CBC officer among COVID-19 positives

| 26/05/2020 | 80 Comments
Cayman News Service

(CNS): When GIS released the COVID-19 test results for the latest batch of samples Tuesday, the three positives cases included one Customs and Border Control officer who was part of the test screening of front-line workers. The two other positives were also picked up through screening. None of the individuals have symptoms but they are all now in isolation and contact tracing has begun.

Alongside these three new positive cases, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee reported that another 411 samples were negative from tests completed over the last 24 hours. There are still no COVID-19 patients in hospital and it is almost a month since anyone presented to the hospital or any healthcare facility with COVID-like symptoms.

All the samples tested since 27 April have been part of the screening process. One of these has some symptoms, but the CMO said the person has not needed hospital care and the symptoms do not seem to be COVID-19 related.

There have now been 137 confirmed cases of this coronavirus in the Cayman Islands and 9,815 people have been tested, which is now beginning to give government a more realistic view of the prevalence of the virus here. According to the latest figures 63 people have recovered and there are 74 active cases, most of whom are asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, CBC Director Charles Clifford wished his officer well and said any need for further testing or isolation will be determined once a risk assessment is completed. More than 120 CBC officers and employees have been tested so far for COVID-19 in the ongoing testing of border staff.

CBC’s policy is to sanitize the work area of an employee that has tested positive for COVID-19 immediately after notification of a positive result.


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (80)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    For all of those saying “Asymptomatic persons are not contagious” if that is the truth and Dr. Lee himself is quoting this then he is contradicting his own words because why are they being quarantined?

    If a person has tested positive resulting in them being asymptomatic then there should be no issue or worry of them remaining on the front line…correct?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not correct on a number of respects. Dr Lee has never said that asymptomatic are not contagious.

      All persons testing positive are to isolate whether they are showing symptoms or not, and are not allowed to return to work until they have spent at least fourteen days in isolation and are given the all clear to return to work.

  2. Anonymous says:

    10:10 The UK 37,460 Deaths no BIG DEAL!

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  3. Anonymous says:

    I am so sick of entitled, unaffected, people telling me how I should act, I had a profitable business that in one day disappeared. Seriously one day. Now I am faced with an entitled government forcing my business to be closed for 10 weeks. But, somehow I am magically supposed to pay my employees, and all of their health insurance. Both half’s now, not just 50/50. But it is too much for our MLAS to take a salary cut. Because, unlike me, they have bills. So disgusting. I hope they are given every kindness they afforded me.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    I asked if government was looking into genome sequencing due to DNA deletion more than a week ago. Total silence.

  5. Chris Johnson says:

    How on earth can we have stages when they are not defined? Presumably a FOI might fix the problem.
    We are but mushrooms, fed bullshit and kept in the dark.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Here is some information from as article on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service, an American broadcasting service that tries to sort out what’s known and not known about the asymptomatic phenomenon and potential transmission of Coronavirus in such instances.

      First, to establish the bonafides of PBS for persons not familiar with it, here is what Wikipedia said:

      “Since the mid-2000s, Roper Opinion Research polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as the most-trusted national institution in the United States.[4][9]”

      The excerpts below were taken from the PBS article, written by William Petri, a professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Virginia. Dr Petri specializes in infectious diseases.

      At the end of the excerpts below you will find a link to the full article:

      “An Italian pre-print study that has not yet been peer-reviewed found that 43% of people who tested positive for COVID-19 showed no symptoms. Of concern: The researchers found no difference in how potentially contagious those with and without symptoms were, based on how much of the virus the test found in individuals’ samples.“

      “Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection appears to be common – and will continue to complicate efforts to get the pandemic under control.”

      “Most recently it has been shown that high levels of the virus are present in respiratory secretions during the “presymptomatic” period that can last days to more than a week prior to the fever and cough characteristic of COVID-19. This ability of the virus to be transmitted by people without symptoms is a major reason for the pandemic.”

      “No matter what, if you’ve been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should self-quarantine for the entire 14-day incubation period. Even if you feel fine, you’re still at risk of spreading the coronavirus to others.“

      Below is link for the full article:

      https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/health/5-questions-about-asymptomatic-covid-19-cases-answered

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      • Anonymous says:

        You are only infectious if you have an infection! Asymptomatic is not an infection. Instead of PBS you may want to look at WHO or better still pubmed

  6. Anonymous says:

    Dr. Alex Wong, an infectious disease researcher at Regina General Hospital in Saskatchewan, Canada, said he doesn’t think widespread testing of asymptomatic people is useful for monitoring the epidemic in places where very few people have the disease, such as Saskatchewan.

