Created: Dec 03, 2018 2021 07:56 AM

A batch of Covid-19 vaccines is arriving on the island. (Photo from Facebook)

Three new coronavirus infections have been recorded, health officials said yesterday, while six people have recovered from the coronavirus since the last update on Monday.

The recoveries have reduced the number of active cases to 30. All new cases have arrived from abroad and no one is being treated in hospital.

A spokeswoman for the health ministry said the real-time reproduction number was 0.44.

She added: “Local data shows Bermuda is moving out of community transmission.”

The spokesperson added that 71.8% of the population had received an injection of the Covid-19 vaccine and 70.1% of the population had been fully immunized.

More than 20% of the population has received a booster.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said the government will change its pre-arrival testing requirements for travelers and accept supervised or observed antigen testing done no more than three days before arrival.

She said: “While the pre-arrival antigen test provides a result immediately to the traveler, observation of the sampling process is necessary to confirm the result.

“The ‘Fit to Fly’ certificate will be provided by the health service, whether it is a laboratory or a pharmacy that observes the traveler as they perform the test.”

Ms Wilson told the audience: “You can do this from home by purchasing a test, making an appointment for video observation, and the certificate is emailed to you.”

The policy change will take effect tomorrow.

Wilson added that some establishments have closed their bathrooms to the public due to the pandemic.

She said: “Such closures are not a mandatory requirement, although companies can limit the use of their facilities.

“However, I would encourage companies to consider people with disabilities or with health concerns who may need to access your bathroom.”

A tenth shipment of Covid-19 vaccines is expected to arrive on the island from the UK today.

The Government House Facebook page highlighted the arrival of the shipment – 9,360 doses of the Pfizer shot and 80 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The post said: “Each trip is approximately 3,600 miles from northern England to Bermuda with an uninterrupted cold chain among shippers only lasting 84 hours.

“The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has sent over 70 shipments of vaccine to the British Overseas Territories on six continents without losing a single batch so far.”

The message pointed out that the UK had also sent vaccines to the Cayman Islands, South Georgia and the Turks and Caicos Islands this week.

The last batch of 2,300 doses of vaccine arrived from the UK at the end of September.

Vaccines against Covid-19 are available at the Hamilton Health Center on Victoria Street on Tuesdays between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. by appointment only.

Appointments can be made at www.gov.bm/vaccines or by phone at 332 8906.

Vaccination appointments are also available at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Immunization Clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and walk-in visits will be accepted.

Booster injections can also be booked online at www.gov.bm/vaccine-booster. People aged 65 and over can come to Pier 6 on Front Street for a reminder and KEMH reminder clinics will be held Wednesdays and Sundays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for the rest of the month.