Getting the balance right
Aristophanes Duckpond writes: Getting the balance right in tackling the rapidly evolving early phase of this pandemic was a very difficult, perhaps nearly impossible, job. Most of us are law-abiding, and being law-abiding we complied with the pandemic-related restrictions government imposed without much grumbling or resistance.
Our understanding, support and sometimes tolerance was appropriate and necessary in order for our politicians to be able to do the very difficult job then facing them.
In general, and in comparison with other parts of the world, we have fared very well, but that does not mean that government is beyond constructive criticism.
The following paragraphs set out: 1) the need for government to focus on building pandemic resilience going forward, including the need for government to be more effective in eradicating the virus, while at the same time limiting restrictions on the law-abiding, 2) the standards to which we should hold government accountable going forward, and 3) areas in which government’s actions have been understandably less than perfect to date and therefore require reconsideration and redress.
We are now nearly eight weeks into local COVID-19 related restrictions. Most of us are better informed now than we were at the outset. Far more scientific, medical and economic information is now available. Even more information will become available over the coming 6-12 weeks as the initial results of properly conducted double-blind drug and vaccine trials start to emerge, and the successes and failures of other countries strategies become clear.
That information will allow government to re-focus its efforts to prioritise long-term pandemic resilience, rather than just short term virus suppression.
The concept of pandemic resilience starts with a recognition that this virus and others like it will be with us for the indeterminate future. It envisages a holistic framework for designing and building out a new normal that will allow us to prosper once again. It also requires the development of a new paradigm for the way that government interacts with the public as well as local and global enterprise in solving the problems of COVID-19 and its sequelae.
Building pandemic resilience for the long term will require a more transparent, proactive and targeted approach than we have seen to date. It will also require government to adopt an more transparent and proactive approach with respect to how government maintains public confidence and support, safeguards our freedom and safety, and lessens the risks created by the ill-informed, lawless and reckless among us.
Government responded quickly to the reckless actions of the lawless few in the early days of Cayman’s pandemic response, both through education and enforcement. In reacting quickly, and no doubt with the best of intentions, government occasionally used very blunt instruments to restrict the freedom of everyone, rather than implementing more selective solutions to specifically target those who posed the risk.
Such blunt instruments, including the convenient example of the blanket prohibition on waterfront activities, unfortunately had an entirely out of proportion impact on the 99%+ of us who are law abiding and virtually no effect on the lawless. As we have seen from the police reports, the lawless simply moved their reckless gatherings and activities from the beaches to the back of bars, cock fights and elsewhere less in the view of the police.
What then is the proper metric to measure the government’s actions in relation to the loss of freedom by the law abiding on the one hand and the detection and deterrence of behaviour that puts the community at unreasonable risk on the other.
Our Constitution provides that any restrictions government places on our freedoms during this pandemic should be rational and should not go further than the minimum reasonably necessary to limit viral transmission, among other things.
In a presentation on 8 May 2020, the New Zealand Attorney General appropriately stated the lawful limits of government action in relation to COVID-19. He was speaking in New Zealand about the limits imposed by the New Zealand Bill of Rights, but the same principles apply in Cayman:
To be lawful, [limits on our rights and freedoms] must be reasonable limits that are demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. This means the measures must serve a sufficiently important objective, and be proportionate (in that they are rationally connected to the purpose, limit the rights no more than is reasonably necessary, and are in due proportion to the importance of the objective).
In relation to the detection and deterrence of behaviour that puts the community at unreasonable risk, there are many efficacy-enhancing measures that could and should be implemented here in Cayman.
By way of example using New Zealand’s success story once again, that government introduced a web-based system allowing the public to notify the authorities of breaches of their COVID-19 restrictions. That web-based system operates in parallel with their equivalent of our 911 system and transmits reports directly to a dedicated response unit.
The New Zealand system has been effective in enhancing intelligence-based policing and limiting lawless behaviour without either straining police resources or punishing the vast majority of law-abiding people. That result was achieved even though the number of police per capita in New Zealand is a fraction of what it is in Cayman. For those interested, a starting point for looking at this approach is found here.
Coherence, as an element of rationality, is another aspect of government’s overall response to the pandemic that we should be continuously examining going forward. In this regard, there is room for improvement.
For example, on the one hand, any of us who dare to put a risk-free socially distanced toe on the water side of the high-water line at any time of day or night, face a year in prison. On the other hand, our public health authorities seem unwilling to implement frequent testing as a condition of front line employment for food handlers and other front line workers who, if infected with the virus, would pose a significant threat to a large number of us.
That juxtaposition suggests that government’s thinking about, and handling of, proportionate measures to limit COVID-19 is not joined up at the moment, to say the least.
Rationality and proportionality are also relevant to the level of PCR testing we are doing. PCR testing will be at the heart of achieving pandemic resilience for the foreseeable future.
The expert advice is that in the absence of an effective vaccine, effective testing for individual immunity or a universally deployed app that identifies potential exposure to infectious persons, we will need to have the capacity to test everyone on the front line every few days and everyone in the community every 30 days at a minimum.
This is what the experts at Harvard say needs to be done in order to ensure the rapid eradication of the virus in a US context (see here). There is no reason to believe that the same type of analysis regarding optimal testing capacity does not apply here. Achieving that level of testing would require us to have the capacity to do something like 2,000 tests per day.
At present we have nearly 100,000 test kits that will expire in about 7 months, but we are a very long way from achieving the testing levels required. For those interested, the pandemic strategy group at Harvard has published a considerable amount of useful information on rational approaches to virus eradication and pandemic resilience that can be accessed here.
To date, government has indicated an intention to achieve something like 400 tests per day, as of this week, and hopefully more in the future. Achieving anything like 2,000 tests per day will require a significant increase in the amount of PCR testing equipment and lab facilities that we have. It will also require us to train or bring in sufficient staff to operate that equipment using multiple shifts on the 24/7 basis that it should be used.
Given that the significant restrictions now affecting all aspects of our lives will continue to apply 24/7 until the virus is eradicated, it seems entirely reasonable for us to expect that government will do whatever is necessary to rapidly ramp up testing capacity to the 2,000 tests per day with commensurate contact tracing, etc., that is required to get us out of confinement in the shortest time possible. Hopefully, that is in the works and will be delivered soon.
Decisions made on the basis of binary, on/off thinking also need to be reviewed and curtailed going forward. A convenient case in point relates to the curfew-based prolonged denial of access to all waterfront areas that seems to have been implemented using a novel interpretation of s.49 of the Police Law.
Leaving aside issues of legality, that restriction was undoubtedly introduced with the best of intentions and with the information available at the time. However, at this point in time, any reasonable justification for continuing the 24/7 prohibition of socially distanced walking along the shoreline for exercise is exceedingly difficult to see.
There is also another consideration that seems to have been completely overlooked in the decision to prohibit socially distanced usage of all areas of the shoreline. That issue is safety.
For many of us who live in the Eastern Districts and other areas where there are no safe roadside areas to walk, the coastline has always been our safe place to walk. Many of us reside in areas where the only nearby road has a speed limit of 50 mph, with people now driving on those roads at 60 or 70mph.
Many more of us live in areas with narrow roads and 25mph or 30mph speed limits where too many people are now driving 50 or more as they know police resources have been reassigned away from road traffic enforcement.
We are therefore left to choose between giving up walking or risking being killed or injured. That is neither rational nor proportionate, particularly when there is no evidence that the current shoreline restrictions have decreased the incidence of unlawful gatherings, rather than simply moving them elsewhere.
In an ideal world government ought to have found alternatives that would minimise the likelihood of dangerous gatherings while allowing people to safely walk the shoreline for exercise or have a solitary swim in the sea.
By way of example and suggestion, if socially distanced walking for exercise was permitted along the shoreline between the hours of 5:30am and 8:00am for no more than the 90 minutes exercise time currently allowed, that would satisfy the exercise requirements of a large percentage of us who walk for exercise but cannot safely walk on the roadside near our homes.