    In an interview earlier this week, he warned that in places with low disease prevalence, widespread testing of asymptomatic people could turn up more false positives than real positives.

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    • Anonymous says:

      12:12 pm: not sure why the population size should have anything to do with false positives. That sounds more like a function of the testing procedure.

      Can you elaborate?

      • Anonymous says:

        Second try at complete article published in today’s CBC news (makes an argument for not bothering to test everyone who is returning to work):

        “Infectious diseases specialist says asymptomatic people with no ‘concerning exposure’ don’t need a test.

        Anyone working outside the home in Saskatchewan now qualifies to get a COVID-19 test, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense for most people without symptoms to do so, according to a leading infectious diseases specialist in the province.

        “I don’t think that’s something that I would actually recommend to members of the general public at this time,” said Dr. Alex Wong, a clinician and researcher at Regina General Hospital who specializes in infectious diseases. He has worked with the Saskatchewan Health Authority on its pandemic planning and response.

        Wong cautioned that widespread testing of asymptomatic people isn’t as useful to track and trace cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, where there’s a low prevalence of the novel coronavirus, because of certain limitations in testing accuracy.

        Wong said people should seek testing if they feel any symptoms — even mild ones — or have had a “concerning interaction” or “concerning exposure” with someone who may be sick with COVID-19, even if asymptomatic.

        He doesn’t encourage most people to get tested just to get tested.

        “The most important group that we need to be testing is people that do have symptoms compatible with COVID-19, and those individuals should self-isolate and get a test. And that’s super important to continue to push forward,” Wong said.

        Dr. Alex Wong, infectious diseases specialist, doesn’t advise people in Saskatchewan to get tested just for the sake of getting tested.

        People who can’t maintain physical distancing — such as grocery store clerks, hair stylists, or dentists — who think they’ve been exposed to someone with symptoms, and don’t feel they were properly protected, should also seek testing.
        In the early days of the pandemic, the Saskatchewan Health Authority had strict testing criteria that limited diagnostic tests to people with multiple symptoms who had travelled or been in contact with someone knwon to have COVID-19. That criteria expanded in early April to include anyone with mild symptoms, no travel necessary.

        The province’s testing capacity remains high for its population. It is capable of processing about 1,500 tests a day, but demand has dropped significantly.

        Now, the health authority is willing to test anyone who is working and will proactively target asymptomatic hospital patients, homeless people and factory workers, among others.

        At a public health level, asymptomatic testing can be useful in regions with a high prevalence of the COVID-19 virus to determine the rate of community spread, Wong said.

        However, he added that the prevalence is so low in most of Saskatchewan, excluding the northwestern region, that widespread asymptomatic testing would not be that useful for catching cases or measuring the community spread.

        Wong said the PCR-based test for COVID-19 has certain limitations that could turn up more false positives than real positives in a low-prevalence region.

        “We have to be careful about how we use and interpret those results,” Wong said.

        He said that in regions where the prevalence is higher, such as Ontario, Quebec and some parts of Alberta, it makes more sense to aggressively screen asymptomatic people to get a better sense of the rate of community transmission.

        Most provinces have done some testing of asymptomatic people in places that have had outbreaks, such as long-term care homes, prisons and meat-processing plants. However, widespread asymptomatic testing is controversial.

        Ontario’s health ministry, under pressure to increase testing numbers, has expanded its testing protocols to include anyone concerned that they’ve been exposed to COVID-19, even if they have no symptoms, and anyone who is at risk of exposure through their employment, such as health-care workers and grocery store clerks.

        Manitoba’s chief provincial health officer Brent Roussin has rejected what he calls “large, widespread, indiscriminate asymptomatic testing.”

        “There’s really low value in that,” Roussin said.

        Manitoba is going to do random testing of asymptomatic people by selecting a health-care facility, such as a doctor’s office, and offering anyone who shows up a test. While Roussin isn’t encouraging widespread testing of people who don’t have symptoms, Manitoba’s testing sites won’t turn people away.
        Roussin noted that a negative test result in an asymptomatic person doesn’t hold much weight.

        “If that person develops symptoms a few days later, they can’t rely that they had a negative COVID-19 test. They still need to be tested at that time. So, that’s the major limitation of testing asymptomatic people,” Roussin said.

