Curfews to be extended and expanded
(CNS): As the battle to suppress COVID-19 in the Cayman community continues, alongside the news of a future mass testing campaign, Premier Alden McLaughlin said he is also extending and expanding the curfews. The hard evening curfew, which is due to end Friday, will be extended for two more weeks, while the soft curfew will be renewed Monday for two weeks with changes and additional restrictions.
Once government formalises the curfew orders, which they will do tomorrow (Friday 3 April), there will be a hard curfew every Sunday all day for everyone. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, only people with last names beginning with A-K will be allowed on the road for essential purposes from 5am to 7pm. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, only people with last names beginning with L-Z will be allowed on the road during the soft curfew.
The exception may be for exercising near to home, McLaughlin said at Thursday’s COVID-19 press briefing, which will be confirmed on Friday. The premier explained that Cabinet had not yet made a decision as this presented a more unique challenge when it comes to balancing people’s well-being with the difficulties police have enforcing the soft curfew.
The premier said he was increasingly concerned about the state of play in Cayman. While the most recent positive tests are all related directly to other positive cases, indicating that there is still no significant evidence of widespread community transmission, he said there was still too many people on the road that did not need to be.
“It is still possible to contain this virus in these islands and to avoid widespread transmission,” he said, noting that government had done almost everything it could to try to prevent the coronavirus spreading as it has in so many other countries in the world. But he lamented the continued lack of cooperation in some quarters.
He said there was an apparent lack of understanding by some about the gravity of the situation, pointing again to pool owners and the service companies looking after them, as he made the obvious point that cleaning pools is not an emergency.
The premier outlined the extension and expansion of the curfews to reduce the number of people who are on the road unnecessarily. Confirmed that the formal orders will be implanted tomorrow, he said that he wanted to give notice of what was planned and encourage people to cut down their human interaction.
“We do not believe… that the present way people are behaving can be allowed to continue,” McLaughlin said, adding that there was too much activity which was undermining government’s strategy, which to succeed “requires social distancing”.
He said government had scrutinized what has worked in other countries. The first thing to do is suppression, social distancing and bans on people gathering, which is critical to containing the spread.
Mass testing is the second thing, which Cayman has not managed yet because of the lack of test kits. However, next week when a new batch arrives, testing will begin to increase and when the 200,000 kits from South Korea arrive, everyone will be tested.
The final part after testing is the tracing, so that those who are positive can be identified and properly quarantined.
But the most important factor in all of these elements is still isolation, McLaughlin said, as he hammered home again the need for people to stay home and practice social distancing. “If you are in isolation, there is no one you can give it to and no one you can get it from,” he said, adding that every human interaction increases that risk of community spread.
The premier warned over and over, as he has now every day for almost two weeks, that if the virus begins to spread widely throughout the community because people are not keeping their distance, the lockdown measures will last for months, not weeks.
In the effort to save lives, he urged people to endure some suffering now for a short period instead of more suffering for a much longer period down the line, plus the risk of significant loss of life here.
The premier confirmed that members of the public who are sticking to the rules but have concerns about others breaching curfew should report them to the police on direct lines to officers, including the commissioner for those who have his number. They can also call 911.
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Category: Laws, Local News, Politics
I’m only disturbed by one thing: Sister Islands curfew being relaxed. Mr. Premier please don’t do that. The only difference between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac is population. We have just as much idiots here and they did the same crazy shopping. The only difference is when the food on the shelves is done that is it until the next barge. When I got to the shop, I found no potatoes and 2 garlics. The shelves were cleaned. Milk was the same problem. No hand sanitizer, even the dishwashing liquid saying 99.9% was gone. Nicky please tell the Premier we are okay. The Deputy Premier has stopped the people that were coming here for no reason so we need to wait awhile to make sure that those people didn’t bring something over here.
CNS: I haven’t heard anything about the curfew being relaxed on the Sister Islands. Have you been told that officially or is it just that people are ignoring it? (I really feel for you all with the supermarkets. I remember how crazy it was after Paloma)
Where I think ALden is doing a good job the word relax should not even be used. COVID 19 is incresing in cayman stay at home should be more severe
Lets see how he is gonna deal with easter weekend coming up next week…can’t wait to see how caymanians will react to that one
The Premier mentioned that he would talk to the Ministers of the Sister Islands because Cayman Brac is a different circumstance. It was brought up after someone complained about some of the supermarkets in Cayman Brac. However, except one, they are all doing as they are requited. Billy’s Supermarket is the best.
I keep checking this articles comments just to see how many CLUELESS people suggest draining pools because they havent noticed Cayman is 4ft above sea level! Wow, just wow. Proves that 98% of advice coming from general public is truly AWFUL.
What?
That’s a leap
A pump ?
All you care about is pools? At a time like this?
And it is possible to drain your pool. Stop spreading misinformation.
I care about mosquitoes and so I would like them cleaned by someone with no contact so that we don’t get an explosion of those pests after this is over.
To allow pools to go ‘bad’ is such a idiotic uneducated directive. It’s wasteful and will cause mosquito issues if people are not able to take care of their pool. Imagine the cost to get them back up and running. I don’t have a pool but I know what it takes..
Those complaining obviously have never had or don’t have, a pool .
Data Shows US Efforts to Combat China Coronavirus Crushed the US Economy — But Brazil and Sweden Have Similar Fatality Numbers With Open Economies. Great job CI government!👍
don’t bring facts into this…you will get labelled a heartless money obsessed business owner/
Pools. Wow. It’s all coming down to pools. WTF is wrong with people? If this was a Hurricane Ivan, we’d not have the luxury of worrying about what would happen to our f*cken pools. They’d get messed up, mosquito’s, etc. But in 3/6/9 months, they’d be rebuilt. Same here. Only this time, its lives that you’re saving by getting over your pool problem.
