The Bermuda Hospitals Board has been swamped by medical waste in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it insists the build-up of debris does not pose a health hazard.

BHB operates two macerators at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, which handle all the island’s medical waste.

A BHB spokeswoman did not address unconfirmed reports that the site had become flooded with waste that could not be processed.

But she did say that there had been “a drastic increase” in waste material as a result of Covid-19.

She said the waste was being properly contained and did not represent a threat to public safety.

She said: “BHB manages the medical waste for all of Bermuda, not just the hospital’s.

“We have two macerators that are run in rotation – one at a time – and we have an agreement with an overseas waste management provider.

“This helps us with surges and certain types of waste.

“Due to the immense amount of testing and vaccination on island, there has been a drastic increase in the waste coming to us. The waste is properly stored in closed containers.

“We are working with our partners to ensure all waste is managed appropriately and we do have a shipment of containers going off-island very shortly.”