        Dr. Wong advises people to focus primarily on physical distancing and hand-washing as a way to stay safe.”

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        • Anonymous says:

          4:04 pm: Cayman is not indiscriminately testing asymptomatic people. The authorities are not inviting people to come in for testing. They are screening frontline workers in high contact services and places like the prison, etc., and we do follow up with contact tracing.

          What Dr Wong in his article is talking about is talking about is indiscriminate widespread asymptomatic screening. Not happening in Cayman.

          If you listen to our Dr Lee he has consistently said no to that every time it was asked.

          For example, even though I am in a high risk group, I have never sought to be tested. Last week I was asked to get tested because I was scheduled for a procedure at the hospital.

          That is to protect persons involved with my health care and other patients at the hospital while I am there.

          How I protect myself generally is staying home and the usual health regimes when I have to go into the public.

          What the government has been doing is sampling as a base for decision making.

          Dr. Wong who is quoted in this article is correct. No need to test just for testing. My status as negative for Coronavirus could change at any moment. So were it not for the medical procedure, I would not be in the category for screening, neither would I request it.

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          • Anonymous says:

            I understand that but now they are testing all construction workers and presumably down the road anyone else who wants to return to work. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Since each stage of the re-opening is a well guarded secret how is anyone supposed to know what to expect exactly.

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            • Anonymous says:

              5:55 pm, Dr. Lee actually clarified today that he is sampling the construction workers in the bigger companies, although he had said earlier he may be able to cover all workers in the smaller companies.

              What he said today is that construction workers do not need to wait for the results, because the aim is not to test everyone, but to sample the population, for decision making purposes.

              That was hard me to understand at the beginning, but I now get it. It wouldn’t make sense to wait to test everybody before they could go out to work, because their coronavirus status could change at any time.

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    • Anonymous says:

      12:12 pm: that is not what we are doing in Cayman. We are screening front line workers such as those at the supermarkets, for instance, So that the supermarkets do not be one hot spots for transmission. And the same for other front line essential workers.

      They are also doing some sampling for decision making.

      Be careful that you don’t extrapolate from one situation to another and end up comparing apples and oranges.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Can anyone clarify who gets these masks from the government and who doesn’t? I just watched two police officers go to every house but skip mine. I’m wondering if it’s because I can’t legally vote in this country yet….

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    • Anonymous says:

      Same thing happened to me. My neighbors who vote got a delivery of masks in a zip lock bag. I got nothing. Fortunately, my neighbor shared a few with me, otherwise I wouldn’t have even known I was excluded!

    • BeaumontZodecloun says:

      Excellent information, which further supports the idea that “we”, meaning the global we, really don’t fully understand the ramifications of CV-19. If a significant amount of people don’t develop immunities after having recovered, then the much-touted “herd immunity” may not be effective.

      That suggests to me — a nobody, who doesn’t have medical training — that an effective vaccine may be extremely difficult, or improbable.

      I think the methods used by CIG are sound, and if through additional testing and tracing, we are able to mimic New Zealand, then we can later reopen on our own terms, armed with the knowledge we didn’t have in March.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Beaumont, 1:12 pm:

        Essentially I agree with you, but it isn’t clear as yet what level of immunity people who have tested positive will have, and it is too early to say whether a vaccine is possible or when. We continue to hope.

        On the direction Cayman Govt had taken, I couldn’t agree more.

        I know there is a level of frustration and I fully sympathize, but I think the government is right in its position.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Open on our own terms? Of course. The question is, what are the terms? If the idea is to stay closed until the virus is eradicated around the world or there is a vaccine then we need to be told NOW! Not 3 months from now, because those terms are highly unlikely at best and pure fantasy at worst. And if that’s not the terms why are the terms a big secret? They’ve had months to think about it and come up with a plan as others have.

        What will you think when they finally open in 3 to 6 months, virus still out there and they adopt protocols that already exist right now elsewhere? Will you then question the soundness of CIG methods having achieved basically nothing at the expense of thousands of jobs, pensions, businesses and futures?

        Here’s to rolling snake eyes…

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      • Reason says:

        So that after the rest of the world has developed some immunity,then we open up? We’ll be just like the native Americans when the European settlers arrived with and mostly immune to smallpox. Killed off whole tribes. But what the hec, at least it will be on “our terms”.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    asymptomatic people CAN spread the virus.

