How to boil a frog and why it should terrify you
‘Oz’ writes: When the lockdown started the government talked about suppression and flattening the curve as the reasons for introducing widespread restrictions on our freedoms. Reducing the number of COVID-19 cases happening at once made perfect sense; everyone could easily understand the rationale of doing this and we happily complied. But somehow, and without our knowledge or consent, we went from suppression to eradication. This is a very different strategy and it places the government on a direct collision course with the whole private sector and society at large.
Even if we achieve eradication here, it’s not the end of the problem but just the start of it. The premier has signalled that closing ourselves off from the world and opening up the local economy will allow us to get back to a “new normal”. He’s right to a point, but as any student of basic economics will tell you, it will only last a short time.
One half of Cayman’s economy is built on tourism and the inflow of spending and investment from outside these islands. For the last two months and until we open up to the wider world there will be no inflow of spending or investment, which means after removing the lock down, spending in the local economy will go on for a while and then begin to decline rapidly as more and more people realise they have no source of income or a significantly reduced income.
The same is true for investment. One of the premier’s favorite topics is getting construction started again, and it will work for a few months. But who is going to be buying these developments if we are cut off from the world with no tourism industry and an uncertain future?
And if you think that the financial services industry will save us, think again. Both planks of our economy are services and need lots of qualified people from abroad to make them work. Closing our airport completely until at least September means people cannot come and go as needed. Financial services will be able to continue for a while, but when people see their home countries have begun to open their societies, Cayman will quickly lose its appeal. Attracting qualified people to Cayman will become impossible.
The premier has publicly stated time and again he is looking to a vaccine. This is a very dangerous gamble with our future. On one side, it is a known fact that there has never been an approved vaccine in the US or UK for any form of coronavirus and many scientists are doubtful an effective one can be created at all or in time before mutations appear.
On the other side, there is a huge international collaboration effort by many leading pharmaceutical companies to develop one. However, a consensus is now beginning to emerge that if a vaccine is possible, then it will only become available in volume, 12 to 18 months from now.
Following the premier’s “ethos” lecture on Friday and the decision to close the airport until September, it is now clearer that the government’s intended goal is to keep Cayman isolated from the rest of the world until a vaccine is introduced.
This is madness and the result will be a collapse in the Cayman economy, mass unemployment and a significant reduction of investor confidence in Cayman. The longer we remain isolated the worse these will become. The negative effects on our society will be enormous, resulting in potential widespread instability.
Why will this occur? Cayman has developed its economy since the 1970’s as being open and investor friendly. Over the decades people have invested in real estate and businesses here based on the solid belief that the government would not interfere in the free market. But that is exactly what the government is doing by proposing to keep Cayman closed off much longer than needed.
If the government had told us on day one they were going to close off the airport until at least September, close off the beaches and access to the sea, institute a 7 day a week lock down with hard curfews on Sundays and also were going to keep us isolated from the world until mid 2021, there would have been widespread resistance leading to civil disobedience.
So they are doing it piece by piece, creating an environment of fear that is largely unjustified to help sell their agenda. And where fear hasn’t worked they have either berated us for being non-compliant or asked for just another 10 days, just another 2 weeks before we make things better…
It doesn’t need to be this way. The government of Bermuda is taking a different course. It has publicly said it will bring its tourism industry back online as soon as feasible. It has already started to open up in well-defined phases with a continued focus on social distancing.
Above all it has been transparent about its plans for the future. It is time our government followed the same path and clearly outlined its plans for the next 6+ months, so people can have confidence in our future. The time for hedging their bets on detail and direction is over.
It is important to remember the fable of the frog that was boiled.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
You can’t look a Qatar in a silo, no more than you can look at Italy in a silo. World wide, about 7% of confirmed cases have died. Are there a lot more case than have been reported? Yes, millions. Are there some coronavirus deaths that that would have died anyway of something else. Sure, these are some, maybe even a thousand. But are there also people who died at home of coronavirus but were never tested. Certainly, probably tens of thousands. The bottom line is Coronavirus is way more contagious than the flu and way more deadly than the flu. It is also way more likely to cause lasting/permanent disability than the flu. The only reason Covid-19 hasn’t killed more people is because of the actions taken by countries around the world to prevent more deaths. But this is far from over – and the numbers are about to start rising again was countries relax restrictions.
