Cruiser is Cayman’s first COVID-19 case
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin has said that the first case of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Cayman Islands has been confirmed in a cruise passenger who was quarantined at Health City. Government is now moving towards testing more suspected patients island-wide and making other plans to manage the inevitable spread. Officials are encouraging people to practice hygiene measures and social distancing to try to contain the virus.
Public meetings about the virus and the inter-schools primary sports day finals have been already been cancelled. So far there are no major shutdowns of schools or districts, but that may still come. Premier Alden McLaughlin said that government is now preparing for the worst while hoping for the best, but it would do what was necessary to reduce the potential rapid spread of this virus.
The first patient to test positive was a cruise passenger, a 68-year-old man who had suffered a cardiac arrest and was transferred to Health City Cayman Islands from the ship this week for that health emergency. But given that he was also suffering some respiratory issues, he was tested for the virus. Since being taken from the ship, the patient has been kept in isolation, where he remains in the care of medical professionals at the East End hospital and is doing well.
Government officials said they were confident that all measures were being taken at the hospital to control the spread.
The cruise passenger was one of six suspected patients believed to have the virus who were tested and the samples sent to Trinidad. Four of those have been confirmed as negative.
Officials have insisted that the Health Services Authority is prepared for the virus, as the hospital and local clinics have been preparing for the arrival of COVID-19 since it began spreading around the world several weeks ago. They have warned, however, there are likely to be people in the community who are asymptomatic and may still be infected, so people must act responsibly and follow the advise given by the HSA.
Premier Alden McLaughlin said that government will be extending the current travel bans to more countries, which will be confirmed after Cabinet meets tomorrow when other plans to help contain the virus, including the possible closure of schools, will be discussed. While that is not confirmed, he urged all social gatherings of large number of people to be cancelled. McLaughlin also suggested people should not go to church at the weekend but worship at home.
The premier warned of the potential tragic consequences of this virus said that he would not allow a reluctance to make “difficult decisions” to get in the way of doing what needs to be done to protect the people. He spoke about the business community implementing their business continuity plans and encouraged people to work from home. The premier said there are a range of economic assistance measures that could also be offered.
See the full press briefing below on CIGTV:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
Anyone of you wise people got anything to say now about why we shouldn’t be in lockdown now?
I swear there are roosters and hens outside in my yard that have more sense than our Unity Govt!!!
When I heard the press conference on Thursday night and heard that the patient was transported from the cruise terminal to Health City for a cardiac event, and developed COVID-19 symptoms days later… it made me wonder if the ambulance attendants and hospital staff were taking precautions that this might be a potential COVID-19 case or were they simply treating the person as a cardiac patient? That could make a huge difference!
No, he was quaranteened until he had respiratory issues and his wife still hasn’t been.
So all the doctors and nurses that have been treating him for heart issues have a good chance of infection.
They have been going home after shift to see spouse and children. Spous has then been going to work elsewhere, children to schools for past 2 weeks.
you get the picture, its here now, so just be sensible and avoid social gatehrings visiting at risk people etc.
You are right. This would have given the patient a couple of days to spread the virus at Health City to staff and for staff to their family members. Rumour (hate rumours) has it staff have tested positive at Health City? Can someone confirm this? If this is the case Health City could be the epicentre of this virus in Cayman and all actions should be taken to contain it now? Just incase but test everyone who is linked to Health City….including employee families..
CNS: Check the headline just posted for an update.
I personally decided to stop reading about this alleged pandemic. Mass hysteria, intentional panic spreading is just too much.
Yes, it is very contagious, yes some people, unfortunately die. Still the ratio of people with severe symptoms and deaths to total population is 0.000%. My common sense tells me, this not something to freak out about. I am probably already COVID 19 positive as well as for many other unknown viruses.
CNS: This is what’s going on in Italy right now: Coronavirus: Italy doctors ‘forced to prioritise ICU care for patients with best chance of survival’
This is what people are trying to avoid. This is a serious situation and should be taken seriously. You’re right that panic doesn’t help, but denying reality doesn’t either.
