Good evening Bermuda.
It was Malcolm X who said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today”. In my National Address on April 25 I outlined how we will move beyond the pandemic and into a future where restrictions are ended and our lives here in Bermuda return to normal.
To prepare for that future and ultimately to get there, requires us to work together to eliminate local transmission of the coronavirus, maintain strong protections at our border to keep dangerous variants out, and continue to progress with our vaccination programme.
Due to our collective efforts we have seen our positive case numbers steadily decrease, and local transmission begin to significantly slow. As the Minister of Health will outline shortly, we are just about at 50% of our entire population being fully immunised, and we have already implemented stronger protections at our borders which will be strengthened in the coming weeks. We are doing what is necessary today, for a normal future tomorrow.
In addition to the work we are already doing, there is a need to stay one step ahead of the virus and do what we can to support local businesses, Bermudian workers, event promoters, and provide ourselves with the ability to hold important family and cultural events that we have been without for so long. Through technology we can do this, and tonight I will provide details of the SafeKey programme that will allow us to reclaim our summer and our Island, while keeping all of us protected.
I am joined tonight by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson, who will provide the country with an update on the latest coronavirus test results, and preview some new health guidelines.
We will also be joined tonight by the Bermuda Hospital Board’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Wesley Miller who can answer any medical questions from the media or questions relating to the hospital. Unfortunately the CMO will not with us this evening as he works non-stop and is certainly in need of rest. So we wish him well.
First we will hear from the Minister of Health.
Thank you Minister of Health.
Thank you to you and your team at the Ministry for all of your hard work. It is very encouraging to see our vaccination numbers continue to increase, especially while seeing our active case numbers decrease. I am also very proud of the success of our Close to Home mobile vaccination programme which has seen well over 1,000 persons vaccinated with an access of 150 doses administered today in the east end of the Island.
I thank the Bermuda Health Council, and all of the doctors and nurses, who are both inside the Ministry of Health plus the volunteers who come to make this programme a success, as well as ensuring that it is informative by being on hand to answer any questions that anyone may have regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
It is also thanks to you, the public that this week we will hit the milestone of 50% of our population having received two doses of the vaccine, and closer to community protection. Though there is still work to be done to eliminate local transmission we are making progress thanks to the people of Bermuda for actively following Public Health guidelines to protect our healthcare system. The progress we are seeing and the changes that the Minister of Health was able to announce, is proof that the strategy we implemented, the sacrifices we made, and the actions that we are taking are working.
In order for this progress to continue we must stay the course. Strong protections at our borders are not ideal, but they are necessary to protect our country from dangerous variants that can threaten what we have achieved.
We have seen countries around the world, who are held up as examples of how to handle the coronavirus begin to re-implement restrictions, such as Singapore who are now closing schools. The United Kingdom is considering slowing the ease of restrictions while ramping up their own vaccination programme, and as we know, India remains overwhelmed and that variant is spreading. This is all due to the fear or direct impact of new variants within these countries and a stark reminder of why protections at our border must be robust.
Taiwan, which has been hailed as a success throughout the pandemic, is now experiencing its worst outbreak with 1,000 new cases in ten days and a vaccination programme that is struggling to get underway. This proves that no country is immune to the impact of the coronavirus, and governments around the world continue to make difficult decisions in the interest of protecting public health.
The Government has also made difficult decisions to protect Bermuda locally, and at our borders. Thanks to those decisions being effective we can now begin to look to the future and use technology to help us get there.
We have used technology such as the WeHealth app to help notify persons of exposure and to manage outbreaks. We will now use technology again through the SafeKey programme to stay one step ahead of the coronavirus to support businesses, and continue to get Bermudians back to work.
I am pleased to provide details regarding the rollout of our SafeKey initiative. The SafeKey will provide a secure option for allowing activities such as indoor dining and in the near future, larger events, that are important to the cultural fabric of our island, to be held. This is not a vaccine passport, as you do not need to get a vaccine in order to have access to the SafeKey or the events or activities that you will be able to access.
SafeKeys are part of an effort to upgrade our Negative Test and Vaccination Certificates to make them verifiable pdf documents. The certificates will contain all information necessary to verify the results of your negative test or vaccination to another jurisdiction.
The SafeKeys will contain only the minimum details of your initials of your name, your month and day of birth, and an expiry date. These will be used in parallel with another form of identification, such as a driver’s licence or passport, to verify your identity and it does not contain information about whether you tested negative or vaccinated thus preserving your individual privacy.
Both the new certificates and the SafeKeys contain a QR code that make the documents able to be read by an app. They contain the same data that is presented next to it and the data is digitally signed for authenticity.
The digitally signed negative test certificate and vaccination certificate will help combat concerns about certificate fraud as these certificates will not be able to be faked. The digitally signed SafeKeys will make it possible to ensure that they cannot be faked when used for local purposes.
The QR codes and digital signatures are developed according to the MIT Path Check Foundation’s Paper Verifiable Credential Standard. Initially they will be verifiable by scanning them using the website verify.gov.bm on your phone and later by any application that supports the standard.
The initial roll out will be an early pilot to test how to best leverage this new technology. Persons can obtain a SafeKey QR code by meeting one of the following criteria:
First, receiving a negative coronavirus test result and that QR Code will be valid for three days or being fully immunised and that QR Code valid until June 15 in this initial rollout phase.
