
I also want to give thanks to the Bermuda Hospitals Board who has been working hard to increase capacity to cope with seriously ill patients with COVID-19…and to allocate more beds for potential future COVID-19 patients.
But we need more beds.
This means that anyone who is medically fit for discharge must go home, so that all possible beds are available. I understand that some families are resisting taking their loved ones home, but this is not a choice anymore. The country needs these beds in case more people fall seriously ill with COVID-19.
We have seen the pressure that hospitals can be under in other countries when they run out of beds. Everything we are doing in the community is to prevent this by reducing the spread of the infection, but the facts are right now we don’t know how high the numbers are going to go.
This means you need to be part of the solution by taking your loved ones home when they are medically fit to leave hospital. These beds are needed by the country; they are needed to help healthcare workers so they are not over-stretched; and they are needed by the people who may fall seriously ill and need care. Please work with the hospital to receive your family members, and help our hospital prepare to care for all our community.
Ultimately, the majority of cases will remain in the community. So it is important for everyone to understand a little more about contact tracing: why it’s done, how it works and what it means to you. The Chief Medical Officer will share more information on this today.
Thank you