Fairly sure Dr Lee said mass testing here would largely draw 1 of 2 conclusions. 1) covid isn’t really hear in any notable form 2) it’s here but people aren’t getting sick and that would be interesting. So yes I think the comparison to Qatar is note worthy as that’s one of the only other places in the world that has got the money and resources to test people with no symptoms.
I think every Country has to only use REAL DATA, cases and deaths from their actual country. We are seeing more and more data showing Vitamin D has a dramatic effect on preventing and lessening Covid 19 symptoms and preventing Covid 19 deaths. In any hot tropical sunny climate the dangerous effects of Covid 19 will be severly reduced and mostly eliminated for those in these areas. The UK has data showing that the residents there with lower Vitamin d are the ones contracting the virus and dying from the virus. UK does not have a long hot sunny season throughout the year. Canada is different again. Different population density along with climate are key factors for Virus mass outbreaks and deaths. How many ACTUAL cases and deaths have been in Cayman ? Or Aruba ? Or TCI ? Then look at the financial damage to people and the economy and then ask yourself does this EXTREME BEHAVIOR justified by the death rates ? How many people die from the regular flu in your country each year ? How many people die from drowning each year ? Do you shut down the whole economy for those deaths ? We seem to have fallen into a reaction based on fear, and highly inaccurate data in the beginning. We locked down because we were told the death rate % would be 30-50 times more then the regular flu deaths. We now actually know this is absolutely not true and the read death percentages are not much more then a regular bad flu season. And certainly NOT 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 times more deaths. We also have long enough data points to verify it is mostly the elderly at risk and those with a weakened immune systems. Those are the only people we should be quarantined. The death rate among 16 – 60 year olds is so ridiculous low that there is no REAL OR LOGICAL reason to lock down the general healthy populations. Flu vaccines have been around for many years. Many times they are very ineffective and yet with all these vaccines the FLU still kills many people each year. The premier and many other leaders have publicly stated time and again they are looking to a vaccine before we are allowed to get back to normal. This is a very dangerous gamble with our future. On one side, it is a known fact that there has never been an approved vaccine in the US or UK for any form of corona virus and many scientists are doubtful an effective one can be created at all or let alone in time before mutations appear. If we wait for a vaccine to get back to normal we may be doomed for the greatest depression ever as things tumble down exponentially. Now being that we have millions of international travelers it may be a good idea to let all the healthy locals resume a normal life and get back to work asap, of course being careful as you can. But for visitors, maybe we restrict flights from cities with little or no Covid -19 cases. maybe everyone does a mandatory Covid 19 test the week before getting on the plane ? There are things that can be done that do not invovve such destruction of world economies. Every state, city and country has it’s own set of risks and should not be following harsh guidelines followed by areas with higher risks. In countries like Canada where there is a distinct cold winter season and a distinct hot summer season the regular flus ALL die out in late spring as temperatures rise and the sun gets hotter. The flu does not live through a Canadian summer period of which Cayman has all year round. The risks are def. NOT the same.
Take a look at Brazil – lots of sun – thousands of deaths per day
Thousands?
By that argument, with year round sun, Cayman should never get the flu… next…
Everyone gets it on a cloudy day.
1.27pm You say “The flu does not live through a Canadian summer period of which Cayman has all year round.” Using your logic Cayman should be flu free year round. That’s certainly not the case.
My partner had an underlying health condition which would make him extremely vulnerable to the virus. I’m fine. By your accounts if we open the economy I would have to return to work and I could potentially catch the virus and pass it to him and he could die. The risks are huge to some people. Don’t be so silo and selfish.
I know people with compromised immune systems, nothing is going to be normal for them anymore going forward until this is somehow figured out. But just because you are in that situation doesn’t mean everyone else is, unfortunately what needs to happen now is your company needs to understand this and you need to be protected to protect him. But that’s not my problem that’s your problem to deal with. Not to be rude or anything.