As this is a new and experimental programme these expiry dates may be adjusted depending on the level of community transmission and to learn how and when best to apply them.
These new certificates and SafeKeys will be gradually rolled out over the coming weeks. Negative test results in the coming days will be upgraded to the new certificates and include the SafeKey. Persons receiving a negative COVID test result by email – after Thursday – they will include the COVID SafeKey QR code in the email you traditionally get now with your negative test results.
Fully immunised individuals will begin receiving emails with a link where they can visit to verify their vaccination record details and be issued an upgraded certificate as well as a SafeKey.
This initial experimental rollout will run until June 15. Participating businesses will be able to scan the QR code and visit verify.gov.bm to verify the details and compare them against the ID of the individual to ensure it is the correct person.
These SafeKeys are being issued limited to just this trial period so we can learn from the process and plan for the next phase. Vaccination SafeKeys will be able to be renewed for future phases.
It is important to note that participating businesses will not need any special equipment in order to use the programme, only a phone with a web-browser and camera. The SafeKey program is also built on open source technology so that any local company can write programmes to utilize them and incorporate them in the support of their business.
There are a number of local app developers who we have spoken to who will be interested in using this to help their events to take place. If you are a local app developer, and want more information on how you can develop an app using SafeKey, please email premier@gov.bm.
A successful initial pilot of SafeKey was held over the weekend which was used for an exempted gathering of people. The initial plan for the use for SafeKey will be to allow for indoor dining to resume and for churches to increase in-person attendance for corporate worship. Using SafeKey for indoor dining will therefore allow many local businesses to re-open while we continue to eliminate local transmission. Of course, we have heard of our restaurants that are struggling, and we are happy to include them in this first phase.
In the future, SafeKeys may not be required for these activities if we successfully eliminate local transmission. What we are planning for SafeKey, right now, they are to have access to events which, on a broad level, are restricted but as we move to the next phase – so for instance, if we are successful in meeting our targets and moving to Phase 3 with the resumption of planned indoor dining and other items, then SafeKey will not be required to be used for those activities.
However, at this time while we are still in a place of Community Transmission, and we want to make sure we are driving down and eliminating local transmission, it is important that we insure that risks are minimised at these establishments. That is the reason why these things are going to be implemented. The long-term view and vision for the SafeKey programme is to support larger events to take place in the future.
SafeKey is being particularly targeted to make it possible to reopen events and will be used for the Bermuda Day Event at National Sports Centre. As we gather more information of its effectiveness and the participation of individuals, we will look to expand its usage to other large events in the near future.
It is anticipated that SafeKey will allow events such as larger weddings to take place so that couples can have their special day, no longer having to postpone during the pandemic while knowing we are reducing the risk of that gathering by ensuring that persons are either fully immunised or attendees have tested negative within the previous 72 hours which can serve to minimise the risk. It is important to know you can never fully eliminate the risk but what we are trying to do is minimise the risk, to drive down and eliminate local transmission.
SafeKey may also enable us to reopen local sports as well as other indoor and outdoor activities allowing our people to enjoy some of our national pastimes.
The pilot has the potential to be a useful tool to help continue our positive trend towards eliminating local transmission and to make sure we can continue the process of reopening our economy and allowing business to resume. It is hopeful that we will learn from the successful application of this technology so that we can begin to plan for the resumption of important events like Cup Match, knowing that there is a method to reduce the risk for fans that may be attending, for staff and players alike.
In keeping with sport, we are now moving to Phase 3 of the Return to Play Strategy. The Government has advised the Bermuda Cricket Board that training can resume, with saliva testing being administered to all players. Discussions have also begun to restart the league, and county cricket, as well as holding our annual Cup Match celebration.
We know that though we are looking to the future, there are still businesses and individuals affected by the current closures. I remind all individuals who cannot work that help is available and the Unemployment Benefit administered through the Ministry of Finance, is there to support you. You are welcome to apply online at uba.gov.bm.
To businesses that have been affected by mandatory closures, please go to bedc.bm to apply for the COVID-19 Emergency Grant for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a reminder that these grants are there to cover the immediate costs, such as rent, utilities, social insurance and health insurance premiums for employees, as it is important and vital that while you are still affected by closures, that support is there.
The Government will continue to support you, and is committed to making Bermuda a more affordable place to live and do business. I was elated by the announcement from the Regulatory Authority that electricity rates will be reduced across all customer groups for the second year in a row. This is keeping with the Government’s promise to reduce energy prices in Bermuda, and we are happy that Bermudian residents and businesses will benefit from us working collaboratively with the Regulatory Authority, and the energy producer in Bermuda to deliver on that promise.
Bermuda, we are all working hard and working collectively to move beyond this pandemic. We have outlined new guidance tonight that is only possible through our determination and togetherness to see an end to local transmission of the coronavirus and ultimately to reach our goal of an end to local restrictions.
We have also announced new technology in SafeKey that will help us to stay one step ahead of the coronavirus, and open up our local businesses safely. It is important to note that SafeKey will require legislative change. Our aim is to try to get it in place for this weekend, the latest it will be in place by Monday and we will be able to make an announcement when we confirm the time the legislative amendments will be able to be made.
It is important for all of us to remember that we are preparing for the future today, and we will reclaim our summer, we will reclaim normality in Bermuda as long as we remain united in our goals and vigilant in our actions.
Thank you.