Breathing is fairly important. Many of the survivors are only survivors only because of professional medical assistance to get them through breathing difficulties until their immune systems could catch up. So yeah, you might not die, but…Health City is closed. We’re already down to one hospital after the first case.
Is this you Trump? Your logic ignores it’s spread…most compare mortality to diagnosed and expected cases.
Yes, you are so astute.
My thumbs up was for CNS, not you dummy.
overdramatically written article…a nurse had said….reporters are chasing any opportunity to spread panic.
It is what it is, and no amount of hysteria would change that. If all nurses and doctors in all hospitals would be forced to quarantine themselves, keep in mind without being paid, then who is going to treat your cardiac arrest, appendicitis, broken bones and strokes? That is what you should worry about.
Your hysterics won’t save a dying person or create more ICUs and hospital staff. Hysterics won’t stop spreading the virus because you don’t know who is the host.
If the world can’t soberly handle such a challenge, may be dying is not such a bad thing. Because anarchy, empty shelves and essentially all businesses on standstill could probably make you feel you were dead.
Exactly. Right now intervention is when people are gravely ill. For all we know, there are millions of cases of this flu and the mortality rate is therefore no different than many sicknesses that we’re not currently losing our minds over
So we are to avoid all large gatherings of people, but we are happy to allow 19000 cruise ship passengers to come ashore in a single day this week? Quite apart from the high risk nature of cruise ships, how on earth does shipping over 10000 people through downtown George Town make sense if you think more than 25 people in one place is a risk?
I look forward to seeing the results of Caymans poor immune system.
Everyone so wealthy here but less than a handful of actually thriving healthy people on island.
Wash your hands all your want, this virus isn’t the flu but spreads 5-7 times faster than the flu.
It isn’t going away, it will mutate and continue to thrive on earth forever.
Vaccine or not no one is safe in Cayman.
The people who didnt take care of their health or the environment for the past 20-30 years will be given karma freely.
I hope it effects the CIG, which I don’t have to hope any more.
Sad, but true the dumb CIG knows nothing about health.
Hazard Mag. is a hazard to the island, environment and community.
Such a cheery gloom and doom merchant and wishing ill health on anyone is the lowest of the low. However, as you say, karma…..
I recd an e mail from the PPM with the motto “For love of country”. This is scandalous it should read “For love of ourselves”.
Like it or not, there are people that came in contact with this man prior to his testing, and people that came in contact with those people, and so on…CIG knew the result and sat on it for at least 24hrs too. There is no handle on anything. HMCI is not closely monitoring anything. They don’t know where to look and to what depth. Make your own household plan, and prepare your immune system for the somewhat inevitable big test.
In a week there won’t be any cruise travelers.
probably everywhere else except cayman…
Am I the only one who finds it convenient that the Cruise ship happened to offload an infected patient, and what the heck are they still letting Italians travel, let alone get on a floating science experiment with 3 thousand other people. Did the guy have a heart attack after he got the results of a test onboard?
if you have nothing sensible to say, try not saying it. If you could read, you would find he had a heart attack and only later developed respiratory symptoms. However there are a load of cruise passengers from that same vessel whom I do not envy right now.
Common sense: Cruise ship passengers should be stopped from coming ashore.
Which doesn’t really matter since CAL has just prevented passengers from deplaning due to a suspected case on board the plane. So we stop ships and planes from coming or going and we are virtually prisoners here because it can also come via cargo ship since the goods are handled by people from all over.
Wrong. Between 150F temp inside container and duration of shipment, goods imported cannot hold the virus.
And of course the goods will walk out of the containers by themselves with no-one operating forklift etc ???
Joey’s traffic calming plan is finally coming to fruition.
Ban the cruise ships immediately….reduce and monitor air travel…insure that spending is reduced (Govt.) to prepare for the “worst case scenario”….we may have to focus on the essentials…medicine, shelter, food and water.