We will get back to some semblance on island. But the world will not for quite some time. To have this argument when you have no impact on worldwide decisions is futile. I get you’re bored and need to spend some time to communicate your thoughts on this worldwide pandemic and articulate your thoughts on the matter, but please consider this is a changing goalpost and we learn more info each day and with more info, better decisions can be made. You’re silly to think that to be open now we would have any tourists numbers that would matter, and quite frankly, any tourists that would want to travel at this time would not be any that we would want for their disregard for their and ultimately others health.
In Qatar they have done mass testing and have over 23,000 positives and 14 deaths – a present death rate of around O.06%. I think the strategy here needs reassessing. All for the old and vulnerable keeping sheltered as they wish but I think we need a quicker return to normal here.
Read this: https://go.shr.lc/2SUOpoh
What do doctors know? In Donald Trump, Sean Hannity and that Plandemic lady I trust!
@ Anonymous 11/05/2020 at 2:36 pm – my “thumbs up” is in place of the missing DWL emoji
Scary thing is, many people think that’s a perfectly legitimate statement and not meant to be funny!
Hee hee
Alarmist, uninformed nonsense. But then the premise is based on a scientifically debunked theory, so why should anyone be surprised.
Nobody believes you. Let us go.
Sorry what part are you saying is based on a scientifically debunked theory?
The boiling the frog part. It’s urban myth. Look it up.
It’s an illustration. It works perfectly well as such, regardless of the science of frog-boiling.
The writer called it a fable!
LOL,
are you taking it literally? It is metaphoric speaking.
Metaphoric=allegoric=figurative
In the contest of this VP it means, figuratively speaking, “Give them a finger and they’ll take an arm.”
Or
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” (Benjamin Franklin)
In plain English: by agreeing to a temporary lockdown you might not notice when they become permanent.
Typical response! Who the hell debunked anything? Rubbish. Restart the economy now!
If you put a frog in boiling water, you will kill it. If you put a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat it, it will get out (if it can) when it gets too uncomfortable. To say otherwise is wrong because actually scientists (as opposed to parable spinners) have debunked it.
You’re so smart you’re stupid.
Or just trim those sitting idle at home that think this is a full paid holiday. Some of us have more deadline work than ever. There might still be a bonus season this year for those actually meeting or exceeding their performance marks – from home. Those are the “core” employees that businesses will want to retain in months ahead.
“and we happily complied”…I think we kind of skipped this stage…people took coolers to the beach to excercise while sitting on beach towels with friends and drinking beer. People continued going to work even though social distancing would not be possible. I saw a group of young kids back from school go to Macabuca instead of self quarantining at their parents house (this was an option at that time).
I don’t agree or trust pretty much anything Aldart does…but have to say I welcomed the lock down as many Cayman residents couldn’t be trusted to be considerate of their fellow residents.
Your comment may not be the most liked but I am in TOTAL agreement. If we allow the Island to reopen its borders for tourism too early I feel certain that many of our elderly and young population will die. I am not trying to sound like a doomsday cult sayer just merely stating the truth.
You know, the truth hurts but is always the way to go.
And those that would get on a plane right now are probably the ones we definitely don’t want to come and infect us.
So true. For hundreds of years the Cayman Islands has been a sanctuary for misfits who shun rules and are more willing than most to look the other way or challenge accepted thinking. Some pride themselves on going to outrageous extreme, as if to announce they are still here, unwilling to adjust. It’s times like these, where the ever-present minority bad element test the new social boundaries and show themselves for who they are. It puts pressure on the rest of us to balance our natural restraint towards passive observation, with the need for active reporting to 9-1-1.
Unlike China, we live in a free society. It would be foolish to think everyone was going to comply quickly or even at all. This doesn’t take away from the reality that the vast majority were respectful. With regards to anyone less than 20 or even 25 I doubt they remember the last time we had a curfew or understood the seriousness of the problem. Was a lock down needed? Probably. Was it needed to lock down so long or so restricted (Sundays as an example)? That is very debatable.
Even with social distancing we are run the risk of contagion even shopping for necessity….I’m all for reducing risks anywhere else.
I think the established process has become a victim of it’s own success.
I suggest all politicians come out in solidarity with the private sector. And refuse to be paid until we can ALL go back to work. Let’s see how quickly they open up the island then!!
Politicians refusing to get paid? Ooh look, a pink spotted elephant just flew past my window.
