A number of new regulations will take effect at 6am on Sunday, March 28th, including the closure of indoor gyms, cinemas, and museums; retail stores being restricted to 20% of occupancy, and indoor dining being prohibited except for hotels who are restricted to hotel guests only.
In addition, churches, except for funerals, will be closed to congregants, remote working will now be mandatory where possible, and schools and camps are to be closed, however “licensed day care facilities will be allowed to open following strict public health guidance and will be visited by public health officers.”
The new regulations were announced amidst new test results that set a number of unwelcome records. The officials announced 81 new cases, the most ever announced in one day, and with more than 230 new cases announced this week, it is also the most confirmed cases in a single week. The island now has a 294 active cases, which is the highest ever for Bermuda — exceeding the old high of 253 in December 2020 — and the total cases to date have now surpassed 1,000 for the first time, standing at 1,028.
Speaking at this evening’s press conference, the Premier said, “Earlier today the Cabinet met and decided the following changes to the Public Health Emergency Regulations, which will come into effect from tomorrow, March 28th at 6am:
- “Churches / indoor religious services save for funerals are closed to congregants but open to a max of 10 clergy or those persons required to facilitate services for broadcast.
- “Indoor dining is prohibited save for hotels whose indoor dining is restricted to hotel guests only. Outdoor restaurants and bars can remain open.
- “Indoor gyms are to be closed, as well as bowling alleys, indoor cinemas, museums, or any other indoor place of public resort. Outdoor facilities such as golf courses, tennis courts, parks, and outdoor gym equipment can remain open.
- “Retail stores to be restricted to 20% of approved fire occupancy at any one time.
- “To minimise mixing of school age children, where we have seen a significant level of cases – Schools and camps are to be closed. However, licensed day care facilities will be allowed to open following strict public health guidance and will be visited by public health officers.
- “Remote working will now be mandatory where at all possible.
“All other regulations that were in place previously, will remain in place, including personal care services, which are allowed so long as masks do not have to be removed. The curfew will remain from 11pm – 5am. Simply put, indoor activities that require you to remove a mask are not allowed.”
The Premier also added further details via Twitter, saying:
- “Beauty salons and barbers to remain open with appropriate PPE such as masks, gloves and eye protection for service providers. Customers must wear masks.
- “The Department of Marine and Ports will provide licencing information to commercial tour boat operators with guidance from the Department of Health. Recreational boating curfew is 8pm. No raft ups allowed.
- “Outdoor activities allowed eg. golf courses, tennis courts, parks, beaches, playgrounds and outdoor gym equipment.
- “In operation: Construction, mechanical and landscaping companies. There will be limited government departments and court services
- “Public transportation will have a full schedule with limited capacity.
- ” There can be no more than ten people at permitted gatherings. Mixing households is strongly discouraged.
Speaking this evening, Health Minister Kim Wilson said, “Bermuda’s current country status remains “Sporadic Cases” [as determined by the World Health Organisation] and “Community Transmission” [as determined by the Pan-American Health Organisation]. Bermuda, this is a significant outbreak. We have never experienced community spread.
“Sporadic cases” means having a few cases, which may be imported or locally acquired. However, “community transmission” signifies outbreaks where it is difficult to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for large number of cases or there are widely dispersed cases detected in the past 14 days. Bermuda exhibits signs of both these situations. This is new territory for us.
“It is more critical than ever that we take responsibility for our behaviour and act in an abundance of caution. In other words, stay in your household bubble. Do not socialise outside of your household or invite others into your household. Do not mix households, as we know this is contributing to the spread.
“I know that this sounds punitive and not welcoming news at all, but we are all in this together, and we have to recognise that we have a serious problem, and we all need to be part of the solution.
“Everyone must do their best to prevent further spread and prevent more critical illness and death from this third wave – which is presently on track to be larger than the second wave because the UK variant spreads easily and is spreading incredibly fast.”