    All DNA transcripts to RNA, the test converts the virus specific RNA sequence to DNA which is then tested.

    The test is for active infection, and close term post infection.

    Masks stop asymptomatic people spreading the virus, so where one for everyone elses benefit.

    Its all hype? over 350,000 recorded deaths (many have died without testing) so far in only 5 months and the virus is spreading at an increased rate every day.

    Bet you think its all due to 5G as well, such ignorance, try watching something other than Fox News

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  9. Anonymous says:

    So now we have “people in Cayman actually starving”? I’ve heard it all now.

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    • Anonymous says:

      10:39 am: I do believe that there are families that find it hard to buy the food they would like to have. And these people are being helped by various community organizations. So I don’t think people “are actually starving” but they surely need help if no income in coming in.

  10. Anonymous says:

    I would like to know when we will be getting the antigen/antibody tests from the UK that Dr Lee mentioned several times over the past couple of weeks. I think that is a much better indication of how widespread the virus has been, and since we have so many asymptomatic cases, there may be hundreds or thousands who have had the exposure and “recovered” without ever knowing. This would be very useful as we go forward in knowing who has antibodies at this point.

    The tests for active cases being done now only show active cases on the one day they are tested.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    For all those lauding the actions of CIG, one thing is clear. The communication and messaging on “re-opening” has been piss poor. Is there a defined multi-staged plan already sketched out (albeit the timing of the introduction of each new stage cannot be set in advance)? We don’t know, because the government won’t tell us. They give the impression they are making it up as they go along. To see how to do it properly, please refer to the Bermuda government’s coronavirus website. Bermuda is very similarly placed to us. About 130 cases, similar population size, similar testing level etc. A month ago they published an outline plan which explained what would happen in each of four future stages of reopening. That gives the population an understanding of what they can look forward to and in what order, well in advance. CIG just keeps us guessing. People here would be much calmer about the re-opening issue if they knew the basic plan. If you take the time to look at the Bermuda government website you will also see that they have lots of easily accessible and clear public health and legal information in easy to understand formats and visuals that explain all the rules and regulations. In comparison Cayman’s information dissemination is either impenetrable or lacking in details. At least in terms of communicating with the public, Bermuda looks professional and Cayman looks like a bunch of amateurs (and don’t get me started on the embarrassing gong show that is the CIG’s Health Minister press briefings). By the way, Bermuda moved to its “stage 2” a few days ago so already allows outdoor restaurant dining and shops opening (both with specified restrictions) and 10 person gatherings…. What are we waiting for in Cayman?

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  12. Anonymous says:

    CNS – can you please question about the logic of persisting with the PCR testing looking for RNA and terrorizing the whole island with this?

    Where is the proof that these people have any infection? RNA is not infection.

    Do you not think it’s interesting no one is in hospital dying, have we lost sight of what this was supposed to be all about?

    Please watch this video that explains the testing processhttps://youtu.be/V1Im7jsW9_Y

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    • Anonymous says:

      8:54 am: “terrorizing the island”? What rubbish.

      I feel safer from the sampling that is being done for the government’s decision making and the screening of personnel in frontline services.

      Carry on Alden and Dr Lee. Good job.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Well one things for sure…….the numbers aren’t coming down and until there’s a vaccine and people learn to wear their masks and practice social distancing then they will only climb higher than ever!

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m sorry, but you have no clue how this actually works! The test isn’t for infection, masks don’t do anything, asymptomatic people can’t spread this and virtually everyone who has it recovers, turn off the news and please so some actual research!

      Don’t believe me, go look in the hospital, for an island so ‘rampant with infection’ why isn’t there anyone there? It’s because everyone is at the food bank trying to find food! This is all hype!

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      • Anonymous says:

        @ 27/05/2020 at 10:05 am Asymptomatic people CAN spread ……..

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      • BeaumontZodecloun says:

        There is very strong evidence that asymptomatic people can spread. Not everyone who has it recovers — some die — and others are left with permanent damage to lungs, heart or kidneys.

        You really don’t sound as if you are a bastion of ‘actual research’, but of hysteric hyperbole. I get it that you want to go back to work. Most of us do.

        You want us to look in the hospitals so we can see what? Clear evidence that the steps taken by the government are actually working. Ironic.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I am genuinely worried for your state of health. Please consider speaking to someone, a professional someone, seriously.