Such an early morning window for socially distanced shoreline exercise would not be an attractive time for beach parties, but it would permit morning exercise without either risking public health, or unduly stretching police resources.
We understand and accept that some restrictions will be necessary for a prolonged period. We simply ask government to re-focus on pandemic resilience, provide greater transparency and adopt only proportionate targeted restrictions.
Proportionate targeted restrictions are also much more likely to be seen by the public as both reasonable and lawful, and therefore are more likely to be accepted by the public over the long term that we face.
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Category: Viewpoint
There is no stopping Covid. Now we just have to learn how to live with it. Like the flu but worst. But still doable. Great to see how many infected people are doing fine and getting over it. Hospitals are empty. Let hope it stays that way.
It’s more than ironic that political conservatives point to a socialist welfare state (formed in the aftermath of Spanish Flu) as the template for what to do. More Swedes live alone than anywhere else on Earth, and are socially distant at the best of times. Politically, they have super-high taxes, and generous welfare state apparatus to absorb sick leave and unemployment…but even then, their infection numbers are accelerating to near peak hospital capacity, and they have had to scale back their “open utopia” dramatically in recent days. PPE shortages exist, and disease has ripped through their care homes. Totally predictable and avoidable. Please fly somewhere else if you want to live these stupid death models.
Sweden’s Deadly Pandemic Experiment Is Ending Badly…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2020-05-12/your-evening-briefing-sweden-s-deadly-pandemic-experiment
And just like that socialists hate Sweden.
All speculations. Nobody knows exactly if they died of improper treatments, antibacterial resistance, as in Italy, or something else.
I personally, any-longer trust no statistics related to COVID-19. Or anything else for that matter. We live in a fake world- fake news, fake videos, fake people, fake tragedies, fake polls, fake experts, fake fundraisers.
Besides, I would not bring Sweden into this discussion simply BECAUSE its climate is dramatically different from that of Cayman, which in turn affects how every living thing expresses itself, including viruses and bacterias.
Compare to Barbados or Jamaica next time or anyone who lives below the 37th parallel (37 degrees latitude) at least and near Atlantic.
Then 10:4t, compare to Singapore which is located right on the equator and with one of the lowest per capita number of coronavirus cases. However, one must note that Singapore moved fast in March with testing, isolating and tracing, similar to Taiwan, New Zealand and South Korea. A real success story that Cayman can learn from.
The conservatives love to cherry pick to support their arguments. “Follow Sweden!” when its comes to Covid-19 only cherry picks the perceived idea of what Sweden has done in response to the virus. But whatever you do, don’t follow those filthy commies when it comes to socialized medicine and education.
The conservatives don’t like to point out that Sweden has one of the most advanced health care systems in Europe. Sweden also has excellent universal health care, so when people have coronavirus symptoms they don’t have to worry about the financial costs unlike in the USA.
People who are scared, stay home. The elderly need to be isolated and watched over. Early morning beach walks s/b permissible and swimming, both in ocean and strata pools maintaining social distancing. Drive to exercise returned. Sunday curfew lifted so people can get out and exercise, dog walk (perhaps no cars allowed out). Allow boating – max 6 in a boat or 2 separate families. Boats stay 15-20 feet apart at RP, people in the water 6-10 feet. Keep the every other day for shopping and for hardware stores etc. We don’t need to go to the stores every day. Allow dog daycare (yes I hv a dog), training, boarding not JUST grooming. Allow mobile marines to repair boats, not just CLEAN them (yes I own a boat). We for the most part are law abiding people. Increase the fines and the people will learn swiftly. Allow Cayman Airways to fly to Miami 2-3 times a week (if manifest dictates) as people need to get off the Island and travel to see loved ones or for work. INCREASE testing immediately !! Fly in people to assist if need be and increase the people in the labs doing the results. $4mm paid for the kits, let’s get using them !! Press briefings every other day or twice a week…seriously, you must be getting sick of them…let the Panel get back to work. We are behaving CIG, just give us a bone or 2 now as people are getting cranky !!
Cayman has no shortage of privileged ignorant cry-babies that’s for sure. Me me me me me me me!
Says the elitist living in a bubble. Do you happen to be on an Alden untouchable salary or have some other form of cash savings?
Come back here when you can’t pay your rent or morguage and run your mouth!
NOT all privileged feel the way of the selfish idiot above. This “inconvenience” for some boils down to the quality of the human. He/she clearly is not a human that deserves his blessings. Please ignore him, as he doesn’t speak for all of us that are doing better than others.
Thumbs up
I am out of work, can’t pay my rent and bills and struggling to put food on table. But I am not complaining, I am following the regulations and I will not be going to NAU either.
@ Anonymous 14/05/2020 at 10:08 am – there is help other than NAU. Please seek help – don’t struggle alone. There’s Cayman’s ARK who will help & you can get food from the help kitchen they’ve organised and also from Cayman Food Bank. Many businesses are also advertising for staff on fb and on ecay.
https://www.facebook.com/arkcayman/
https://www.facebook.com/TheCaymanFoodBank/
Great. When you run out of food entirely and get kicked out in the streets, let us know how you’re doing then.
I can’t affect or infect you if you stay home. Don’t worry about what I do.
If that were true, you could go around murdering people. Sorry, but civilization has rules numbnuts.
There are no rules in Alden’s Hunger Games
He who lives, wins. Even if there are 65.000 winners.
Not privileged enough to have his own pool though. hehe
They are called the entitled ones. Never park in a parking spot. Always in the way, cry about everything and everyone else and live off of the government handouts. Basically the reason God makes pandemics.
This is what real leadership looks like: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/front-page/ja-reopening-gov-t-loosens-reins-on-bars-churches-return-of-tourism-imminent_193988
You must be smoking spliffs if you think Jamaica is the paragon of government leadership.
And you must be smoking even bigger spliffs if you think the tourists who will actually have the disposable income for a Caribbean vacation are going to flock to a third-world country like Jamaica.
Anyone who thinks that opening up the borders is going to bring in any kind of significant tourism between now and December is delusional. Read what the tourism and airline industry people are saying. Some think tourism is basically dead for at least a year.
It hardly pays for a hotel to open up for 10% or 20% occupancy, with the majority of the tourists coming from the most Covid-19 infected country on the planet.
Tourists would come back immediately. The cruise ship sector is reporting increased interest in bookings for August over last year. Undoubtably, the same type of people would be interested in flying here.
https://www.fxstreet.com/news/ccl-stock-price-carnival-corps-booking-are-reportedly-up-200-yearly-will-shares-triple-202005121257
Carnival lies. It has been lying to the Cayman Islands for 15 years. No I will grant you that there are a lot of very stupid Americans, but not enough of them to fill cruise ship after cruise ship. And trust me, we really don’t want those cheapskate, disease-carrying rubes anyway.
Anyone who thinks the Cayman Islands is going to see any significant kind of tourist for the rest of this year, except maybe around Christmas, is delusional.
For the same reason they went to the third world country in the first place……because despite its third world rank, Jamaica is the jewel of the Caribbean. Tourism doesn’t have to happen now but having plans in place to massage the sector is a good starting.
Jamaica the jewel of the Caribbean? More like the armpit and I’m being nice.
No, DR is the jewel of the Caribbean. The affluent go to Punta Cana, not Montego Bay, and if you’d been to both, you’d know why.
Jewel for plastic surgeries sure….hunting and killing Haitians like animals….sure
Or the all inclusive holidays where the all inclusive includes professional companions.
Alden Bots
🙄🙄🙄🤐🤐😷😷
People!
Stop policing what others do. Start living, life is short. Another Toba volcano catastrophe that reduced human population to perhaps 10,000–30,000 individuals could come without a warning.
Viruses, like sharks, attack those who are stressed and worried; they, the viruses and sharks can sense your vibration of fear.
No lockdowns or vaccines would save you from what is meant to happen.
Read Ken Kamler’s book “Surviving the extremes, a doctor’s journey to the limits of human endurance ”. Best mental therapy ever. It will lift your spirit!
