Bermuda’s drive through testing for essential workers now in full swing: David Burt

Bermuda’s drive-through testing for essential workers has overcome its initial problems and is now “in full swing,” according to David Burt, Bermuda’s Premier.

Bermuda has the highest per-capita testing rate in the Caribbean, noted Burt. As at April 24 Bermuda had confirmed 109 cases of COVID-19. The government said it had processed an additional 223 test cases on April 24, of which ten had been positive.

Meanwhile, the Government will pay unemployment benefits by May 1 to over 2,000 new applicants and approximately 500 people that submitted in March but have not yet been paid due to processing problems, Burt said.

The government will instigate payments by April 28, with the money arriving in accounts on April 30 and May 1. Individuals who have previously received benefits will be paid on a regular two week cycle.

The Ministry of Finance has deployed a team of internal and external resources to speed up the processing of applications, Burt said. He advised anyone that had submitted an application but had not received an email confirmation that their employer has verified and validated the application to call their employer and ask them to do so.