My gosh. And for those criticizing CIG and Dr Lee and the rest of them, oh to be a keyboard warrior! None of us want their jobs right now despite what we may think. Just let them get on with it and try to follow the rules. They will not contain the virus, but they will slow it down and give us a chance to handle the near inevitable outbreak. Stay home. Times are going to change for all of us, rich, poor, foreign and native. I’m struggling to find my favorite brand of goat cheese but I’m making do (yes, joke but some people…)
As to the economy, they’ll get to it. There are also a lot of very wealthy vested interests in this little country of ours and just wait, they will step up and assist when its appropriate. It may not even be made public, but they need cayman just as much as we do. It’s coming, we’ll be fine.
As for tourism, yep, its completely f*cked. Probably until Summer 2021. Who’s getting on a cruise unless there’s a vaccine? Who’s letting passengers into a country? Nobody. Thats done and dusted until the virus has a cure. So, many workers in tourism will leave in the coming months, sad for them and good for the rest of us as our supplies security will be relieved of their burden. The finance guys? They’re going to ensure it keeps going and will work it all out, just wait.
New markets? If i was in Gov right now, I’d be looking to digital and opening up Cayman as an online gaming jurisdiction and reap the revenues. Maybe online health too. Offline, farming could be huge. Fishing too. Perhaps even look to introduce 1 year society/community service for volunteers and pay us to rebuild the country (deliveries/companions for the lonely/etc/etc)
Think outside the box, stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and listen to our leaders. They’re doing great.
Farming could huge? With our fertile soil and abundant water I guess.
Any chance fishing could be allowed off the iron shore? During soft curfew only and 10 feet apart.
Great idea
Bad idea!
and who will be monitoring you as well as the other 1000 or so that will want to do the same thing..Try so stay home until this virus dies out..
nope…that makes too much sense.
Leave fish alone, let them recover a bit now that you lot aren’t out there day and night taking whatever you feel like.
ALT’s
Would it be possible for ALT’s or any hardware store that previously did home delivery to be allowed to home deliver without contact. As I bet there are a few DIY guys out there that need something to do. What do you think? It would just be like getting a Pizza.
NON ESSENTIAL!!!
Great idea but no touching 10 feet.
We have to give Alden and the government a lot of credit for taking the stay-at-home order seriously. Many countries and some states in the US are allowing religious exemptions. Given Cayman’s influential Christian community I’m surprised they haven’t demanded and received permission to still gather in groups.
Got to laugh/cry for those societies that are allowing religious exceptions. Imagine being so ignorant/crazed that you think viruses can’t penetrate the empty air of religious mania.
Good luck with that.
Lock it tight bro…..just allow the fishermen out to fish and check their pots. Some families depend on them.
Hi CNS do you know or have heard anything about the Hurleys shopping online website? It’s not allowing you to check out
CNS: Sorry, we haven’t. I imagine it’s a technical glitch.
Got to agree here. This is absolutely sad to acknowledge those that 100% rely on the ocean to survive. We must address this and open the ocean with restrictions as soon as possible. Stay strong guys!
Stop relying on the ocean. It’s unsustainable and needs to recover after all the over fishing.
Simple poll
Thumbs up for lifting the curfew and allowing the virus to spread, killing approximately 3 – 6% of the population (mostly the elderly and persons with preexisting conditions).
Thumbs down – lock down for another 3/4weeks and hopefully there are no more cases
What an idiotic comparison.
Clearly written by some elitists who lives in a bubble with no chance of losing their home.
Yes. And the 48 hour lockdown was a true sign people will go nuts and bonkers. So anything over 3 to 4 days lockdown will not work. Just imagine what would happen if they did that.
Madness all over…..please don’t do it Al.
Take your pick- lose your life or lose your home or potentially carry the disease to someone who will lose their life? Think you have the right to play God? Premier referred to some elements not getting it…you are a prime example and severe risk to others.
Its you and them who don’t get it
When you lose your home where will you live? You sound crazy.
Everyone needs food, water and shelter.
Hmmm..so you prefer to lose your life or a few family members over losing your house? When you are dead you are dead, your house is of no use to you then..
unfortunately lifting the curfew will do little for the majority of businesses as they are reliant on tourism or the international financial sector that are all in lock down.
So we would be killing 3-6% of the population, mostly older caymanians and wealthy retired status holders.
so kill the wealthy and old people but spare the business owners? Please tell me your business so I can boycott it.
The US has estimated between 100,000 to 240,000 could die. If the media had any sense of fairness they would give equal air time to death’s from unintentional injuries, 169,936. Forget the big ones heart disease 647,457, cancer 599,108, which we’re accustomed to. Bear in mind, Covid-19 is most dangerous for those already ill. If one has a heart attack and Covid-19, the medical report states death from Covid-19. So cause of death is by default skewed away from pre-existing conditions. On top of that, 240,000 represents 0.073% of the population. Using your average of 4.50% the US deaths would be 14,895,119.
Neither cancer or heart disease are contagious. Good lord. Can you see the problem with a virus which is highly contagious and the risk of that virus spreading?
Please wakeup.
I understand it’s contagious, but it’s not the lethal killer the scaremongers are making it out to be! When the average person gets it, they are told to stay home for two weeks, essentially pass it on to the family! What doctor would put other people’s lives at risk?
its never all or nothing.
but yeah…thanks for your input.
