The latest COVID-19 variant Omicron has been reported in Bermuda where one imported case was recorded over the weekend.
The Ministry of Health in its COVID-19 update on Tuesday said of the country’s active cases where typing is available, 95 per cent are Delta and 5 per cent are Omicron.
Bermuda has 31 active cases of which 26 are imported, two are classified as local transmission and three are under investigation.
The ministry says genome sequencing was undertaken on the active cases, and while most of them are of the Delta variant, one case is the Omicron variant. The sequencing was done by MDL lab, and it indicated the presence of Omicron in one imported case that arrived over the weekend.
In terms of the vaccination status of the active cases:
Imported cases- 96 per cent are fully vaccinated, and 4 per cent are not vaccinated
Local/Under Investigation cases: 40 per cent are fully vaccinated, and 60 per cent are not vaccinated
Since March 2020, Bermuda has recorded 5,760 confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 5,623 have recovered, and 106 are COVID related deaths.
Since January 11, Bermuda residents have received a total of 107,427 vaccinations. Of the 107,427 vaccinations given as of December 4 – 52 per cent are women and 48 per cent are men
The ministry of health says 86.8 per cent of all residents over the age of 65 years have had at least one vaccination, and 85.2 per cent are fully immunised.
To date, 71.9 per cent of the population has been vaccinated (one dose), and 70.3 per cent of the population has been immunised (two doses).
Additionally, 24.1 per cent of the population has received a booster.
Minister of Health Kim Wilson JP, MP said, “Overall, I can say things are improving; however, to help reduce the further spread of the virus, I encourage everyone to be cautious and avoid the three “Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings. This is especially important as we come up to the festive season.
“Each of us has a role to play in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Follow Public Health guidelines, continue to wear a mask indoors and outdoors if you cannot physical distance, practice good hand hygiene, maintain physical distance and download the WeHealth Bermuda app.”