1.55pm Look again it hasn’t gone anywhere; its alive inside your head.
This is what Premier had said about the Dump:
“That’d be somebody else’s problem, not mine. Well, I shouldn’t say that wouldn’t be my problem. I would hope to be alive and be here, but it wouldn’t be my responsibility,” he added”.
After he destroys economy, crashes people spirits, health and minds it would be somebody else’s problem, not his responsibility.
When putting $50 in my fuel tank, I start slowing down at $1.50. I drive away alone, windows up with mask on.
“Quarantine is when you restrict the movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people!”
How do you know the difference?
…and STUPID is when healthy people (who seem to think they’ll know if they have it) seek out a novel coronavirus (with no cure) so they can experience organ failure for themselves and/or their presumed right to irresponsible unconstrained spreading to vulnerable. Stay home Cayman.
We will stay the course. It’s the Cayman way. Prudent, sensible leadership with the long term benefit for all in mind against selfish and short sighted “quick fixes”.
The Cayman economy is built on solid fundamentals. It will rebound.
And rebound it will!
But last time I checked; you only die once!
But people want to get back to the bars nowwwwwwww!
Bars and nightclubs don’t exist anymore.
Stop playing God.
Yeah, that’s Alden’s job.
You are neither silent nor the majority.
How do you know what the majority is? Most people I know are supportive of the government. It seems to me that those against are the loudmouthed malcontents that are always against something.
There is NO WAY you are eradicating this. That’s like you can say you can eradicate the flu. It’s not possible.
Many small islands with numerous previous active cases are now case-free. That’s where we are trying to go, for now. Nobody needs to die right now simoly because you want to go play dominoes.
But as soon as we open the borders we are sc##wed.
With the rest of the world, seemingly giving up on slowing the virus and just going through the motions for political reasons, the virus will run rampant through those populations that will be our tourists, when the borders open we will be hit immediately by the virus.
The death toll globally will be high indeed, with the belief now that the economic cost is higher than the human cost. And the fact that most deaths will be among those that need state support is probably on their minds. A cleansing of the weak to free up state finances.
If and when we have no more active cases we could start by opening borders to other nations who are now clear such as Anguilla, St. Barts, and other small nations who are also on track to be clear of the virus over coming weeks. We could build from there. Cayman Airways and CIG could be talking with those Islands now to plan for the future.
Lol
“Case free” because I they gave up trying to test.
Actually they are now clear. Check Worldometer and look for the countries showing green: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I wouldn’t say many yet, but there should be by September.
You’re not even considering whether the islands already have herd immunity and this drama is all just a disaster.
The virus didn’t arrive when you decided to start testing! You had thousands of visitors bringing it each day for months prior to that…. think about it….
Everyone dies sometime.
For most of us Covid will not change the if or the when. No economy might change the why.
What a stupid statement. Nothing changes the “if” either way, so that part of your post says nothing. And since Covid won’t kill “most of us” – a statement that would be true even if it killed 3 billion people – that part says nothing as well. If the economy “might change the why” then it would, as a result of death, also change the when. But the same could be said that Covid might change the why and when, perhaps to equal measure as the economy. So, while I suppose that part says something, it’s kind of like “no duh” so really, you’re post is just stupid. I think you were shooting for clever, so this is an epic fail, as my daughter used to say.
I am sorry, my support for your comment dwindled after the first sentence, which is the only bit I agree with.
I have a few questions which I would appreciate if the police commissioner and/or governor could provide a statement on at the next press conference. I read an article in the Cayman Compass that the curfew and restricting beach access have been imposed by citing Section 49 of the Police Law, and this can only be done with the written permission of the governor after consultation with the National Hazard Management Executive, and, if practical, the Cabinet.
Interestingly, the notices issued under Section 49 have not been made publicly available- do these exist? Is there any evidence that the Governor provided written permission for these curfew restrictions before their imposition, and evidence that the required consultation with NHME actually took place before the imposition? Will this documentation be provided to the hundreds of people arrested, ticketed, and warned for prosecution so that they may appropriately defend themselves of charges they have violated a duly authorized order under Section 49 of The Police Law?
