Bermudians assured of “safe” elections

Health Minister Kim Wilson has assured Bermudians that they will be able to cast their votes freely on October 1 without any major concern of being infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19).

During a media briefing today, Wilson said recent amendments to the Parliamentary Election Act allows Bermudians at high risk to vote early or from their homes.

She also said that the Government will be following the Caribbean Public Health Agency guidelines to ensure there are no cases for transmission.

“Across our region, we have seen a number of elections around the world since the COVID-19 crisis began. I am pleased to report that our fellow overseas territory of Anguilla held an election in June and the data is now in – Anguilla currently has no active COVID-19 cases,” Wilson added.

“Some of the larger jurisdictions in our region have experienced challenges with COVID-19, however, it is important to note that there are also jurisdictions like Aruba, the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands that have not held elections and experienced a recent spike in COVID-19 cases. At the end of the day, this is about the management of the virus.”

The Government is also looking to train islanders in lab sciences to increase the human resource capacity in the sector.

Currently, there are eight active covid-19 cases on the island.

A total of 174 cases were detected.

Meanwhile, Bermudian Premier David Burt said the statistics show that his Government has been handling the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic effectively.

Burt outlined a series of programs his Government implemented including the creation of an Unemployment Insurance Programme and assistance for business.

“There are those who have claimed that any government could have done this and have sought to downplay the magnitude of what has been overcome and the dangers we have faced. Yet if we look at the record of our opponents it is clear when they faced a crisis, when they faced adversity almost every single time they got it wrong,” Burt stated.