A temporary arrivals moratorium (ex-residents), regularly reviewed, would be appropriate and proportionate. It’s genuinely surprising that people are still boarding these cruise ships thinking it will all go smoothly against this global reality. Life does go on for most. China is a month ahead of us, with some coming out of the valley on the other side. I envy the recovered for not having to worry about it anymore.
Yeah, screw those people that need their jobs in the tourism industry.
And rum.
“Premier Alden McLaughlin said that government is now preparing for the worst while hoping for the best, but it would do what was necessary to reduce the potential rapid spread of this virus”….when will this be shared by this highly non-transparent government?
“he urged all social gatherings of large number of people to be cancelled. McLaughlin also suggested people should not go to church at the weekend but worship at home.”…what does a large social gathering mean….50 people…100 people….25 people…..1000 people. Does he mean cruise ships should stop….that is a large social gathering that we get everyday. What about a nightclub? What about a meeting with 25 staff?
What a time to be without a reliable TV station for local news! Not everyone has access to on-line, or social, media – the latter being inherently unreliable anyway!!
Radio Cayman has news bulletins at the top of every hour.
Just don’t watch FOX NEWS. BBC, CNN and CBC are good news sources.
Anybody have a link for BBC world live streaming? I can’t find one. Thanks!
YouTube
CNN…lol. When they aren’t spreading fake news, they are paying out defamation settlements. I see the koolaid is strong with you.
So rather than do the right thing by its people, this government has bowed down to the cruise line and permitted an infected person to be brought onto the island.
You honestly can’t make this stuff up. They are criminally inept.
This government has jeopardized the lives and well being of the Caymanian people for one sick tourist.
When all is is said and done at the end of the day we will not forget the ingorance displayed and inaction by our leaders who are tasked with ensuring the safety of it’s people.
We. Will. Not. Forget.
How has this got thumbs down? Now a hospital is shutting down. Thanks to the decisions made by government
Officials have insisted that the Health Services Authority is prepared for the virus.
I laugh.
We will need protective staff gear, oxygen bottles, IV drips, beds, and willing competent attendant shifts 24/7. This isn’t a 9-to-5 “good night everyone, see you tomorrow morning” deal.
Singapore and Madeira are cruise destinations that have done the sensible thing and banned all cruise ships
It is not coronavirus that would kill people, but panic. No reason to test everyone. If you are negative today, you could be positive in 5 days. If you have no symptoms, but test positive, panic sets in
How the US handles the situation is unfreaking believable. The first President’s order should to ban mass media yo spread panic.
Pretty sure it’s the side effects of pneumonia and the resulting organ failure that kills people, pretty sure no-one has dies from panic, unless maybe a heart attack from being told they are positive.
Government sent 9 million a on the cruise dock, but would not get the test kits to test the coronavirus from the time this virus started to spread around the world. This man from the Cruise ship, ( which should NOT been allowed to dock in Cayman) how many he came in contact since he was taken of the ship, in the tender at the dock, ambulance, HSA and H C etc. etc.
cig incompetence is never ending……these clowns will cost people their lives
Your politics in a time like this are disgusting.
?…have you got testing kits on island….if not, the uk should step in and take over now.
any comment mr governor?
Direct rule. That us our only hope as this place is getting totally out of control with so many issues. We are like Trump, we are in well over our head and sinking.
Do what you can to promote reasonableness. Of course it is serious, as is any new virus and it takes 12 months to produce a vaccine. So absolutely take precautions, wash hands constantly, use common sense and even take additional social distancing measures as needed. The important thing is to slow the spread by taking those measures. People ARE going to catch the virus, just like they will catch the flu and other viruses. They’re viruses, viruses spread. The key is to slow the spread so that too many people aren’t infected all at once right away in numbers large enough to overwhelm the health care system. THAT’s what causes the worst outcomes. Panic or shutting down the country or economy just isn’t necessary. Wash hands, take all precautions, and if you’re sick don’t go out and cough on people, stay home or go the doctor. Otherwise, live your life. Reasonable wins the day and slows the roll.
