HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) — Bermuda and Suriname have registered deaths from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic over the last 24 hours, while Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia had nationals testing positive for the virus.

Bermuda recorded its 23rd COVID-19-related death — the sixth in the space of a week — but the number of active cases is falling, health officials say.

A further 23 COVID-19 cases were confirmed after the latest batch of 1,570 test results came back on Thursday. But the number of active cases has fallen from 845 to 782 after it reached a peak of more than 900.

The number of people in hospital is 31 with seven in intensive care, one down from Wednesday.

“This is distressing news, and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family and friends who are now grieving the loss of their loved one,” Health Minister Kim Wilson said of the latest death, adding that the drop in the number of active cases was welcome, but that the coronavirus was still a serious threat.

“If we mix households and ignore public health guidance, the number of positive cases will surge, especially among the unvaccinated. It is worth repeating that for the unvaccinated people in our community, their risk of developing serious disease after being infected is great,” she said.

Two of the new cases came in from overseas. One was a non-resident who arrived on Tuesday from London and the other was a resident who returned from New York on April 6.

Eleven of the new cases were on-island transmissions from known sources. The origin of the other 10 cases is still under investigation.

In all, Bermuda has recorded 2,284 coronavirus cases since March of last year — more than 1,000 of them in April alone. More than 230,000 tests have been carried out.

In Suriname, two more civilians have died of the virus. As a result, the death toll rose to 191, including 14 so far this month. In addition, 74 coronavirus infections were added in the past 24 hours, bringing the total positive test takers in the country to 9,865.

There are 198 positively tested citizens in isolation, 14 patients in Intensive Care Units and 97 people in hospitals.

In Antigua and Barbuda, the authorities have reported five new cases pushing the number of active cases to 196.

They said that 192 people remain in isolation, four are hospitalised and the death toll remains at 31.

The St Lucia health authorities reported that the island had recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19. They said that this is from a total of 179 samples taken on April 19 and 20.

“These individuals were seen at various community respiratory clinics where they were assessed and tested for COVID-19. They were each placed in home quarantine by healthcare practitioners while awaiting the return of their test results, in-keeping with the national COVID- 19 testing protocol. Arrangements have since been made to place these individuals in isolation. The contact tracing for these new cases is underway,” the Ministry of Health and Wellness said in a statement.

It said confirmation was also received of the recovery of eight individuals bringing the total number of active cases in country to date to 100. At present, all of the active cases are doing well. The new cases bring the total number of cases diagnosed in country to date to 4455.