“We will not return to life as we knew it before COVID-19 for the foreseeable future,” Premier David Burt said, adding that “we must maintain social distancing and balance that with the opening of our economy and our community.”
Speaking at last night’s [April 27] press briefing, Premier Burt said, “The Cabinet will meet and with the advice of the technical officers in the Ministry of Health we will determine the next steps post Shelter in Place. We have observed the lessons of countries that opened too far and too wide, too soon and, we will not make those mistakes.
“Our solution must fit Bermuda, fit the cases of COVID-19 on our shores and ensure that the health and safety of everyone is protected. That will always be at the forefront of all of the decisions we make.
“We will be examining how far we are able to go to get people back to work and back to their regular lives without jeopardizing the health and safety of our community. Let me be clear, we will not return to life as we knew it before COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. We must maintain social distancing and balance that with the opening of our economy and our community.
“The conversation in Cabinet tomorrow will not only be about how we will reopen our economy but also how we can transform it. How together we can shape a Bermuda that will work for everyone.
“We do not have to be constrained by the limits of the past, and as is seen in the way that we are implementing testing, which is saving the Government a tremendous amount of money, we can do things differently and make sure that as we go forward, we take different approaches to our traditional problems.
“There are many in the community who have donated to those who are in need, and there are those who continue to assist our vulnerable. We are indeed all our brothers’ keeper and our sisters’ keeper and I want to thank you each of you for your hard work and dedication.
“We will emerge at 6am on Saturday May 2 into a different Bermuda. Yet, I am of the firm belief that if we work together, we will be able to survive and thrive in the post COVID-19 world.”