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      • Anonymous says:

        10:05 am: I suggest physician heal thyself: you sound like you need to do some actual research. I suspect you are watching Fox news.

  14. Anonymous says:

    When this pandemic arrived here we took drastic actions to slow/stop the spread. Our case numbers continue to rise and now the government says these test results are good and the economy can open. So, it appears we have community spread and the lockdown achieved what?

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    • Anonymous says:

      I often get so exasperated with the level of knowledge of this situation especially at this point in the game. SMH

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    • Anonymous says:

      Asymptomatic % remains ‘constant’, i.e., there is a mild (~1.5%) background level of COVID in the community. So the more we test, the more we find.

      The shutdown was effective (by some measure) in keeping the infection from spreading/exploding. i.e., we have flattened the curve. But it seems CIG has realised they need to switch from ‘eradication’ back to ‘flatten the curve’. (They’re not using those terms but see how their messaging has changed over the weeks.) Hence the slow reopening despite ‘rising’ infection counts.

      This and other governments are trying to walk a knife-edge on this. Too much openness, people die unnecessarily; too much restriction, unnecessary economic harm (with real social impacts, including increased long-term death rates).

      It appears Cayman has limited community spread, attributable to an extent to the lockdown. So the lockdown worked (an unknown amount) and it is now time to slowly lift as much of the lockdown rules as is safely possible, but doing so slowly – in stages – to ‘test’ what kind of infection untick (if any) will occur before deciding to make the next easing. (For an example of the infection up-tick which can occur with an easing of lockdown see the South Korea ‘super-spreader’ event when they opened back up nightclubs. If you’re a club owner, don’t expect to reopen next week unfortunately.)

  15. Anonymous says:

    9:05 pm: Open the border to let in people carrying the virus? Are you serious?

    By the way, my theory about why we in Cayman have so many asymptomatic test results is possibly that the viral load was low when they were infected.

    And, of course, the generally low viral spread.

    A big factor in the low viral spread in Cayman may be our socio-economic status generally as a country, low-density population centres, adequate family housing, and generally widespread access to good food.

    And don’t forget access to proper sources of information, mass testing, and a generally cooperative population.

    Those regular press conferences by the government are huge contributors to our success.

    But stay vigilant, people, it is not yet over.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Why are you so scared of the big bad world outside? You have more cases of the deadly virus’ per capita than most places and yet, surprisingly no-one is dying, that’s because if you switch of the press conferences and maybe listened to the UK news where they have actual experts you’d hear it’s no big deal for most people! Vulnerable people can defend themselves by taking responsibility and staying home.

      However people in cayman are actually starving and being abused at home, where is your compassion for the real victims?

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      • BeaumontZodecloun says:

        “If you’re scared, stay at home.” Such an eternally useful splat of verbal nothingness. Most of us aren’t scared at all. What we are is called “responsible” or perhaps even “adulting”. It’s hard on me also. Same with most of us.

        The UK news you speak of, like the BBC? Those experts? Gee, hoss, they seem to be espousing informed opinions very much unlike your own.

        Starving and abused people here have resources. I feel for them, and help where I can. Do you help where you can? Or just toss those phrases out to bolster a weak argument?

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      • Anonymous says:

        No one is starving unless they are too proud to seek assistance. So stop with the drama, your only making matters worse. Think about it.

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        • Anonymous says:

          I am a hard working well educated person. No! I do not want to go to a fucking food bank. Really, this is okay? I cannot wait for Karna to bite you in the ass.

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      • Anonymous says:

        10:10 am: don’t be silly. No one is scared of the “big bad world”. It is all about timing. We are just not ready to welcome a plane load of North American tourists.

        And this is true for most countries right now. Are you not listening to the press conferences to the Governor’s remarks about the evacuation flights and how much negotiation he has to undertake? And he hasn’t been successful with every country—for example no flights to Jamaica.

        Are you listening to Fox News or what? When you tune into news services consider the source.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Our brave civil servants and other essential service workers are our COVID-19 Heroes. without their service and sacrifice where would we be today.