Viruses can sense your vibrations and fear? ROTFLOL. They are not sentient – there is even a school of thought that they are not even really alive in the true sense.
“Everything in Life is Vibration” – Albert Einstein
There is no solidity in the universe. A form that appears solid is actually created by an underlying vibration.
Far out, man. Can you pass the spliff, now.
“Yo, it’s about that time, to bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme” – Marky Mark
Except Einstein didnt actually say that. Cite the source if you can.
I agree they have no ‘senses’ but its also true that anxiety, lack of sleep and other mental issues definitely weaken the immune system. There was a study near the start of this that showed the best defense available was 8-9 hours of sleep, that included being asleep at 10pm-12am.
I knew vibrators had to be involved in all of this at some level.
Here we call them “personal massagers
Just let us go to the frigging beaches! The Police can get off their fat asses, and walk-patrol it.
On Sundays, we should all be allowed to exercise outdoors. Vehicles can remain under 24 hour curfew.
How about they just leave us alone on the beach. Nobody is going to get infected at the beach regardless..
Actually the opposite – sweaty/drunk wet-talking beach gatherings are one of the prime transmission concerns. We tried it, and your kind blew it for everybody.
The same people concerned about beach goes are afraid to remove the DO NOT REMOVE tags from their pillows.
What a studid comment. Did it take you long to think of it?
Actually the police blew it by not enforcing the rules.
It was quote unquote Too hard to deal with group that had been gathered but then dispersed in smaller group walking around with bottles on the beach.
C’Mon Bobo, give your head a shake. If we can be allowed to exercise on the road why can’t this happen on the beach? It is pretty obvious who is moving and who is sitting in chair next to their cooler.
Great. So by your theory all those rich enough to live near the beach can walk there but the rest of us who have to drive there got to stay home?
Well, under the current curfew only the public beaches are excluded, and blow the high water mark for all beaches. So if you are rich enough to have a beachfront property you can gambol around all you like and sunbathe to your hearts content above the high water mark, and the RCIPS can say nothing about it.
The lockdown battalion should let the rest of us Darwin out for about 2 months. You stay locked up. Maybe buy a hazmat suit from Amazon so you can get groceries and your xanax when you need it. I’ll even contribute to your gofundme. In just a little while you can cautiously make your way back into society. We will welcome you Rip Van Winkles back and buy you a beer.
WHO estimates of annual deaths from the seasonal flu, 290,000 to 650,000. World wide deaths from Covid-19, 290,597. This is not flipping Ebola!
Nobody freaking knows anything, but everyone is in “estimating “ business.
If I see more numbers, charts or graphs my brain would explode. The word needs a quarantine from news. Especially C19 related news.
113 years old Spanish lady recovered from virus news is welcome. Even if she is probably only 103. 10 years added for sensationalism.
AGAIN, it’s not just the deaths, I don’t want lifelong issues for me or my kids, plus we are only 3 months in.
You have a better chance of a life changing accident driving here in Cayman. Everyday. But if worrying about things is your thing then by all means be good at it.
The number is because actions have been taken to arrest the spread.
its only 5 months in and spreading massively every day, even scaling up for the annual rate as you have for flu, the 290,000 becomes 700,000.
And this is still spreading, google covid 19 and look at the graph of infections its rapidly rising still and that’s with the lock down, with it, this would grow expontially, and would most likely wipe out the older generation in the multi millions.
This is not the flu, this is a novel virus, ie unlike any the body has defended against, hence why it takes so long to recover.
Slight point needs making here. You are comparing figures taken over 3 months (Covid) against annual figures. Do the math Batman.
Joey WHO?
Hind sight is going to show Sweden was the logical model.
maybe, maybe not
Sweden failed big time with its seniors. Their government is even admitting this now.
As I understand it, The Prevention, Control, and Suppression of COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 as well as the curfew and cordon restrictions announced by the Commissioner under Section 49 of the Police Law expire on Friday.
Before going into the long weekend, I think it is appropriate that representatives of the Cayman Human Rights Commission and the National Hazard Management Management Executives are invited to this week’s press conference to make any statements they deem appropriate regarding the current state of the regulations and restrictions imposed on the population, and to answer questions from the media regarding a number of concerns raised here and by other local media outlets regarding the scope and appropriateness the current restrictions.
While many of the restrictions will undoubtedly extend past the current expiration, we should use this as an opportunity to clarify and challenge the matters raised over the last few days.
CHRC? Check their credentials http://www.humanrightscommission.ky/commission-members
The same statement could be made of many of the elected and appointed officials here and anywhere else in the world.
Nevertheless, there are legitimate human rights concerns circulating regarding the appropriateness of aspects of the regulations and police orders passed. Per their website, the CHRC has not issued a statement since March 25 where they generally approved of the governments actions.
Nearly two months have passed and I think it is time that the commission provide an update on their views and respond to concerns that aspects of the regulations and police orders do not follow their published best practices with crafting HR compliant legislation:
http://www.humanrightscommission.ky/upimages/educationdoc/HRCompliantLegislationAssessment_1470699959_1470699959_1471089205_1471089205.pdf
“Before going into the long weekend” — now that’s the funniest thing I have heard for months, you seriously taking a holiday?
Open Country & Western by appointment only. Limit numbers to 25. Only regulars who actually spend money and don’t just suck on one Guiness/Heineken all night allowed to book. Problem solved.
@7.42 Let’s not. In fact, let’s keep it shut. Forever.
Ah, here we go again ! the name of this one alone is enough to signal not read on.
It was a good read if your brain can manage.
Arm chair quarterbacks. Hindsight is 20/20. Given the issues being faced by leadership, they made a clear and rational choice- lives over rights.
The irony is you have the privilege of keeping your life which allows you to launch a legal challenge once the dust settles. There is a strange irony in all of this.
But let us take this argument to its logical conclusion and argue rights. Freedom of religion is in our bill of rights. We weren’t allowed to go to Church. Not a single church fought this decision- despite lots of jokes about them not getting offering money since that is all they ever care about.
Right to family life- how many families were separated by these decisions?
Property- how many business owners were told to stay home and could not go and regularly check on their property
Education- children’s schools have been closed and some are struggling to provide online lessons.
Right to beach and right to fish? I guess this is freedom of movement right? But ask yourself, what harm has been done and is this harm irrational, or disproportionate given the factors facing the Government?
What harm has been done in the grand scheme of the limits on movements and freedoms. No one was prevented from exercising, and few can argue they fish for a living. I guess we have a right to recreation.
So if you want to go to court, make it for something worth arguing. Not because you couldn’t go to the beach. It’s a slap in the face to the real freedoms and rights that have been curtailed because of the real threat of the disease.
You are comparing apples and oranges. A packed church, school or business poses a completely different risk than 100 miles of shoreline, in the open air in 30 degree heat.
Stop being self righteous.
The government over reacted it’s not a question of blame but we now have the benefit of hind sight. They can now rectify the over reach and allow the law abiding citizens to get back to normal life.
If you feel at risk stay at home, but don’t force us all indoors.
Everyone will have a different opinion on this whether they are rich, poor, old or young. The government has picked one category to protect at all costs to the detriment of everyone else. Those at greater risk can be looked after in other ways.
Honestly, one category? Can you really say that with a straight face?!
Thank you!
Useful suggestion re the early morning beach walks. However, I don’t have an issue with government taking the beach away. If Iived on the beach and act like I own all of it (like many do) I would sure as hell be pissed!
There you go with your jealous posts again. Just because you don’t have, don’t hate. I don’t live on the beach but I would hope people paying money to live there could use it!
If we can’t go to the beach, can we at least have guns?
Yes, just move to the U.S. and you can buy an AR-15 and take it anywhere you want. It comes with a free MAGA hat, but you have to be willing to chant “U.S.A, U.S.A, U.S.A” on demand.
Wish I could!
USA, USA, USA!
Can you please wear your MAGA hat at all times so that I know to stay way more than 6 feet away from you? Thank you.
America is the greatest country on earth. I am glad they finally have a true patriot in charge.
‘Merica.