A message to POOL PEOPLE:
You had a dream. We all have a dream. Your dream included a pool. Okay, nice. But. Now that’s not so practical. Relax. Move on. Things change.
Don’t worry. We’ll just make our own chlorine, will be a fun quarantine project. Perfectly safe.
It’s all fun and games until someone passes out or dies. But enjoy making that at home and probably with your kids too right? You guys are going freaking nuts!
Actually at the amounts needed for each pool, we will be raiding and emptying the shelves of what you all needed for cleaning/sterilizing homes but thats what you decided was best, just remember that.
What about your dream of not having a surge in mosquitoes and mosquito borne diseases? There are trade offs in everything. In this case we limit the contact the servicing guys may make with clients and each other and in exchange shut down every pool service company on the island adding to our unemployed expat problem and create a different public health risk. But to quote you – relax. Sure the mosquitoes breeding in those pools will only bite the owners. The trade off in allowing servicing seems to be way better than the trade off in allowing you to have pizza and burgers home delivered, or the unsupervised “self isolation” of the last laid of returnees – which swing as they have infected people outside their immediate family doesn’t seem to be going so well.
Maybe, just maybe, building a pool wasn’t such a good idea in the first place. Maybe if these mosquito borne diseases (which you so gleefully refer to) create an even worse health problem for the rest of us, you will be held responsible for your ignorant selfishness.
Written by the jealous dude without a pool… It will cost much more to fix a pool once it has degraded… And those that have said drain it… Yes, let’s waste more water.. Places with a drought will hate you.
9.09am A message for you – Cool it!.
Instead of uniting, people on this rock seem to be drifting farther apart.
Some are in a psychotic state of the virus fear and would eliminate anyone who isn’t locked up. Their minds are shut to any reasonings.
There are also those who appears to give no $hit about distancing and keeping their mouths shut.
Wear a face mask and keep distance is all that needed for most people.
Those who have to mingle, front line, emergency, medical workers etc. should be protected with face shields, full body suits, etc
But what is not needed are insults, hysteria, hatred and “know it all” attitude they want to shove into others minds.
Share constructive suggestions without insults. stop screaming that we all going to die if not locked up. Because we all will die, eventually, but certainly not from this virus.
Cheers. The sun is shining and the sky is blue.
It’s a pale blue compared to what it used to be. But you’re right we all will die if not from this then some other thing.
Let’s all learn a lesson from Guernsey, a small British island in the English Channel with the same population as ours which also provides offshore financial services. Exactly 2 weeks ago the WHO daily situation report had 3 positive Covid-19 cases for the Cayman Islands and 1 for Guernsey. As of today Guernsey has 114 confirmed cases. This shows how rapidly this virus can spread in small communities such as ours. BE WARNED!.
so what is the lesson?
Plant your ass inside and grow with it
don’t move to the channel islands i think
9.48am You need lessons to improve your IQ.
Scientific Proof Is A Myth
https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/11/22/scientific-proof-is-a-myth/#16aa9e902fb1
You can write your own arguments on why you believe in science and scientific proof. I might find it compelling enough to alter my viewpoints.
I am not a science rejecting fanatic. But when it comes to wearing or not wearing face masks during virus epidemic, I’d stick to common sense.
I am off to gargle my throat and irrigate my nasals with seawater. Common sense tells me it might be beneficial to sanitize my upper respiratory tract this way during covid19 epidemic that starts exactly in the upper respiratory tract.
I knew it! The Earth is flat!
Water always settles so yeah. Globe earth flying through space at a thousand miles an hour is complete and utter tripe. Yet so many people still believe that crap, everyday.
I thought we flew through space on the backs of four elephants balanced on the back of a giant turtle.
Unsurprisingly, Alden is trying to play God again.
He is trying to help all of us. You would only be happy if he is just helping you. Because of his leadership Cayman is a lot safer for us all than most other places on the planet. Following his plan will get all those with the virus identified and away from the public and hopefully the ones who only think of themselves and have no problem with putting anyone else at risk will be minimised.
Wrong.
A forceful statement with no back up at all. Ergo, complete crap.
Well we have been home and not left for two days now. Created a two week meal plan and bought enough to stay home 2 weeks but now we have to go out and buy chlorine or bleach to make sure our pool doesnt go the crap over the next however many weeks/months. No i dont want a mosquito egged cess pool 5ft from my patio/outdoor fresh air area and im not dumb enough to empty it and risk 30K damages to the finishes and structure. Why create more problems at a time like this and more future expenses while theres no income coming in!
Rich people problems. We feel for you.
WE soon come for you.
public health issue.
Da wa they get for building a NON ESSENTIAL bleach water pool when they have the world famous seven mile beach within a reasonable distance.
You cant do water physiotherapy for back injuries in the ocean due to the waves/current but please continue to pretend like you know everyones circumstances.
Nope. Wrong fellow cayman kind humpty. The reason these properties have pools is to increase property value.
Soon to be followed by poor people issues when he cuts out takeaway food and home delivery of fast food. Shut down pool service to keep 200 pool employees off the road who have minimal contact with clients. What’s the odds on keeping hundreds of delivery drivers on the road that meet plenty of people?
Stop talking sense.
@ Anonymous 03/04/2020 at 6:28 am – just empty the pool already if you can’t find supplies! Yes, I know children are entertained by pool use but you’ll have to think of something else for them to do. Children have learnt to cope with boredom before, they can do so again.
Maybe you should read the entire post and look up what happens to a pool when you empty it when we have a 4ft amsl environment. Youre obviously from a country where mean sea level is 100s of feet below grade to suggest something so dumb
‘If music be the food love..play on..’