    Thank you civil servants
    Thank you nurses and doctors
    Thank you grocery store employees
    Thank you gas station workers
    Thank you to the staff at banks, cuc and telecom providers
    Thank you everyone who has kept our death rate at 1.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    I hope they are making these positive screening results isolate in the hotel alongside everyone else. If they allow them to isolate at home you are taking a huge risk because apparently no one arriving by plane can be trusted to quarantine at home so one would assume that these positives can’t be trusted either. Or maybe everyone should be released from the hotel and told to quarantine at home. Government needs a practical, affordable solution to the mandatory quarantine requirement. House People at a paid hotel is obviously not the long term solution. Home quarantine is the only viable solution. And if you don’t trust people to Obey the rules, we should be investing in tracking bracelets like some of the UAE to ensure compliance. It’s time for Cayman to stop treading water and start moving forward. Hotel quarantine was a good stop gap but it is not a long term solution.

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    • Anonymous says:

      International court of human rights says you can’t quarantine healthy people, just FYI!

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      • Anonymous says:

        10:12 am: yes, but with covid-19, persons who test positive need to be isolated because of the possibly of passing on the virus to others. And this is possible whether they have symptoms or not.

    • Anonymous says:

      This is a valid point that CIG seems to just skip over. Apparently healthy returning travellers are subject to mandatory quarantine while community based positive cases are permitted to isolate at home. Why the difference? The rate of infection found amongst quarantined travellers has been reasonably low, so you’d think that the proven positive cases would pose a greater potential risk to the community. Everyone should be permitted to isolate at home unless they can’t safely do so or have proven that they will not obey the rules.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Q for Dr. Lee tomorrow – how contagious are these asymptomatic “screening” positives?

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    • Anonymous says:

      9:44 pm — Not doctor Lee, but I can answer: as contagious as if they had symptoms. that is why we are hunting the virus down.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Actually you may want to look at WHO announcements and real time pubmed studies, asymptomatic people are NOT contagious, they cannot find a single occasion where they’ve infected anyone

        Let’s all stay up to date please and act accordingly.

        Did you not see also in NY 70% of cases are coming from homes, the current quarantine is actually a health hazard, this also blows the mask wearing theory out of the water.

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    • anonymous says:

      9:44 pm: I am not a medical person, but from my general knowledge–-

      The asymptomatic people are the reason we are mass testing: asymptomatic persons actually present a greater danger than persons showing symptoms, because neither they nor persons around them know they have the virus.

      Identifying them is the aim of the screening, so that they can be isolated from other people.

      Generally, they are as contagious as persons showing symptoms.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Open the border.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    I know some of these guys and I saw one checking IDs at one of the grocery stores – I just supposed there weren’t enough cops and special constabularies to do it. While we sit and complain about not being able to go to the beach 7 days a week, we have people like this putting their health and the health of their families on the line.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I was just reading an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it called the “asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 … the Achilles’ heel of Covid-19 epidemic control….”

      In other words, the high rate of asymptomatic persons makes control very difficult (and by the way, this high rate is being reported everywhere, not just in Cayman).

      I am not a medical person in any way, but based on what I have read, I don’t think Dr. Lee is correct in concluding that the virus here is any less virulent or that it has something to do with the weather. The asymptomatic syndrome is just a fact of how a large number of people’s immune system responds, and Cayman is no exception.

      Anyone remembers the reference to Typhoid Mary? She was known to have spread the disease raging in the late 19th and early 20th century to at least 50 plus persons, though she herself never had any symptoms.

      The answer? Doing exactly what we are doing: mass testing and isolation, lots of hand washing (so you get rid of the virus on your hands), the wearing of masks, and continuing to avoid public interaction as much as possible for now.

      Why? You or I could be another Typhoid Mary, unknowingly spreading the virus.

      And, by the way, the relatively large numbers of asymptomatic cases should not give us licence for relaxing our guard. Covid-19 can also be deadly, as shown by the large number of persons—in all age groups and with and without underlying conditions—dying around the world.

      The situation is also complicated by the fact that some of the persons who test positive but have no symptoms at time of testing could very well be “presymptomatic”. In other words, it is possible that testing may have caught the disease at an early stage and some of those persons could very well go on to exhibit symptoms.

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      • Anonymous says:

        You actually just made all of this up didn’t you? You have no actual proof of any of this nonsense, shocking!

        Check WHO asymptomatic people can’t pass it on they’re not even infectious! Don’t believe me? Ask Dr Lee if those people have an actual infection?

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        • Anonymous says:

          10:21 am: no I didn’t make this up. I just pay good attention to proper sources.

          In that regard, I would love to follow up on your reference to WHO. Can you point me to the source, please.

          Thanks.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Weren’t border control personnel manning the grocery store lines?

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  22. Anonymous says:

    Hope they sanitize the South Sound Community Center

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