An activist group that has repeatedly criticised the Bermuda Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as heavy-handed has announced plans for “a constitutional challenge in the courts” over local responses to the outbreak.

Eugene Dean, a trustee of Collective Action Solidarity Trust, issued the statement today.

The group went public in March 2022 when it filed a lawsuit seeking damages over the Government’s “potentially excessive pandemic protocols” and pressing for an end to “all unnecessary emergency measures immediately”.

In December 2025, Mr Dean said the island’s response to the pandemic had been “aggressive by any measure”, and criticised the lack of an inquiry or independent review.

It came after David Burt, the Premier, told the House of Assembly in October 2021 that he supported examining Bermuda’s handling of Covid-19 and getting “recommendations for how we can approach things in the future”.

In that instance, Mr Burt said a parliamentary committee would be appropriate for a review, telling MPs it was “the job of legislators to scrutinise the work of the executive”.

Covid-19, initially labelled Sars-CoV-2, was formally declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organisation.

Five years on, the island’s official death toll from the virus was 165, recorded up to April 2023, with more than 20,000 confirmed cases.

At the time, Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, defended the island’s vaccination programme and “collective commitment to public health measures”.

Bermuda’s restrictions against the spread of the virus, particularly mandatory supervised quarantining for non-vaccinated residents returning from overseas and workplace policies for vaccinated and non-vaccinated people, sparked public protests from hundreds, including Mr Dean.

The island’s emergency measures also included closing the airport, curfews and “shelter-in-place” mandates for residents.

Children repeatedly had to study from home, while restrictions on services ranged from indoor dining to churches and gyms, and limits on numbers allowed into retail and grocery stores.

Visits to seniors homes as well as the hospital were curtailed to protect the medically vulnerable.

The restrictions were justified in part by health officials because the island’s limited hospital space risked being overwhelmed in the event of a full-scale breakout.

Health models early in the pandemic gave a worst-case scenario of thousands requiring hospital treatment at once if the virus was left to spread unchecked.

However, Cast accused the Government of overstepping in both the extent and duration of the restrictions.

The group also brought a documentary to the island in 2023 highlighting cases of adverse reactions to the vaccine against Covid-19, followed by a five-day public health forum on the virus and its effects.

Its statement today said: “The legal action seeks judicial clarity and accountability on the wide-ranging measures enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically by holding the Government to public undertakings made by Bermuda’s Premier, David Burt, regarding a comprehensive review of the crisis.

“The Covid-19 pandemic represented an unprecedented global health emergency that radically disrupted civic life.

“As international borders closed and emergency protocols were enacted under guidance from top international bodies like the World Health Organisation and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, frontline doctors, scientists and healthcare personnel were thrust into action.

“However, significant discrepancies soon emerged between institutional mandates and the clinical observations of experienced medical and scientific professionals.

“For Cast, these contradictions underscored the critical need for independent discernment, factual transparency and open public scrutiny.

“Crucially, the demand for transparency echoes prior public admissions from leadership.

“As noted during parliamentary discussions surrounding pandemic governance, reviewing how Bermuda navigated the crisis is vital, with leaders previously conceding that any top-level inquiry must be transparent, non-partisan and focused on institutional improvement.

“Despite these acknowledgments, a formal, comprehensive accounting has yet to materialise.”

The group insisted the Government “honour its commitments” and called for a “full, transparent review of the post-pandemic data”, which it said was “essential for protecting constitutional rights and ensuring our populace is properly informed for future encounters”.

With post-pandemic data available, Cast called for public resources to be allocated for a “thorough, objective review of the pandemic response”.

The Bermuda Government has been asked for comment.