Yes, let’s build a wall to keep out all the rapists and drug dealers from Central America and Mexico. Except for those who pick all of our crops so that we can eat – they’re good people. But the rest of them? Rapists, murderers and drug dealers.
This sounds similar to the narrative here in Cayman. Hmmm
That’s not what I asked.
Hahahaha
The reason the shutdown worked in New Zealand is because the majority of the people within its borders are its own citizens. Those who were not local were flown out quickly by their governments (Germany, France etc), or have access to commercial flights to make their way when announcements were made. The majority of people are not low wage earners, with little to no education, from very poor countries with low standards and value of life. The majority of people have a level of social consciousness and awareness of others that is lacking amongst the gimme gimme gimme, me me me set. The majority can, and will, take and follow instructions. Especially when it’s apparent devastation is happening in other countries and as an island nation there is the possibility to avoid the same situation. The majority of people trust that their government officials are working for them and not for self-enrichment, or to the benefit of their cronies, foreign interests, or just sheer power madness and ego. Let’s face it, in this age, even the most powerful countries now no longer have questionmarks but are making statements daily of their duplicity and disregard for their own citizens.
New Zealand is being hailed but you have to look beyond their government and look at the people. Maybe it is high time the people of the Cayman Islands stopped participating in the race to the bottom, to the lowest denominator. Stop looking for cheap. Quality is what matters. That is the example to follow.
So- the beach abusers would be insulted. Few of them were not from the developing world.
Beach abusers?? What do they do to beaches?
Litter it, to start with.
And in some places, there is one person to every 10 miles!
Lmao with 24 miles on grand cayman that’s 2 people. That’s probably what alden will suggest next. He and jon jon will stay behind and man the fort.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. I am story you’re wasted.
The Premier has lost credibility in allowing the Speaker indefinite leave of absence on full pay when he is sitting at home His defence of the Minister of Health adds to public concern that there is political motivation behind these very questionable decisions. We deserve better.
As for the ceremony at the L.A. building , there were dozens of members of the public waiting outside to gain entrance, many not wearing face masks, chatting with each other in very close proximity and a number were actually hugging each other.
Great, if it’s true about the number at the funeral that could be the catalyst that shots is all down again and if so, they can’t blame the expats for that!
I get it: Your post is written in a secret code that I have to decipher. Can you please tell me where I can get the decoder pin?
Natural selection is a wonderful thing.
Big mistake McKeeva. If only you had kept a low profile all this “assault” business would have been forgotten! The usual 9 day wonder here on Cayman. But as he always has done he has to be out there rubbing peoples noses in it! Just to show what a big man he is.
Sorry wrong forum👆
One of the first things we need to do now, and in future, is put someone into a position of power that has some skin in the game: the Governor, the Commissioner, and the Premier are not losing their business, their home, their pension, their savings. They are going to be fine financially no matter what the cost of this. Their view is “If you have to lose everything for a lockdown, well that’s a price I’m prepared for you to pay.”
Oh child of this dimension, wake up. This is not going back. Not now, not ever.
You clearly have little understanding of democracy.
Or conflict of interest….
Joker
Do voters have a conflict of interest when they vote for their own best interest?
As has been pointed out the closure of the beach is little to do with virus suppression and more to do with police resourcing. In other words the police have made their problem our problem!
Commissioner is as bad as Jon Jon. I blew my purple Kool-Aid straight through my nose laughing when he said the traffic is almost back to pre-Covid-19 levels. He obviously never took an extended tour by the Hurley’s roundabout during the morning or evening rush if he thinks we are close to that. He is concerned about people driving around for a look and drinking beer on the beach while they pretend to exercise.
All it would take is word of a few actual stops and tickets to put an end to anything that was actually against the law. By throwing their hands up in the air and saying it was too hard they lost credibility on their enforcement.
Whine whine whine. Do you all want some wine with that? Try to be constructive and find something to do. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop and that is what you all are being controlled by: the devil. Too much negativity. My blood pressure goes up every time there’s a conference. Why? Because of the comments not from the actual conference itself. It’s disgusting. I used to like reading the comments on CNS but now it is depressing and bad for my mental health. The Premier has a plan. We would have had a lot of dead people if they didn’t do what they did right away. As for fishing, Cayman Brackers is out from sun up to sun down every day so there soon won’t be any fish left in the sea anyway. The beach isn’t going anywhere.
And yet here you are reading and commenting exacerbating your mental health! Oh and the saying is “would you like a little cheese with that whine?” Seriously one does have to ask why so many negative comments? Hmm, perhaps there is something to this.
Idle hands and minds. Find something to do.
You’re drinking the kool aid. Look at the rest of the world, they aren’t in a police state.
Keep watching the rest of the world and see who laughs last
Actually if you check the other Caribbean countries, some of them is even more strict than here. Get out of your bubble and read.
After many weeks of suffering an austere regime the CIG can no longer claim that country is under a ‘health emergency’ given the apparent low ‘R number’ and the lack of folk piling into the hospitals with Covid-19 and for that reason the lawful, proportionate an necessary tests would likely fail any real legal scrutiny. The COP probably knows that he is on dodgy ground and is pushing his luck with the hard curfew regs (especially Sunday) but realises that he can get away with it as the CIG and governor are malleable to whatever he proposes. The regs should not have been put in place to give the police an easy ride and to effectively punish the entire community for the actions of a small number of individuals.
Agree that it’s time to start easing some restrictions, but about enforcement: What do you do with all those arrested? Throw them in jail or an ad hoc internment camp in close proximity with each during pandemic? That would be stupid. Fine them, sure, but they could (and would) ignore the fines if they wanted, continue breaking the law the very next day and then you’ll be looking for them with a warrant six to nine months down the line. As much as I hate to say it, the only way they could keep people off the beach was to make it illegal, or, at least say it was illegal and ticket anyone they found on the beach. I saw what a minority of Caymanians did on Easter – unfortunately, some people around here have to be treated like children, causing all of us to be inconvenienced.
Where I come from people pay fines or risk bigger fines and jail time. It’s not that hard to enforce the law, the problem is they don’t. If they started to the problem would be solved. Just like when you patrol and ticket speeders, most people start driving the limit. It’s not that hard.
Our R is so small it is negligible. Our Government is holding on to this virus as a mechanism of control. It is unconscionable and disgusting.
Please expand on your comments of control. Why would CIG want control?Control for the sake of control? What are they going to do when they have all this ‘control’?
What long term benefit will they gain when they have us ‘under their control’?
If you lay out the worst possible case scenario coming from your claims, what is the probability that would happen?
They are part of the global Deep State plot to put all us normal folks in concentration camps in Texas so that they can steal our resources. I saw it on the Internet, so it’s got to be true.
Lol. Thanks for that.
12.13pm What world do you live on, can you not see it’s Our Leader who calls all the shots, not the COP or the Governor.
Sometimes the darkest hour is before the dawn, and sometimes opportunity arises at the bottom of the well. Perhaps now is the chance for Cayman to properly plan and commit itself, position itself, for the next 10/30/50 years. It will take sacrfice, courage and leadership, but why not this –
forget about mass tourism. Take the advantage now of global fear of cruise and long haul, and lets truly focus on the high end stuff.
build a global leading hospitality training school to compete the top schools in Switzerland
establish a national service style gap year between 18/19 for school leavers, fully paid by Gov, in which they’re enriched in Cayman history and culture, placed across the islands to learn customer service, diving, fishing, etc
embrace HealthCity and build more of them, have 3 Health Cities here – the world is going to need them.
become THE Caribbean high end exclusive Island AND the world leader in quaility health tourism
relocate the airport if possible to the East, build more runways and enable volumes of business jets, luxury large airliners to come and go, 24/7
think big – sort the traffic before it comes back, build a bridge between R Bay and behind the CIS school area
think big, do it now, plan and action it now…inward investment…take Alden’s lead regarding pensions, change the laws, and have a mandatory pension ran by public/private partnership that can only invest locally and fund the construction
we can build our way out this…we can re-purpose most of George Town into condos…we can re-purpose the cruise port into a music/sports arena, we can do many things – the money is here, Mr Dart isnt going anywhere is he? I bet he’s going to build more and more, doubling down on his investments, that’s in his makeup, its what they do…..so lets join him…
why not? everyone wins…and behind it all is the finance industry, bringing in all the clients we need to spend big, rent boats, own 2nd homes, send their helpers into the supermarkets, and so on and so on
Dream world.