If food is the music of love, eat on!
Alden, what you have right now is like a big swimming pool with a peeing section at one end..After a while the whole pool will be contaminated…
You have got to tell those people who need to pee to do it elsewhere otherwise all will die of infection..(Quarantine not isolate..big difference)
In other words lock her down and lets get this thing under control…
Some ignorant downvoting going on…
Pool companies downvoting!
We know you want to make a shit load of money out of this hardship.
And you got some spoilt adults willing to pay you.
Thanks for Alden “standing in your way”.
Lock umm up!
I don’t understand why Alden is saying that there is no evidence of widespread spread. This family that Dr. Lee refers to travelled back to Cayman with the virus and infected the rest of the family..He/she traveled on an airplane, passed through our airport, went home, possibly went shopping, to the pharmacy etc…It’s not just the immediate family that will be infected. What about all the people that were around them..Ho do we know that these people are really self isolating? There are no security guards checking them. They could literally get in their car and drive to the grocery store and affect more people..
This thing is going to blow up on us because we refuse to let a few people feel uncomfortable for a short period of time..This is a matter of life and death of many of us and I say to hell with the human rights crap right now..
We are going to see some our friends and family start dying off real soon if we don’t get a grip and lock down this little 2×4 island for at least 2 weeks. Alden/Governor this is on you ..do the right thing, please!
The people / morons that have been driving around, working and going about their business like nothing has happened are the reason this is happening. I live by a main road and cannot believe how much traffic there has been.
These idiots are the reason things are going to get worse. Their short-sighted selfishness is the reason more people will end up running out of money and /or losing their jobs. Well done idiots.
what’s your evidence?…police commissioner said there has been near total compliance with the law.
People will always be on the roads….they could be be going to get gas, pharmacy, groceries and still be practising social distancing….
cars on the road are not the problem.
Those of us who thankfully still have jobs and work M – F can’t make it to the shops on weekdays and if our names are at the beginning of the alphabet we now can’t shop on Saturdays? Great plan for those of us who live alone and don’t have anyone to do our shopping for us and can’t afford delivery fees.
So what do you propose?
Letting anyone shop on a Saturday or opening up Sunday shopping for the other half of the alphabet. As it stands I will basically be on constant lockdown due to my work hours and my name which means I will have to break the new rules in order to buy food.
Ask your boss for permission for an early lunch and go shopping then, its a pretty obvious solution.
You simply must not be telling the entire truth.
How can you not find a suitable time of the 3 days given to do some essential shopping?Surely your employer would allow.
Have we more cases out there that did not meet the criteria for testing because of the limited number of test kits? Is that why the curfew has been extended? How long do you think it will take to test 60,000 plus residents and await results if that actually comes to pass. I for one am very worried about escalation of crime the longer the government keeps the Island from returning to some semblance of normality, at least during the day.
Yes. The escalation of crime is a reality we have yet to face. But it’s imminent.
I agree with you and can only say be prepared at home. Be vigilant. Protect your family.
Pool people are essential. Why is that so hard to understand? They work alone… keep pools free from pests (mosquitoes, remember them?) and let us exercise in our own yards! You closed the beach… remember? We will be checking your pool and your MLA friends pools to make sure you all comply with the stupid regulation.
Yay! People that own pools are the best people.
My question why are the positives people put back into the community
They are only back in the community after 2 negative tests. That means they are no longer ‘shedding’ the virus. That means they can’t give it to you.
If you still can’t follow think about chicken pox. Once you are free of symptoms you go back to school. You don’t stay home for the rest of your life!
Anonymous 02/04/2020 at 10:22 pm – beach is NOT closed.
And its people like you driving to the beach why theyre making curfew more restricted. THANKS
Ohhh. So if you have to drive to access the beach you’re less than.
If you own property on the beach and can walk out to it you’re the cat’s pajamas. Got it. Thanks.
What the crap? People do physio in their pool! When youre pregnant swimming in a pool is essential! It is my doctors orders actually. So why can’t someone who I don’t even see come clean the pool to make a buck in these hard times?!
We got plenty standing water ponds to breed mosquitoes.
Shoot, why not provide some more.
Wil certainly keep you inside at night, right where you should be anyway 👍🏽
10:22pm.
What care do you have for the pool staff? They must risk their lives to keep your pool clean for use when you were too selfish to drain it in the first instance?
You are allowed to go to the beach for exercise and a swim for up to 90 minutes max. Truth be told you are better off swimming in the salt water than any chlorine pool in the entire world.
They aren’t “risking their lives” any more than any of us are going to the store. Considerably less in fact. They would at least be able to afford to go to the store!
So China put out fake data and the so call experts put horrendous models that predicted Doom and Gloom!
Now the entire world is shutdown based off fake data and screw up models.
Time for the CI government to level with public.
Enjoy the lock down Cayman!
another day and another non-update from alden on the impending economic crisis facing cayman…..
we are days away from large sections of the population without having money to buy food…
Alden and his government cant walk and chew gum at the sametime.
I don’t think any government can do that buddy.
Hi Buddy Brazil and Sweden are doing it. Did they lock down the their economies? NO
Employers should pay early.
with what?
businesses have been shut…nothing coming in
so alden said the recent positive tests were expected….so why bring in tougher lock-down measures?
How much did this government spend on fighting for the port?
This is the government who pisses away money on everything. But has yet to fix the dump. Alden wants to save people from Corona Virus but why does he not want to save us from Cancer that the dump will produce in the years to come. Problem not acute enough. I see the failure to own the responsibilities.
