Audio: Vaccinated Travelers & Exemptions Q&A
“The total number of fully vaccinated travellers who have tested positive for Covid upon arrival in Bermuda or with any Day 4, Day 8 or Day 14 test since February 1st 2021″ is 24, Minister of Health Kim Wilson said.
This works out to under 1.4% of the total positive confirmed cases in that time frame.
The Minister confirmed this in response to a Parliamentary Question from OBA MP Michael Dunkley in the House of Assembly today [July 16] which stated: “Will the Honourable Minister please provide this Honourable House the total number of fully vaccinated travellers who have tested positive for Covid upon arrival in Bermuda or with any Day 4, Day 8 or Day 14 test since February 1st 2021?”
In response to a follow up question, the Minister provided a monthly breakdown, explaining that in February there were zero, in March there were two, in April there were five, in May there were two, in June there were eight, and in July [between the 1st and 7th] there were seven.
The Minister also provided a breakdown of when they tested positive, as in on arrival or what day of testing, with the full response available on the audio below.
For context, at the start of February 2021, there were just under 700 total positive cases total, and by July 7th [the timeframe of these stats above] there were around 2,520 total positive cases total [you can see all stats going back to 2020 here] meaning there were around 1800 total positive tests in the timeframe referenced above, so [please note these figures are is approximate!] the 24 positives referenced above represent under 1.4% of total positive test results.
Extract of the audio of this question and response:
Update: There was also a second set of questions asked about quarantine exemptions. Opposition Leader Cole Simons asked Minister of Health Kim Wilson the total number of quarantine exemptions issued monthly by Government from the beginning of the programme to July 10, 2021, the total number of quarantine exemption applications applied for every month from the programme’s inception to July 10, 2021 and the total monthly cost to the Government for all of the quarantine sites from inception of the programme to July 10, 2021.
The Minister said there have been 460 applications and 294 exemptions have been issued. In a follow up question, the Minister was asked for a monthly breakdown, and she noted that the programme only started on June 20th, so it has not been a month yet.
For context, earlier this week the Government said that “since the start of the mandatory quarantine program, a total of 149 travelers have been quarantined.” For a list of who is eligible for quarantine exemptions see here on the Government website.
The third question, about costs, has been deferred, as it has been redirected to the Ministry of National Security, as it is under their remit.
Extract of the audio of this question and response:
You can find more information on the links below and also on our dedicated website BermudaCovid.com, which is the most comprehensive resource and historic record available of Bermuda’s handling of the pandemic.
- All: Our coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic here
- Bermuda Stats: Chart of testing stats here
- Vaccinations: Data covering vaccinations here
As per Bernews statistics, there were 7 positive Covid cases announced between July 1st and 7th. As per above, there was 7 vaccinated travelers that tested positive in the same period. So, looks like all cases were vaccinated individuals. 5 of the 7 tested positive on Day 4, so they were walking around the island, free from quarantine, shopping, dining at restaurants, buying groceries, going to work.
This is going to get hot quick.
It is nice to see that the vaccines are working and only 1.4% of the positive cases are fully vaccinated persons.
So wouldn’t if be fair to say that the possibility of the 21 deaths earlier this year could have been caused by a fully vaccinated traveler and not the unvaccinated traveler, as the government has claimed.
Seemingly we have been lied to for so long that we may never know the real truth in this, but thank you Mr. Michael Dunkley for making this government respond to questions that we the public has been asking for months via Government emails that have gone unanswered.