The nail in the coffin for what little charm Cayman had left.
Oh, stop being so dramatic.
?
Will glass coffins ever really take off? Remains to be seen.
Cool. We’ll be able to see as the nails continue to grow.
Nice ideas, but which foreigners do you think are going to want to invest in cayman when they can’t even visit their investments? How can they be assured this excessive approach won’t happen again at some future point too? There are many other desirable locations around the world….
I own three condos on the beach and I’m happy for what the government there is doing. I wish we had the same here in Ohio. We will return Cayman, we miss you, stay safe and keep Cayman safe for our return..
I’d be dying to get back to Cayman if I lived in Ohio too.
1.12pm I bet you didn’t know that Ohio is the only state that’s high in the middle and round at both ends!.
Don’t think we can build our way out of this mate, but I appreciate the dreaming part. Positive thoughts.
Maybe we could open a virus research laboratory. Just be careful not to release any of them.
I like most of your comments, but not the one regarding pensions. By all means make pension contributions mandatory, but allow the grownups to decide for themselves where they want the money that they have earned, to be invested.
We are all to be treated like criminals because the police here can not tell the difference. That is the reason for the Sunday lockdown and the stay off the beach and out of the water law. This is Cayman islands cultural way of dealing with it. If you wish to live here you must deal with it or leave. Please take anything you don’t want to disappear into Cayman Culture with you.
What do you mean “can’t tell the difference“? That’s just idiotic. Here’s the simple way to feel the difference: the criminals are the ones committing a crime! And the police had better be sure that it is actually a crime. Wheee is this “beach ban and out of the water law” you speak of? Be use the last time I checked that was an illegitimate aspect of the CoPs “curfew”, which is expressly in contravention of S. 49 (6) of the Police Law
Maybe the AG can wade in here and give his opinion on the legitimacy of each aspect of this lockdown, since presumably the government is acting in his advice?
Early morning beach access for responsible exercise would be greatly appreciated.
Or just beach open with distancing In place.
They tried that already remember ? No one adhered to social distancing.
Ban alcohol from public beaches for the time being. The people would actually use the beaches for something other than a big party.
“no one adhered” is a massive exaggeration
I’m sorry, but based on most of the other comments on this thread, I thought we were supposed to speak in obvious hyperbole.
That’s BS. the police did not hand out a single ticket, they never tried to police it, they could not be bothered. End of story.
Well it is hard to walk in the sand and they only have so many of the little ATVs with lights and why would you want to get off your 4-wheeler to enforce laws and write up tickets?
Your viewpoint would have deserved a big thumbs up about 4 weeks ago.
It time Cayman Islands tries a new approach to law enforcement. Actively go after the ones who break the laws for more than a day. Do it everyday for a week this time and ticket at least a thousand of them. Make them all pay something to teach then a lesson they need to learn to live in instead of off of a functional society. Then let the law abiding majority live safe and free. Come on Cayman islands, Cayman culture, Cayman Government. It’s time to grow up. It’s that or go back to the good old days of no laws and no prosperity.
You know that won’t happen. Just drive through George Town and you’ll see the people hanging out by that liquor store close to BK or at the fish market, no masks in groups of three or more. Cops never around.
What exactly does this beach ban and Sunday lockdown achieve in terms of making us safer? What makes Sunday such a decidedly more dangerous day to be outside?
I used to be able to walk the beach and stay a safe distance away from people, but now in order to get some exercise, I have to walk past other people who are jogging or walking on a 6 foot wide sidewalk, putting me in much closer contact to each other while the width of the beach easily allowed a 6 foot distancing!
And what’s the problem with going in the sea or swimming, snorkeling etc? How does that increase a risk to spreading this virus?
Can someone please explain what any of this does to prevent the spread of infection? Or are we not entitled to an explanation, and should simply trust and blindly comply with the Governments edict? When did we stop being a democratic society?
Yes, I’ve heard that the Government’s actions are designed to ensure the eradication of the Coronavirus. And what would the eradication of Covid 19 on the island achieve? Even if this were achievable, would we continue to live in isolation from the rest of the world until a vaccine. It is generally accepted that a safe vaccination is probably at least 2 years away, so what am I missing here? Perhaps like the GM mosquito program, the intention is to use the Cayman population to be the lab rats for a Covid 19 vaccine experiment as well?
CNS: This suggestion has come up a couple of times before and I have deleted it because it is straight out of Crazy Town. Aside from the horrifying ethical implications, any vaccine would have to be developed under very tightly controlled circumstances to be viable. The idea that this would be done to people without their knowledge is not even remotely possible.
If that is the case…
CNS: No, it’s not the case. You cannot rip a theory out of Fantasy Land and then apply it to real life.
.. is anyone thinking about the vulnerability of the elderly and otherwise medically compromised persons being exposed to such an experiment?
Because at this point, I wouldn’t doubt that such an program could be planned, since, after all, we keep reading and hearing about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation working feverishly on a vaccine, and according to Wikipedia, that is the same entity that sponsored the secret launch of the experimental Oxitec GM mosquito program here in 2009, the risks and damage of which are yet to be ascertained. This is not a conspiracy theory, but verifiable fact.
CNS: The Bill and Melina Gates Foundation gave Oxitec $7 million towards their research into GM mosquitoes because malaria kills 400,000 a year in Africa. However, it’s a fraction of their overall grants to research to fight the disease. I do not know but very much doubt that the foundation was in any way involved in the deal with the Cayman government. That’s certainly not how it was sold to us at the time.
So, in order to stay safe from the virus without a safe vaccine, or herd immunity, we would have to be isolated from the rest of the world for years to come. No one in their right mind could possibly think that this would be a sensible approach. Only a few places in this world are completely isolated, such as the North Sentinel Islands, where inhabitants refuse to have any contact to the outside world and the government of India ensures that this is enforced, particularly since the islanders have no immunity to most common viruses and bacteria that the rest of us have developed full immunity against! This is exactly how vulnerable we would be if our population does not achieve herd immunity, or obtain a safe vaccine.
All indications are that will have to live with Covid 19 for years to come. And there is no reason to think that we cannot cope with that without being forever cooped up.
Most people on this island are intelligent and well informed, and will take measures to protect themselves and their loved ones. I refuse to believe that there are so many irresponsible people living here that the police cannot properly monitor adequate and sensible social distancing standards in public places. But it certainly appears that the government thinks that of us, and so it insists that it must continue to control our lives, on the basis that the general public will recklessly endanger their own health and the health of others, if they don’t maintain control. This is not the Republic of China, and whilst they were able to control the spread of disease relatively easily through their usual totalitarian methods, we need to ask ourselves if that is the kind of society we want to live in indefinitely. Is it worth giving up all of our liberty to gain the false notion of security of eradicating something that, by all reports, we can’t eradicate in the short term, if ever, and in so giving up our liberty, we destroy the very fabric of society, in order to give the appearance that we’re protecting the elderly and vulnerable?
And it is really sickening to see how quickly anyone who dares to speak against the government lockdown is accused of wanting to spread the disease or killing the elderly, which is patently outrageous. This is exactly how propaganda works. You scare people into fearing for the loss of something dear to them, and then you dictate what must be done to prevent that loss, so that anyone who tries to even rationalize the narrative instantly becomes the target of vitriol and hatred from the masses. That’s how the Nazis managed to so effectively control their narrative too. So maybe think about that before you respond to someone who’s simply expressing their views.
After all, we’re supposed to be living in a free democratic society right? Or are we?? THAT is the question.