It has been causing cancer. From long ago.
why does alden keep saying there are too many people on the road when the police commisioner said there is near full compliance with the law?
the daily update are becoming a waste of time at this stage…it could easily be summarised in 5 mins with out the non-stop waffle and daft questions.
oh dear…Hard curfew, minor infractions. Soft curfew, many infractions, some 24 o be prosecuted for not having urgent business or being out for purposes other than allowed in soft curfew.
Let me preface this comment by saying that I appreciate what the government is trying to do here and until today I would have said that I think the Premier has been handling this situation extremely well. Complete turnaround from the missteps he has made with the cruise port and dump to name the two most obvious recent examples. Love him or hate him he deserves respect and praise for his efforts.
Today, though, I think the cracks are starting to show and the government is starting to lose the plot a little bit. They seem obsessed with the fact that people are out driving in cars and that businesspeople are trying to circumvent the curfew to earn a few dollars where they can. The measure of whether this “shelter in place” strategy is “working” seems to me to be based more how many texts with “licks” that Alden gets and anecdotally how many trucks they see on the road and not the degree to which the virus is actually being transmitted in the community. Equally they will no doubt be shocked that locking people up in their houses for 24 or 48 hours at a time will lead to more traffic and more inclination to go out on the days they have their “freedom”. Locking us up on Sundays and possibly every other weekday isn’t the answer. It will make the roads busier, not quieter. It will lead to more panic buying and hoarding and that will lead to further misguided restrictions. If the government was serious it would close liquor stores and convert to delivery only. It would open the grocery stores on Sunday to further spread out shoppers.
Dr Lee is certainly smart enough to know that there are already asymptomatic people and people with mild cases walking around in the community who aren’t on their radar. All we can do is hope that the people with symptoms have been and will be smart enough to stay away from other people.
Absent a miracle or vaccine, this virus is not going away. Not in three weeks or three months. Or maybe even a year.
This whole isolation exercise can have only one real purpose and that is to delay things to allow hospitals to get enough ventillators and other equipment to deal with the number of people that would need intensive care if, say, 33% of the population was infected at once. What does that number look like? My uneducated guess would be as follows: Say you have 20,000 infected people. Assume 5% need hospital care and perhaps 1% need intensive care. So 200 people at a time. Does our hospital system have that kind of capacity? No. Could it develop it? Are we developing it? That’s the kind of question I would be asking Dr. Lee if I was Wendy or worked for the Compass.
Now, I appeciate that those hypothetical numbers are lower than the “official” statistics of something like 10-20% of people needing hospital care and 1-2% of infected people dying. I don’t think you need a medical degree to realise that no nation has fully grasped the number of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people that are out there who are not being factored into these counts. When the dust settles it will be interesting to see how the statistics will shake out. And how they will differ across nations. But no chance this virus kills 1-2% of infected people. When the dust settles it will end up closer to super contagious bad flu territory than people probably believe.
All this to say that there will have to be an endgame at some point. We can’t keep this system in place for three months. It will lead to chaos as people will default on all of their obligations, exhaust their savings and pretty much all non-essential businesses will close. And rather than fumbling with their phones and spending two hours a day answering mostly inane questions from the public who are fixated with BA flights and what hotel people are staying at and who is guarding them, the politicians should be turning their attention in part to how to minimise the total collapse of the economy. People need to calm down and stop worrying about calling 911 because people are cleaning pools or practicing a trade. These people need to be able to earn a living. We already have to cede the tourism jobs. If we have some people who are lucky enough to keep working. Let them.
Yes this comment was about pools. Sort of. Well, partially.
I know a lot of people, if they have bothered to read this far, will be tempted to respond that I am a monster and if we save even one life, or 10 lives, isn’t it all worth it? And that’s a noble sentiment and hard to argue against. But if you concede the point that we can’t completely stamp this virus out by doing this (and we should know whether we have succeeded in about a week), at some point soon we will need to partially open for business again. Yes some WP holders can go home. But Caymanians and most permanent residents aren’t going anywhere. And they need to feed their families. Yes, we can rebuild the economy. But Cayman is not a normal economy. And if tourism and financial services don’t bounce back quickly there will be no revenue to pay for all the spending that will have to be done to keep businesses alive. If we thought the EU and OECD was coming for us before wait until you see what they do now that they have to tax people even more to make up for a couple more trillion dollars in debt. So let’s stop vilifying local businesses for trying their hardest to stay afloat. We should be applauding them. We are going to need them more than ever when this over.
Nobody thinks that saving lives must include people with cancers, strokes, heart attacks, appendicitis, potential victims of abuse, suicides from desperation or having no money or being locked up, etc.etc. Not only those with the virus.
Such selective “saving” is discrimination to say the least. Besides, if you manage to read this article all the way to the end, the causes of most deaths is not the virus per se.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200401-coronavirus-why-death-and-mortality-rates-differ
Good comment. You are posing the right question: what’s the endgame? They can’t answer that, there is no plan beyond this unsustainable and ultimately ineffective lockdown. The cracks you mention (nonsensical ban on pool cleaners, overbearing Sunday total lock down, no fishing/boating) will only widen to the point this regime crumbles.
I didn’t read your post, but I’m downvoting for it taking up so much space.
I didn’t read your post, but I’m downvoting for it taking up so much space
I wish I could like your post a few hundred times.
You can. Figure it out.
GREAT POST!!!.
And agree 100%…… We can not leave our people locked up AND this virus is here to stay globaly at least for a year or two.
So to the Gov……………WHAT IS YOUR END GAME?…… This has been asked and asked again.
