Inter-Island Communications News Brief – March 19, 2020

The airport, public schools and public transport are all being temporarily closed as a result of Bermuda experiencing two confirmed cases of covid19. This from Premier David Burt during a press conference late Wednesday evening updating the country on the national response to this new stage in the global pandemic crisis.

If possible, work from home. The necessity of social distancing was strongly underlined by Premier David Burt during a late press conference on Wednesday evening as he described how we can all individually act to keep our community protected from any further spread of covid19.

Working folks worried about income insecurity due to the covid19 pandemic can breathe a little easier, due to the development of a national unemployment benefit scheme. This from Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports Lovitta Foggo who shared quote “We appreciate that these are unprecedented and uncertain times, particularly for employees who may be facing unemployment due to business closures. So this Government is trying to be sensitive to the needs and hardship that our residents may face. To be clear, this unemployment benefit is not intended to be a substitute for financial assistance. The proposed period for this unemployment benefit is three (3) months, after which workers may apply for financial assistance. The policy will be administered through the Department of Workforce Development.”

A spokesperson shared quote, “Minister Foggo confirmed that further details are being finalised regarding the unemployment benefit. However, the aim is to ensure that the programme is operational by Monday, March 23, 2020, at which time, the Minister will further update the public.

Butterfield Bank is making the lives of their customers a little easier by instituting a three-month automatic payment deferral on residential mortgages and personal loans for accounts in good standing. A spokesperson shared quote “In addition to lowering personal lending and mortgage rates earlier this week, Butterfield today announced additional measures to provide customers with temporary assistance from financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 health crisis. Butterfield will introduce a three-month automatic payment deferral programme on all residential mortgages and personal loans in good standing, meaning customers will not be making principal and interest payments for the next three months and any penalties will be waived. This will assist customers who may be facing lower incomes or cash inflow at this time. The Bank will also introduce a payment deferral on credit cards for April and May, meaning customers can skip their next two monthly payments without incurring any late fees. Michael Neff, Butterfield’s Managing Director – Bermuda, shared quote “To make things easier for families and businesses and to help the local economy recover more quickly post-crisis, Butterfield is taking these urgent, substantive steps to ease the financial pressures on customers in Bermuda. We are working as quickly as possible to implement these changes, and we are here to support our customers throughout this crisis and beyond. We encourage anyone facing financial challenges to reach out to us so we can work on solutions together.”