I completely agree. The government doesn’t have a plan for us that will benefit us in any way. What happens next!!?? Not a fan of being a lab rat to test this new vaccine on
CNS: You will not be a lab rat for a vaccine. Please don’t spread this ridiculous conspiracy theory. Quite apart form any legal and ethical factors, that is just not how controlled testing for a vaccination works.
Absolutely agree! Unlike cns, I too distrust big pharma and our government. It wouldn’t be the first or last time big pharma and governments deceive the general public.
This lockdown insanity must end before this country falls apart entirely. We are on a toad of illegal regulations and silencing of opposition. We have never been in more danger, in my humble opinion- and it is not from a virus.
CNS: Even if you distrust big pharma and the government, understand that vaccines have to be developed under very very strictly controlled studies using volunteers. They are not randomly given to a bunch of people who don’t know they are being tested on because that would mean there are too many factors outside the scientists’ control. This is a crazy conspiracy theory in every single way.
No, not randomly given to people who don’t know but how about rushed through and then if we want to enter society again or travel we HAVE to be vaccinated? How about that? Leaving you no real choice.
you ALWAYS have a choice, maybe not one that you’d prefer but you ALWAYS have one so stop your victim mode and figure out what’s important to you
CNS, what part of vaccines being developed by “Big Pharma” don’t you understand?
Please stick to presenting the news and leave your personal agenda out of this. There is no quicker way to lose credibility and support.
Vaccines are not GOD! Please stop it with your promotion of unproven science. Tell me one scientist that is alive that has been 100% correct, just one will do.
CNS: I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. You seem to be very muddled. My only point here is to debunk the idea that the people of the Cayman Islands are going to be unknowing guinea pigs for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s it. It’s a crazy theory and people don’t need that kind of additional unnecessary stress. Feel free to bash big pharma to your heart’s content.
Slippery slope, CNS. Either you’re a news provider or you’re an opinion former with a clear agenda. You choose. You may agree with comments or you may laugh them off as sky screaming nutters. Your platform and your choice as to whether you publish the comments or not. Publishing them and then getting into a back and forth with an anonymous internet commenter serves no value other than to undermine your site. You’d be well advised to not feed the troll (or just not publish their comment)
“I bet you won’t publish this” – just so you don’t have to.
Pastor Alfredo
CNS: Yes, but I’m going to make an exception and publish it any way. Ha! I do delete a lot of those sort of comments (I just deleted a long and fuller explanation of how the UK and the governor and Bill Gates are all in this vile scheme together) but my theory is that those ideas are out there and sometimes it’s better to post them and debunk them at the same time, otherwise they just live in an increasingly hysterical social media bubble. And this particular one is perfectly designed to upset and frighten people. There’s no hope for some conspiracy theorists, but there are other people who just don’t know what to think. CNS may be the only place where they get the view that it’s all bunk.
All news providers are opinion formers. All of them.
thumbs up to CNS
We were fine up until Easter, as the cop always confirmed on the daily briefings back then. Easter is big in Cayman. Somewhat predictably, some defied the curfews and social distancing requirements. We all suffered for the actions of those few.
Easter is over yet still we are suffering. Enough is enough. Remove the Sunday curfew and allow us back on the beaches just as we did before Easter. I am fine with the rest of the measures generally, but this is truly driving me crazy! 😜
All they had to do on that Good Friday was ticket ever single person in the vicinity. Uphold the rules they put in place!!!
Trust me. Word would have spread like wild fire and those a$$hats would hopefully not do it again..
And those living on a canal are out on SUP’s and kayaks. There for a few…
OPEN THE SEA!!!!
Cop: here’s your $3,000 ticket.
Caymanian: Yeah, right, like I’m really going to pay that for being on MY beach.
Prosecutor: Hey cop, this guy didn’t pay his fine. Go arrest him.
Cop: Yeah, right, even if I find this guy, he’s not going to pay and if we go to court, the case will just be dismissed anyway because the whole beach shutdown wasn’t really based on Constitutional law.
Us: Can we go to the beach now?
Government: No. Too many selfish idiots won’t listen to our guidelines, so you all have to suffer.
More Pap and Fluff, as people are being literally destroyed daily.
5.30am-8am… Really.. That would result that the whole island would be on the beach walking in that short time frame.. just allow 7am to 7pm.. no alcohol on the beach
Agree. Police should focus of people not grouping together, wherever they are. Open the beaches, open fishing/watercraft. No groups of more than four. Larger gatherings to 10 must wear masks and distance themselves.
Keep testing! Keep the masks in indoor spaces. Keep the social distancing. Keep the bars and restaurants (indoor) closed, for the simple reason that there is NO way to regulate people into doing the right thing in these circumstances. We get through this and actually contain/control the virus, we can take a breather, open up the country and decide about opening borders, and under which conditions.
OMG, just realised… Can you imagine the first day the bars are open it will be ugly, must remember not to go out that night or week… Yikes
Yes, you’re right, more drunken fools than usual and you can kiss any sort of distancing away with those types of fools
Police has no business on the beach. Catching criminals is their job, not policing regular folks who just want to maintain physical and mental wellbeing
Thank you for the well thought out viewpoint, especially the detail on New Zealand’s approach to thinking on limits to restrictions. I have some considerable sympathy for the authorities here in terms of the speed at which this crisis occurred and the consequences of getting the reaction wrong if the virus had gained a considerable foothold in the community.
However at the same time, and as you point out, we are now coming up to 8 weeks in and this has allowed all the authorities to move from panic mode to being able to assess carefully where we are and more importantly where we are going.
It is now very important that they bring in independent advisors (devils advocates if you will) to assess whether the restrictions they have put into place are proportional and reasonable and whether, in hindsight, they could have done it differently, achieving the same aims with lesser restrictions on our personal freedoms.
I don’t think the authorities quite understand the level of anger and frustration in large parts of the community about how they have handled certain elements of these restrictions. The excuses made about why they have done this have made the police look weak and the government eager to move directly to the most severe form of restrictions immediately rather than using a more incremental approach. The very fact that we have some of the harshest restrictions in the English speaking world is very telling of their overreaction. This anger is now manifesting itself into anti government thinking which is not productive at this crucial time.
Unfortunately I think there are those in power who will not happily allow independent advisors to guide them on dialing back some of the restrictions now or how they approach these types of things in the future. Therefore it is important that the Governor encourages the attorney general and others that it would be better for the authorities to do this (and be seen to be doing it) vs. a challenge be made through some other means. This latter approach has the real potential to further divide the community in a prolonged and public way.
If the government don’t do something like this then I am concerned that it will be a lot more difficult to instigate many of the pandemic resilience features you have outlined.
Whilst the idea of independent advisors is a good idea, you need not go any further than look at the UK coronavirus regulations to see how irrational and disproportionate our local lockdown regime is. Sometimes you have to look outside the box in order to think outside the box.
I totally agree that our restrictions are disproportionate but the reality is that these are ultimately legal decisions that are subjective and dependent on the people making them.
We are where we are, with either the most, or some of the most restrictive measures in the English speaking world. Were all of them necessary? No. Will the government voluntarily dial them back? No. Alden made that clear yesterday after his hissy fit against lawyers which showed that once again he is the one driving the binary choice discussion (money or lives). It was an unbecoming display from a Premier of a country and shows the Governor needs to begin to step in, in some of these areas to calm the waters.
What is done is done and we can’t change that. What we can do is make sure the government understands the limit of their powers and this can be done in two ways. Firstly they can do it voluntarily by asking the Chief Justice to review their decisions or bring in some independent people to do this. The problem with this will be that the people they will choose will be chosen with a view to whitewash their decisions.
The second way would be for a lot of people to get together and launch a legal challenge to some or all of the restrictive measures. We all know the friction created by the port challenge.
It would be better if the Governor was proactive in launching a more independent approach to reviewing the restrictions. There needs to be a healing process once the restrictions are lifted. There are a lot of very angry and upset people out there right now given the present circumstances. The government needs to start thinking about this as part of their strategy about how to move the country forward.
I am grateful for the Premier’s resolute and decisive measures. We have saved lives and mitigated the risk against all odds.