So Prime ministers or of other commonwealth countries are saying at least 6 months BUT there is still people working Kids at school……. But also have ordered people over 65 and high risk to be locked down.
I am willing to give the Gov 14 more days after that it is time to move on and have a plan to allow the vast majority to live their lives even if we have to deal with being sick for a few weeks
How dare you apply a modicum of common sense and reasoned argument to this debate?
Probably the best comment I have ever read on CNS. 100% correct. The problems we face going forward (and there will be many) will not be from Covid19, they will be from the reaction to Covid19
Excellent and logically thought out comment. The thumbs down response shows that no matter how much the educators try some people will always be stupid. Not ignorant, naive but just plain stupid.
Your comment is not a comment. It is an essay.
Please learn to summarise what you need to share. In addition you contradicted yourself and answered yourself in those same contradictions.
You cannot have people out and about as usual because of the RISK. It is too much of a risk to do this because if we did have a major breakout we do not have the resources to deal with that magnitude of a health disaster. It is all about prevention as much as possible.
C’mon, get with the Corona times.
yeah….because the last total lockdown was so effective???
yesterday alden said total lockdown was not practical as it denied people the basics of freedoms…ie excercise, buy groceries….etc
today he is bringing in total lock down for 50% of your time…
this garbage flip-flopping is achieving nothing.
9.36pm 4 days out of 7 is actually 57% of your time.
why believe alden when he has been proven 100% wrong on the pool cleaning issue….his stubborness and arrogance will not let him admit his mistake.
We’ll have another pandemic in Cayman with all the stale pools shortly, cholera and typhoid let’s see our health system overrun then. With the stale water comes mosquitoes who carry Zika and malaria etc, so not gonna be great.
The Dump is also cooking new viruses, fungi, bacterias etc.
Pool people; Shut Up!
Jealous people, shut up.
Maybe a lesson learned.
Increase minimum wages to a livable wage, so we don’t have 20 living in one room.
Allow people to have savings they can live from.
Get rid of private health insurance. Every working or not working human in the country should be able to go to a doctor. Not only the ones that can afford it.
Will it change after this ?
Probably not.
Some of us will stay focused on making as much money as possible by overcharging and underpaying.
Some of us will stay ignorant and trust a guy in the sky,
But most of us will have to work as hard as we can to feed these greedy mouths of business owners, politicians, religious leaders, shareholders of insurance companies etc etc.
Nothing will change, it will all go back to normal as described above.
Testing for corona virus only. Orwell must turn in his grave
Glad to hear Wendy back. No need for competition now! Each doing their own job.
What wrong with music and open window if not near another person?
Lock yourself in the bathroom and acoustically assault yourself!
Huh?
If it’s super loud and I don’t want to hear it….
The volume at which you play it is the problem.
I have neighbours who blast music with high bass frequencies that ring through the entire apartment complex at 2am any given time.
I have grown accustom to this, I don’t complain to the authorities simply because I realise this is what is probably keeping them sane at this time! And also the fact that the authorities have more important ways to utilize their resources than to tell folks “turn down the music”.
Music keeps us all calm and we all need it. Just be conscious when enjoying your music that you don’t have the volume too high. Unless you live in the bush somewhere with no neighbours!
#WeAreAllinThisTogether
Nothing except when it is so loud the ground shakes and the only reason the window is open is to make sure everybody hears it.
If you are talking about in cars, why would you want to inflict your music on others? I like it loud sometimes also, but have no need to impress anyone with my musical tastes. I think also that people in cars don’t realise how far their music travels. If it thumps enough, the whole car becomes a resonation box.
You are assuming everyone enjoys your type of music. It’s not respectful of your neighbours or other drivers. Remember that you live in a community and as so many people are home right now they may want to sit outside and enjoy the little bit of peace and quiet we have!
I’ve got neighbors in a house TWO canals over. I can hear their music clear as day-o… it’s annoying. A few notches down does the trick to not drive everyone in a mile radius bonkers. Thanks.
Do you speak for everyone within a mile radius?
Yes
Spent all the money on a stereo system and woofer can,t afford to get the cars air fixed. Got to have the window down.
We have woofers up and down our road making a racket day and night and they all have 4 legs and wag their tails.
Please issue a warning to fosters airport for lack of social distancing within the store!!
Nwo global oppression…no more old heads to pass on knowledge nor culture
I am thankful to be able to walk my dogs each day, but I agree there are far to many people out just cruising around in their cars. Especially those dumbasses with their windows open and loud music.
Those dumbasses with their windows open are breathing the same air as you.
And your point is what?
The dumbass coughs in his car. The excess vibration from the loud speakers pushes his droplets 25 feet out of the open car window right onto you.
I don’t see the problem with cruising. Fresh air, sun, and no contact with other people. To me this seems an ideal way to stay sane!
It’s all about you.
How can people that have no more money obtain something to eat and help with their rent ?
That question is not being asked nor answered.
Only business people seem to get money which goes in their pockets of course.
Remember the people that make 6$ an hour HAVE NO SAVINGS !!!!
A lot of the people earning minimum wage don’t save their money because they send it back to their home country. They send back most of their pay. Okay?
In times like these we all wish we had more saved. In times like these, those that routinely send money home are stressed.
Like alden said you need to go home.
Why doesn’t the government introduce the furlough system the same as the UK have. The government pays up to 80% of the person furloughed up to a maximum amount. Cut the Civil Servants salaries (including the MLA’s) by 20% and put that towards those not working. Will probably not cost the government I.e. us any more than we are paying out now.