18 months to develop vaccine said the Center For Disease Control today.
What health care system? Maybe you haven’t heard but HSA is in official lockdown.
[CNS: This is not true. Health City is in lockdown, not the HSA.]
Let me tell you how this works. Viruses spread yes, people spread the viruses yes, stop the spread of people you stop the spread of viruses. What the flying fork is so hard to comprehend about this?
We are run by a bunch of greedy pigs.
There are now 8 known cases in Jamaica, two of which were spread in the community. https://twitter.com/AndrewHolnessJM/status/1238339669353521152
Welcome home Covid-19 please feel free to join the rest of the viruses here on this island!! Mose Kirkonnell’s removal as minister of tourism and the rest of his cohorts should be our top priority his money driven idiotic policy has endanger us all on this island. It is time we act to remove him from his high chair, these type of dangerous politicians are a menace to society. This unity government are a national disgrace.
I hope now our Rinky Dink government sees just exactly how foolish their population expansionist scam is and understand exactly how this extremely deadly infection has arrived and was brought on to our shores and the serious threat it poses now to us and our families. Yes by letting every tom dick and harry and his cousin in here has now bore consequences. Yes and all you welcoming mats with your monologues need to understand that your little christian burials will now have to be cleansed by fire and cremations are the only sensible options now on the table!! Well now it is here poor old Capn Moses open arms corona welcome here policy don’t have to stop the cruise ships from coming in, they will now do it on their own.What a bunch of Jackasses we have on this island.
Yeah, screw the goal of 150,000 plus people here ASAP. Absolutely stupid.
While at it, don’t approve 50 storey buildings on Island.
Believe we need a Green Party now for sustainable development.
We have no hope with these Jokster politicians running this country – its every man, woman, and child for themselves!
Re. the Health City staff that treated the cruise ship passenger; after he started showing symptoms and was isolated; did the staff that treated him self isolate? Are they being isolated now that he has tested positive?? Shouldn’t everyone that came into contact with him be isolated now??
And what about the staff of the ambulance??? Other port staff???
How pissed off are people going to be when they realize batabano probably won’t happen this year
They bible beaters might enjoy that
Though I doubt they will be any happier when we inevitably force churches to close as well
(unless you think gathering dozens or hundreds of old people in one room is a good idea)
lol
Yes we are overjoyed by this stop to this Caymass foolishness along west bay road and all the trash along the roadside.hallelujah hallelujah praise be to the righteous one above that this neckiness and deviltry has been stopped dead!
Dwayne Seymour, Minister of Health, is a complete idiot. IQ of a fing brick. He has stated that beds and equipment needed to deal with COVID-19 are 3 weeks away from Cayman. In other words we have no way to deal with even a minor outbreak. Vote these useless asses out of office.
Govt knew about this longer than the public did! Yet more and more ships are stopping here putting our people at risk! Talk about dumb as a bag of rocks! Food for thought……what will happen to all of those people that gentleman had contact with and so on?
About time, lets see how the CIG handles this one.
Your money and crappy lying to the public can’t get you out of this one.
I look forward to the community growing together or growing apart.
The choice is ours.
Maybe it’s about time we cleaned up the old generations mess for the new comers to be thriving.
Maybe?
Seriously…….the HSA can’t handle normal day to day operations, and they are Prepared to handle this…..absolutely laughable. Who are they kidding. They should be up front and blunt about the whole thing. As usual, mismanagement . Never gonna learn.
Cruise ships bring Coronavirus to the Cayman Islands.
What a surprise !
I think less of these garbage ships not more is a good thing.
Government’s inability to make the hard choices sooner has led to this. There should have been a ban on cruise ships weeks ago when it was clear that virus was spreading rapidly via them and the travel ban should have been expanded when it was clear that cases in Europe were exploding. The fact that our leaders waited until we got a case to take action is completely asinine.