What is most unbecoming is the growing ingratitude in certain circles of privilege.
Just bear in mind the government governs everyone. Rules in emergencies have to be skewed to the lowest common denominator. You can’t have a buffet of options based on your comfort level.
Dial them back as quickly and as reasonably as you can. You all should be proud to be in a place that managed COVID-19 so well. I certainly am.
AGREED!
Let’s not exaggerate hissy fit about lawyers. And he’s not completely wrong about lawyers imo. And some of them, not the ones in the big firms are probably taking a bit of a hit too themselves in this lockdown.
I’m not convinced that there’s a large portion of the community that feels as you do. A vocal, whining portion?
ABSOLUTELY.
It seems to me that it is mostly the expats that are riling up for this beach access, many of which have come from places where beach was either non-existent or good drive away.
We Caymanians have accepted you with warm hearts and allowed you the opportunity to immerse yourself within our culture and heritage. It is sad though, that a few of you have decided that the way we do things is not acceptable to you. You belittle us and make fun of our leaders for making decisions and believe that your laws and your culture must be forced on us because that is what you know and believe is right. I commend you for having a say but I could never go to another country and be as blatant in the things that I say and do without fear of being kicked out.
Before we regress into the typical line that you have placed on us which is “if you don’t like it here then go home, ” let me just say that those words hurt on both sides and nobody should speak to each other in that manner. You must understand that the Caymanians are a proud people, they love their country and their people with every ounce of their being..They have nowhere else to go unlike most who can just pick up and leave and return to their respective countries. Caymanians and Expats together love this country we call Cayman, we just have to learn to live together in harmony. We both need each other in more ways than we can imagine.
Our country has provided flights for anyone that wanted to leave so if you are still here you want to be here and prefer to be here over wherever else you may have come from. We have provided food and shelter for those in need who have wanted to go home but can’t because their borders are shut. We are taking care of numerous places including Jamaica and Nicaragua who refuse to even accept their people. They have not sent us one dollar to help their fellow citizens but the people and the government of this island have stepped up to the plate and said no one will go without food or shelter. How many countries in the world does this? I can’t think of one..The United States instead of keeping the Jamaicans warned the Jamaican government if they didn’t take back their nationals that they would cut off their visa privileges and here we are feeding and giving them shelter. The reason I say all of this is that there is nothing wrong with pointing out our faults but maybe just maybe you could spend some of that energy lifting us Caymanians up for the things we do right and not consistently tear us down or poke fun at us saying that we are lazy and many of the other things we are called. Let’s show respect to each other, be grateful that we can share this little rock we all call home and come together for what is right in everything we do.
As for the beach, I miss it as much as anyone else but it doesn’t mean we can’t do without it for a few weeks. I am not going to sue the Premier because I can’t go to the beach for a few weeks. Cayman has not shut down its beaches to be mean spirited to the expats or to cause any harm to anyone. The fact is that with the small police force we have here, they cannot control the many people that will flock to the beaches like they did on Good Friday. I am lucky to live right on Seven Mile Beach and I can tell you that from my line of sight that probably 90% of the people on the beach that day were expats and they were the ones drinking and partying from my line of sight…You cannot have it both ways..
Let’s stop the bickering, suck it up for a few more weeks and come together for the good of Cayman.
Was this VP written by an expat?
Status Caymanian
You think immigrants don’t go elsewhere and state their views? What BS. I will have status soon. My children are Caymanian. We are the same and the sooner you except that it’s not just expats who are trying to change the archaic nonsense that goes on here the better off you’ll be.
Really now ya got connections right!
I don’t understand…
There are lumps of it around back.
Well said 9:56
No beach = no fishing. You OK with that as well?
Why does everything that counters the official narrative have to be labeled as the views of expats? All Caymanians have an indefeasible right to use the beach and to access the sea, and many of them go there regularly to exercise the enjoyment of those rights.
Please try to emerge from that Plato’s cave way of thinking. I’m a Caymanian, of many, many, generations, and I’m sick of hearing that kind of foolishness creep into every discussion. Besides, of all of the expats “suck it up “ divest themselves of their investments here, and leave, especially now, you would surely regret making statements like that.
I agree with 10:17 on the point that many multi-generational Caymanians agree with expats when they critique, criticise or even tear down what they have found here. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
What we don’t see often enough is the opposite- that is expats who support the Government’s measures challenging those who don’t. I know for a fact that many expats are supporting the Government- and sucking it up along side us.
What many Caymanians are sick of is being the pawns in the game of the privileged.
Every-time there is an economic down turn, or whenever our expat population want some concession or demand some change, their first threat is to pick up and leave, or to stop hiring Caymanians.
GO!
Go and be free in Florida, in London, in Italy, in Hong Kong, in South Korea, New York or New Zealand. The Freedom you so deserve awaits you. So does a 2nd and 3rd wave of COVID-19 and while I would never wish this on anyone.
The viewpoint raises interesting points. We will learn lots of lessons for the next pandemic. But bear in mind our size, our personnel, our resources and the global situation. What Cayman has done is nothing short of miraculous.
Many larger countries could learn from us.
I am sorry, but too many of you are like spoiled children. Not even when we are facing death…massive amounts of death are you in the same boat with the average person.
Rights are not trivial. We should do everything to preserve them.
But when you or your mates use your clever legal minds, buy your beers and try to ‘fool the police’ by walking around and calling it exercise, flying in the face of the instructions of your host, you should have your work permits and PR stripped.
That is perhaps more rational, proportionate and reasonable than banning everyone from the beach…
6.07pm One death (imported from a cruise ship with severe heart failure) and currently nobody in hospital, hardly presages “massive death”.
What many larger countries may learn is how we destroyed the healthiest economy in the Caribbean to avoid symptoms that so far have been little worse than the flu.
Cayman is not a part of the Caribbean. It’s a BOT. I know many ppl get confused with this but when making comparisons it’s unfair to compare cayman to other Caribbean islands which it claims to not be a part of. Go compare with other BOTs
There is a very real risk that if the lockdown continues with irrational, pointless restrictions like the Sunday curfew and beach prohibition, many, many more will leave. Tourism has been destroyed – that is something like 25-30% of GDP, around 1bn US. CIG had little control over this, as basically all the tourists stopped travelling. Removing that amount of revenue from an economy is going to have massive, dramatic effects.
It is therefore critical that CIG does what it can to protect the other industries on which the economy is based, and most particularly the financial services industry.
If lockdown is too tight, and contains pointless, irrational or just plain stupid measures that make life too difficult, expat employees in the financial services industry (and other industries) will just leave. Period. It is happening right now. Even those who own property in Cayman are now considering leaving in the next few weeks.
The upshot is that CIG is risking catastrophic long term damage to Cayman – and yes, directly to Caymanians – and is paving the way to poverty, by simply imposing measures which are just too strict and serve no purpose.
No-one wants the virus to spread. No-one wants a single person, elderly, vulnerable or otherwise, to die. Saying otherwise is simply a stupid, offensive and divisive dog-whistle, and everyone in CIG should desist from doing so.
But equally no-one wants grinding poverty, hunger, crime, social problems and poor living conditions in the years and decades to come. We don’t want our children to inherit this. CIG risks destroying what has been built by Cayman over the past 50 years if it continues on its obstinate, irrational path.
So please, pretty please with a cherry on top, CIG open your eyes, listen to people, check your egos (yes, we’re looking at you Alden), show some intelligence, humility and common sense, and lift the idiotic restrictions that serve no purpose.
The governor would also do well to tell RCIPS simply to do their job properly instead of bleating about not being able to police the beaches or fishermen (how ludicrous it looks when you write it down). And stop squandering money by flying that damn helicopter about unnecessarily.
Thank you for your comment. Expats and Caymanians even with property are definitely thinking of leaving for the rest of the year !
Nope, I’m not, never thought of it.
