Bermuda records third Covid-19 death - Royal Gazette

News Staff

Published Apr 8, 2020 at 3:45 pm (Updated Apr 8, 2020 at 6:47 pm)

Graphic by Christina White
David Burt, the Premier (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

Bermuda recorded its third death as a result of Covid-19 today.

David Burt announced the news at a press conference at the Berkeley Institute this evening.

An 80-year-old man in hospital died earlier today, and Mr Burt said the source of transmission of the coronavirus was still under investigation.

It came with a stark announcement that hundreds further lives were at risk unless shelter in place regulations were adhered to.

The Premier also said 25 more test results were received today, but all were negative.

He said 23 people have fully recovered from the coronavirus, and five remain in hospital.

The average age of those in hospital is 69.

He said more test results were expected tomorrow and “the expectation is that the numbers will rise”.

Mr Burt issued a stern warning over following isolation guidelines during the pandemic.

The Premier said he had reviewed modelling today and it indicated “very plainly and simply that if we do not follow the rules in place now or the rules necessary to implement in the future, the estimation is that over 700 Bermudians could die from this virus”.

He said he was “disappointed at the number of requests for exemptions” to rules for sheltering in place under the state of emergency that started on Saturday.

Of the 700 figure, Mr Burt said: “This is not an error, and I am not saying this to scare anyone. These are the facts.”

He added: “If we are not taking this seriously, more Bermudians will die.”

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said that modelling showed what would strike “in the absence of any mitigating factors”, which would lead to a “surge” in infections.

Ms Wilson said that scenario would “crumble our healthcare system”.

Modelling is based on Public Health England and Imperial College London, she added.

More to follow.

• The Royal Gazette is experiencing difficulties with the live video stream from the press conference and is attempting to fix the issue. We will have a full recording of the video later.

Let's block ads! (Why?)