As always our leaders are slow to react and are always caught with their tails between their legs and this time it will get people killed.
That delay to send samples to Trinidad for test is NOT being prepared.
That delay (like China) cause persons who might have been infected to go unchecked and might have infected others. This is not malaria.
There is need for immediate testing on island. The UK Govt should have already dispatched a military hospital ship to support the OTs. If this gets worse, the already strained on island medical staff will not be able to cope.
The U.K. has bigger virus problems plus BREXIT. We should ask for direct rule.
Thank you PPM!!
For the dump fires, the coronavirus now on our shores, the millions lost in seeking a port project, deceit and lies throughout Smith Barcadere project, coverup of abusive and disgraceful politicians like the Speaker, and not to mention perhaps having the most worthless Ministers we’ve had in a good while.
Next year you will win, the worse government to EVER exist in our country’s history! Congrats.
STOP cruise ships docking in Cayman for at least a month.
This was fully expected. It is outrageous that cruise ships can dock here while it is know that cruise ships are a hotbed of the virus. Brining in infected cruise shipper will be medically, socially and financially be devastating
STOP cruise ships docking in Cayman for at least a month!
This was fully expected. It is outrageous that cruise ships can dock here while it is know that cruise ships are a hotbed of the virus. Brining in infected cruise shipper will be medically, socially and financially be devastating
Alden STOP cruise ships docking in Cayman for at least a month!
This was fully expected. It is outrageous that cruise ships can dock here while it is know that cruise ships are a hotbed of the virus. Brining in infected cruise shipper will be medically, socially and financially be devastating.
Now Mr. Premier ONE is still too many. Just imagine, if the decision was made to allow passengers of the previous cruiseline to embark on G.T. shore, what the current scenario would be in the Cayman Islands?
I am much afraid to even think about it.
Q: Siri, what was the source of the first coronavirus case in Cayman?
A: Cruise ship
Q: Siri, has someone asked you already where the first case would come from?
A: Yes
Q: Siri, was it so blindingly obvious that a child could have worked it out?
A: Yes
Q: Siri, why did the government not work it out and why did they do nothing?
A: Because bullshit.
Six samples sent to Trinidad, one positive, four negative , but what about the other one?.Also how many more suspected patients are there?. Does the Minister of Health have any comment?.
The first thing that needs to be done is a total cruise ship landing ban at George Town , effective Friday at dawn . 30 days would be a good start . They have satellite phones and email on board , notify the ships tonight .
They tested 6, 4 came back negative, 1 positive. What about the other 1?
CNS: They are still waiting for the result. It was sent later than the others.
That one doesn’t matter. The one who did has already spread it to people, not only the people at Health City, but to countless others on the cruise ship, who then visited our duty free shops, ate in our restaurants, when on Stingray City trips, visited beach bars, etc. My next week, there will be probably hundreds of people on Grand Cayman with this virus. It was inevitable and now it’s a reality. People will die, but most won’t. It’s the same everywhere. Unfortunately, those over 60 will have the hardest time, and since Cayman is full of young hypochondriacs, those people won’t be able to get the proper care in our overstretched healthcare system.
As usual govt acts too late. Didn’t want to ban cruise ships, now they have done it themselves.
Yawn. Build our damn port!
This is exactly what is happening in official media releases around the world.
Saying that a 68 year old cruiser tested positive helps no one.
What ship was he on?
What day of the week was he here?
Can we have a photo?
If the above information is provided, then people who were potentially in contact with this “victim” can contact authorities and declare what form of contact they may have had.
All that is being achieved now is the sowing of fear among the already timid population who have been panicked by the pictures on their TV screens.
To the media and the government, please provide pertinent facts before you sow fear.
Thank you.
I am not scared of the corona virus. Just the dangerous drivers. That will kill you.
Yeah man typical. Cruise ships over lives
Lock it down Alden, you will be a hero when it’s all over
So we’re still taking cruise ship passengers but we’re closing the schools. One case that was imported should not result in school closures, that is just ridiculous.