I can confirm: i am receiving my full salary, working from home as always. I can and do work from anywhere. I was planning major home renovations and a new dock this summer with couple of weeks away this August. But I am not going to sit here all summer under the dominion of this government with Sunday lockdowns and inexplicable restrictions on freedom they cannot even explain or justify. I am leaving as soon as possible. Probably come back when its open again. I don’t care if its 2 months or 10, I wont live like this.
You poor, entitled little baby. Sorry you can’t get your new dock built at your fancy, waterfront house in a gated community. Yes, go off to New York or London or the South of France – it’s much nicer there in the summer and we won’t have to listen to your insufferable whining.
Wtf? I’m so sick of the jealous posts on here that do nothing but sound like whiny little bitches.
It has NOTHING to do with jealousy. ALL THE HAVES should NOT be flaunting it when there are so many HAVE NOTS suffering. The lack if your compassion is very telling…VERY!
and FYI I’m a HAVE alot.
I know, right! Screw these whining losers if they can’t make enough money to live like us. I’m headed for Lake Tahoe the first chance I get and I’ll come back when the idiocy here has ended.
I have very little but I’m not acting like a little whiny little bitch because others have more!
No one is leaving, not any time soon.
Well said!
One love for yourself and your opinion. Stay home with it. Bless the rest of us with your absense.
You started of good but lost me when you went extremely off topic. Furthermore I hear plently of caymanians complain about not being able to fish so I really dont know why you’re assigning all the complaints about the beach closure to the expats. Your post is just laced with hatred for expats disguised in some “let’s work together and be one” speech.
I am a caymanian. I want my constitutional rights to freedom. I want proportionality and leaders who are not so arrogant and oppressive. This is not my government, and certainly not my leaders!
You’re a McKeeva guy, aren’t you?
Who do you think controls Alden?
A Kirkbot?
How can you tell an expat by sight? Please explain
Stupid question. Expats are totally obvious.
I am an expat, and highly educated. Your Country elected Mac, Alden and Dwayne. Really, you think you have the high road on wise choices?
Hey you expat pull up ya socks will ya maybe going do it while doing so you will reflect some more gruuumph’
Racist much?
Yes, they’re the one who look intelligent.
Ha ha
2.55pm If he’s a non West Indian expat, he rides his bike on the left hand side of the road with lights at night. He uses his indicators when driving his car (without illegal tints), he takes his dog for a walk and carries a plastic bag to pick up it’s mess, he uses the supermarket recycling bins – does that help?.
I’m W.I and I do all of that….so no, your explanation does not help.
I’m genuinely curious as to how you come to the conclusion that it’s mostly expats that want the beaches re-opened.
It’s not, it’s the small and I mean small handful of sh!t disturbers that are living alone and having difficulty with it. No friends to chat with, so live on this site to promote the hate in their hearts. Sad really, but they’re suffering, so we need to give them a bit of a break.
9.56pm An even more typical line is your clearly believed comment that “you have nowhere else to go”. This is hogwash, a lot of you have full British passports, do you have one?.
A rational and civilised argument. Too bad this island has so many irrational and uncivilised residents who won’t stand for any side of the argument but their own.
Aren’t you aware that they are executing evacuation flights ?
Are you admitting that the uncivilized and irrational residents are the caymanians? Your question in response to the poster leads to my assumption of that conclusion.
TLDR version: the government should allow exercise on the beach between 5:30am and 8am to allow people who need to walk on the beach to do so.
Nobody needs to walk on the beach. Wants are not needs.
Sure, why have any freedoms at all in fact?
Complaining about freedom of the beach hardly compares to what you’re referring.
!.28pm We may not have freedom of beach but we certainly have freedom of speach (sic).
But that’s not what they’re referring to.
Nobody needs to stay at home
When walking and exercising on the beach, I was able to keep enough distance to anyone, since the beach is far wider then the 6 foot sidewalk I have to walk on now. How is this protecting anyone? Why are we treated like incompetent idiots anyhow, most people are quite competent and will make sure to protect themselves!
Eradication of COVID 19? How long would our island have to be isolated from the outside world? Several years? Surely if we would be waiting for a safe vaccine; meanwhile we would have to live like the northern sentinel islanders and would have to refuse any interaction with the outside world. After all, we would have no herd immunity to COVID 19 in our population and because of that we would be extremely vulnerable to this disease!
So true! This is a master plan of epic disaster. We cannot hermit ourselves away from this
‘Herd Immunity’ cannot be generated through infection with the disease, especially one as infectious as COVID.
Herd immunity works if you can immunise enough people/animals that when the disease comes in to the group it dies out quickly, i.e., the herd is immune. The problem with COVID is that by the time you realise it is circulating in the herd if you leave it unchecked, i.e., attempt to achieve herd immunity, you eventually end up with most (90-100%) of the group infected. This is exacerbated by the small but significant portion of people who will not protect themselves (and others) adequately. Yes, you have now achieved herd immunity, but a significant percentage of the herd has also died. (And gotten very ill, etc.). That’s not herd immunity, that’s a pandemic running its course and what everyone wants to avoid. (Yes, everyone, since no one wants their neighbours to die horrible deaths before their time, right?)
So every country’s choices are eradication or a flat curve (your herd immunity) of people not getting sick and dying faster (in greater numbers) than the society can handle, i.e., than there are hospital beds and caskets. (Recall the reports of mass graves, or abandoned dead bodies, in other countries. This metric is sadly not hyperbolic.)
Many countries, sadly, are stuck with fighting for a flat curve. They have passed the point where eradication would have been an option. Some may have passed it before COVID was even detected. Some countries, like Cayman or New Zealand or Iceland? have the challenge of choosing between the two options. Do we go for eradication, and the significant socioeconomic cost of that, or do we accept a flat curve approach, which as its own incredible socioeconomic costs.
TL:DNR – Other than a technical disagreement on herd immunity, you’re right. We have unenviable choices.
2:51 pm; like on most things there are different views on herd immunity; promoted for different reasons; Sweden for example has remained remarkably open. The government has taken steps like issuing guidelines for Swedes to stay home, banning gatherings of more than 50 people and closing museums. In short termed; they are managing the progress of the infection rates, their restaurants, schools and parks remain open. Consequently, Sweden’s ambassador to the U.S., Karin Ulrika Olofsdotter, said the country’s capital, Stockholm, could reach herd immunity sometime this month.
Herd immunity is how a society collectively fights off infections to keep the transmission of disease low.In Countries where lockdown measures have crippled the economy social chaos becomes an additional problem for the entire population and their welfare, healthcare is expensive and a collapsed economy will make healthcare unaffordable But remaining open has had costs, with elderly people making up 86 percent of Sweden’s population more than 2,000 deaths so far, with the average death rate for Covid 19 at the age of 81years; which is the same as Sweden’s average live expectation: And scientists are still unsure whether individuals who have recovered from the novel coronavirus are immune to further infection — but I guess the same problem applies to a vaccine. It is also a challenge for a any population to keep the disease from reaching their most vulnerable members. There is no easy fix, but we will have to try to sense fully work through this crisis. Hiding from it isn’t going to do it!
I disagree, herd immunity can be provided by the population contracting and then recovering from a virus. I am 52, my mother took me to a Chicken Pox party when I was a toddler. I had a very mild case of the disease, and not the severe case of some of my unexposed classmates.
again, no one knows how long immunity lasts for this. Some evidence that it’s not long at all.
Chickens don’t gather in herds, so it’s proven fact that you can’t have herd immunity from Coronavirus if it’s contracted during a party. I would suggest you stop eating chicken because it might bring back your chicken pox.
This was neither helpful or clever. So don’t post unless it is.
I was going for neither helpful nor clever. I was going for absurd, since the poster sure seemed to be insinuating the equally absurd idea that we should go to Covid-19 party to help build herd mentality. And… no matter what my reasons, who are you? The Posting Police? I can post anything that CNS lets me post!
12.19pm I disagree, we have plenty of herds of chickens all around G.T.
Good, bad and ugly. Lift all restriction and test those who wish to be tested. Enough this BS.
You have a good job? How did you manage that and not manage to pay attention during this entire time and understand how Covid works, FFS, OMG, SMH!