I can’t help thinking of the irony in that all the decision makers, politicians, senior civil servants etc., etc., have exemptions that allow them to travel at will, and do not suffer any of the privations of Jo Public who now have 4 days a week of lockdown to look forward to.
7.30 You do realize that they are also more at risk don’t you? Are you really that eager to get the virus?
Glad to see Wendy is back to give Reshma some competition.
Yes! Reshma repeatedly asks questions that have already been answered. Was getting on my nerves today. Good to hear Wendy!
You people really need some sarcasm classes. Perhaps UCCI can put some online.
The daily briefing should be conducted in half the time it currently takes with just the Premier, Governor and Dr Lee providing pertinent updates. The health minister adds zero actual value with his prayers and poems. Plus, with the exception of the CNS and Cayman radio contributors, the quality of the questions posed are very amateur or have already been asked and answered.
Please do not insult the Health Minister, in this time of crisis he is doing his very best to give us language lessons in Spanish, Tagalog and North Korean.
Did I hear right yesterday that a reporter asked how much the testing kits cost? I mean does it really matter right now? Beggars cannot be choosers.
Why do you think they don’t want to tell us how much they cost? Because it really does matter. There is only so much money available – and every dollar spent on test kits – especially if we are buying enough to test every persons in the population 3 times over – is a dollar less to spend on feeding and paying for medical care for the unemployed, for supporting businesses, or paying to fly BA in here. How much do they cost? Well there is an article about Korean PCR kits saying they go for $135 a pop. And that’s cheap. There are kits for sale in the UK at over £200 each ( at cost!). So 200000 kits $20m plus.
Reshma rocks
If we are to suffer 4 days of complete lockdown then please monitor these areas of Corona clusters, it seems to me that allowing self quarantine is not sufficient where the disease is present.
Also I hope that exercise will be allowed daily, most people walk or jog on their own so solo exercise will obviously comply with the demands of social distancing and encourage people to keep healthy. It’s certainly not healthy to be shut indoors or in your yard if you have one, for 4 days each week.
Those of us still working (from home) with last names in the beginning of the alphabet are basically on a full lockdown as our work hours don’t allow for us to get to the shops during the week and we’re not allowed on on weekends.
Did I read that right? 200,000 kits?
Do you remember ebola tent? Money fall from the sky here, why count it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Supermarkets are the hot zone for spreading this virus right now. Police should be assigned inside supermarkets and immediately tase people who can’t follow simple directions to keep social distancing safe. Big RED arrows marked on the floor for direction of foot traffic, and some people still don’t get it. If you are that STEWPID you have to be removed temporarily from the shopping gene pool. When you come around you should be hit in the face with a mackerel. Just because the person in front of you might be slow to put there goods in the trolley doesn’t entitle anyone to brush pass them and violate there’s social distance space. Have some patience, it’s not as if you’ve anything else to do or anywhere else to be going, unless like me you want to rush back home and continue with your 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
Well done Alden, but you need to bring in 24 hr curfew for two weeks, sadly as you said, many people still don’t get it.
Your username speaks volumes!
Governor said it was the minimum they could purchase.
Does Government know things about the virus that they are not sharing with the public?
Always the case… check true history!!
Where does one find true history? Most history, on this side of the world, are written by the British and Yanks.
Yes – that the Coronavirus doesn’t pay attention to conspiracy theories.
If one is objective, one will know the conspiracy theories cross all spectrums.
Coronavirus doesn’t care about objectivity.
7:12 try another STUPID QUESTION.
Obviously you have no clue. Had you an answer someone as pompous as you would revel in the attention.
I’d rather he ordered to wear face masks for all. Koreans, Chinese and Japanese don’t debate about it as stupid Americans do. They freaking need scientific proof for everything.
Install plexiglass shields at supermarkets already! Months overdue.
Do something instead of talking and giving orders. More people would get sick from the lack of sun exposure, fresh air and exercise.
More confinement = more domestic violence= more child abuse.
Forgetting about disabled and people with chronic conditions, cancer again! They don’t function the normal healthy people do. They can’t get up and go when they wish or someone orders. They do it when their bodies, symptoms allow.
You find it okay to insult 350 million people?
We aren’t stupid Americans. We were just like you. It’s ( the virus) isn’t going to be bad in my neighborhood. I can still go out. Do I really need to wear gloves and masks? What isn’t government telling us?
I remember having the same discussion with my friends a couple weeks ago while I was still going to the gym and the stores. Then, the gym closed down. A few days later businesses. Big whoop a few people had it, but not too many. I can still hang out. Then, the schools shut….& the school shut down has been extended until May. ( I may have this out of order as we’ve been on lockdown for just about a month now.) The numbers of sick have grown enormously very quickly and the death rate in my area is high. ( Across the U.S over 100,000 deaths predicted in the next 2-3 weeks or more). I haven’t left my house in 2 1/2 weeks except to take a walk by myself. My groceries are getting low on my favorite things, but I do not want to chance even going to the store. The last time I did go shopping, I wore mask and gloves. I wear mask and gloves to get the mail( I live in a condo complex). The people in my area ( including myself) are scared and now taking this extremely serious. I’m not old, but age doesn’t matter to this virus.
We were not told immediately to wear gloves and masks. Things did not close quickly here, so we did not see the real danger until our numbers grew out of control.
Stay home! If out, practice social distancing and wear gloves and masks and hopefully the numbers stay very low on the island. Wash your hands!
LOL. Insult is an abstract concept that exists in one’s head only.
6:59 there is only one other option!
Only a pathetically ignorant can confidently insult a whole country of Some of the smartest, richest, and most stable people on the planet.
Thank you 9:36-
Dear Alden. There are a lot of blokes at home who need to do something. For God’s sake man, open ALT and others, so the men can get stuff to get work done in the house. Paint, tools, seeds, soil etc.
Limit to $300 or so to deter the contractors and you will have some happier men. Apply the same restrictions as in the supermarkets with the alphabet thing.
My friends in the US have repainted the entire house and replaced carpet. Home Depot and hardware stores are open.
Of course we all have the money to spend on DIY stuff.
Why doesn’t the government initiate the furlough system the same as the UK? The UK government scheme allows for employees to get 80% of their wages from the government up to a certain threshold. Maybe they should spend some of the money they had put by for that they were willing to spend on the continued propaganda to build the port?
Sadly they might not be around to enjoy it
7.53pm And how many of their friends contracted the virus in the mean time?
6:54 add the Auto Parts.
Women like to do these things too…
Forgive me. You are right.
11.00pm Is this innuendo?.
That will only increase the social distancing problem as people won’t listen such as the situation with the supermarkets and non compliance. I agree though about the hardware stores, for the life of me I don’t know why they closed completely. Yes they should remain closed to foot traffic for now but shift to an online environment. Recall some staff and run a call center set up. They all already have delivery vehicles. Collect payment over the phone, email receipt. Deliver goods. People do need to be positively occupied during these times. Parkers and ace and others could also do the same. That would help to keep people isolated within their properties if they have something to do.
Women can, too…
Just saying.
Nah, women can’t do anything. Except Ms. Corona. She can get things done.
I know. We keep getting told this is the perfect time to do things around the house but how many peoole stockpiled garden supplies, gallons upon gallons of paint or stain, brishes and other tools and hardware just in case we were jobless for 2 months….
David, do you not get it? You need to stay home so that we can stop this virus from spreading…There will be time for you to do your housework once we have this under control..Find something else to occupy your time..
Don’t you think that by opening up someplace like AL’T or Kirks will not put more people at risk..How would you feel if one of your children or one of your family members caught this and died as a result of your ignorance and lack of discipline to stay your ass home like everyone else is trying to do..
Will it take one Caymanian to die to let us understand the seriousness of this??
Testing for antibodies can’t come soon enough.
Testing alone can’t come fast enough, but it appears the kits are on a slow boat from China…
Many countries are working on developing testing for antibodies. Germany in particular
Agree with extension of curfew. Wby cannot people listen and understand! People are living on their own and can do it, why can’t you others just give it a rest?! Find something more productive to do with your brains fir a change.
What is there to understand? Does the Premier have statistics / projections he’s not sharing with us?
The people breaking curfew don’t have much brain power.. thats why government are toughening their stance. Becuase of a few selfish people who don’t understand that they need to stay home. Subsequently ruining it for all. SMH
Every report i have heard from the commissioner suggests the vast majority of people are complying. All the government seems to be concerned about is the idea that a lot of people are asking for exemptions and they see a lot of cars on the road. Guess what: a lot of people live here. There are visitors here. Almost no one is at work.
Putting people on house arrest on Sundays won’t achieve anything other than having people out even more on their permitted days. Not everyone has a backyard. Why should we be locked up like prisoners and prevented from going for a walk by ourselves. That’s not going to spread coronavirus. If the government thinks they are going to encourage people to stay indoors by imprisoning them for four days a week I think they are going to be in for a surrprise. The same way they were surprised that supermarkets were busy after they locked people down for two days with 3 or 4 hours’ notice. Don’t get me wrong, I believe people should stay at home unless out to buy food or exercise. But I don’t agree with complete house arrest.
The opportunity to snitch on their neighbours will be irresistible for some. Whether it’s true or not.
Dumb. Achieves nothing. Oppression of the people.
You clearly need oppressing, perhaps in Northward.
So only allowed out on alternate days for essential purpose, does this include person classed as essential workers? If so then my place of work which supplies supermarkets with food items will not be able to function
Agreed. What’s their plan beyond a few weeks? Ban tourists and travel forever? This virus isn’t going away anytime soon. Keep this up and as Mac says soon we’ll all be eating mango steaks and turtle grass pie.
They have no plan, winging it CIG style. About to all come crashing down around them.
You wing nut!
Yummy
Yes………What is the plan? Some other Governments on the other side of the world are saying 6 Months of this at least BUT…… Still can go to and from work…..Kids still go to School. Yes they are all other restrictions we have but seem to be doing fine AND they have rapid testing.
7:11 yes lets forget the Death Rate of New York for a while!
Cayman is not New York. New York has too many idiots (high concentration of Dummicrats) which means they are unlikely to even understand the basic instructions of social distancing and avoiding contamination. Basic hygiene is not a competence that idiots will have.
Silly mentally that cause the spread to begin with. The virus isn’t probably going away anytime soon, and the borders will eventually open to guests, but you may not be around to see them.
No tourists are coming till 2021 whether we’re open or not!
Yup. Achieves nothing, do we ban tourists forever? Virus isn’t going away and when they’re back it will be back. Pointless. Keep this up much longer and soon we’ll all be eating mango steaks and turtle grass pie.
You won’t even be eating that as you’ll not be allowed out to harvest them …
Seriously ? He is trying to sort the issue at home first and foremost. Then and only then can you look at the potential of allowing incoming planes if anybody will actually be on them and realistically have to test each one incoming. You think it’s time to just open up the borders ?
Cool. PLEASE crash the economy and make some expats leave. Young Caymanians like myself that are renting from them are wishing to buy property.