Interestingly, in reading Section 49 of The Police Law, while this section does permit the imposition of a curfew or condoning off areas (Such as the beach), paragraphs 5 and 6 significantly restrict the scope of these powers, which is appropriate, given the use of Section 49 raises serious civil liberties concerns.
With respect to the curfew restrictions, paragraph 6 limits the imposition of a curfew to no more than 48 hours. What basis is there for the length of curfew communicated by the Commissioner in the press conferences, given the law clearly does not permit long and open ended restrictions on free movement?
With respect to the beach and ocean restrictions, paragraph 5 states where a cordon is imposed, the cordon shall not endure for a period exceeding twelve hours. What legal justification can be presented for continuing to restrict our access to beaches and the ocean far in excess of what is permitted under the police law?
We have all been patient during these last few weeks, but the world is reopening, and we should be “brave” (or stupid?) enough to challenge attempts to restrict rights. Freedom is hard, freedom is inconvenient in a time of crisis, but we should not give it away so blindly.
Full text of The Police Law below:
https://cnslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The-Police-Law-2010.pdf
The same Compass article refers to the justification for these measures being a lack of police resources.
Wendy, could you please ask the CoP to explain what resources they need / are missing? And ask Alden what he’s doing to address any such lack of resources?
With hundreds of police officers and lots of fancy toys, I really do not buy this at all
@8.00 They don’t need more resources. They just need someone with a bit of common sense to deploy them properly. At the moment they are glorified security guards checking IDs at supermarkets. Utterly pointless unless someone gets a bit stroppy THEN get an officer to ‘advise’ them. Get them doing police work. Whoever thought that was a good idea is bonkers.
They are working 4 days on and 4 days off. They have plenty of resources. Hospital nurses are not getting 4 days off!
if they work 12 hours shifts, they must have 4 days off after working 3 shifts.
Why! I work 10 hours a day 5 days a week. Then 2 days off. In an office. Why do they get 4 days off after working 36 hours (I do 50 & no overtime as I’m ‘management’).
I’m sure it’s circular reasoning along the lines of “we need these restrictions because we don’t have the resources to police the restrictions!”
Thanks for the link to the law. This explains why there has not been a hard curfew 24/7 for multiple weeks. You will note that the public health regulations passed as law govern all conduct and the hard curfews are in fact legal as the longest they have gone is 48 hours consecutively in late March and hence why hard curfews are nightly with a reprieve during the day, but under public health regulations instead.
The March 23 curfew was 72 hours according to the Cayman Compass article
Are public protests/demonstrations prohibited under the current regulations?
Yes, please go protest so that the press can take your photo so that all of us know to stay away from all of you and your families.
I hope your on the next flight out of here go protest in you’re own country!
What if they are Caymanian? You ignorant fool.
The current regulations expire on Friday. How do you want to spend the upcoming three day weekend? On the beach with your family, practicing reasonable social distancing measures, or stuck at home under oppressive new government restrictions?
This will continue as long as the government believes the people will accept them. The sooner we push back, the sooner this will be over!
Go ahead and go out and enjoy yourself, what’s stopping you? I look forward to reading about it in the paper.
No, this is not a free country.
So many drama queens complaining here. SMH
I am pretty sure I recall the Governor and / or Premier announced that this procedure was followed when each new curfew order was announced at the press conferences.
Maybe our government does have it wrong, and it’s time to open up the country to those who disagree with them. I recommend that we have some specially made NAOC (Not Afraid Of Covid) bracelets, similar to WWJD, where everyone who disagrees with government policy can make a public application to government and be issued a license to wear one as they go about their business. By putting on these bracelets they absolve government of all responsibilities pertaining to their public health.
1. Bars and restaurants could reopen as long as the bartenders and wait staff are voluntarily wearing NAOC bracelets, and any customer with a NAOC bracelet can get as close to other customers as they wish with no social distancing rules as before.
2. Offices can reopen and everyone return to work as normal, as long as all employees are wearing NAOC bracelets that they were not coerced to apply for. Any employee unwilling to take the risk of returning to work will remain on salary, working from home where possible, and not be forced to return to the office until government deems it safe.
3. Pools and tennis courts and any other public exercise facilities that are currently closed to everyone could temporarily be designated NAOC only, and freely used as before by anyone with a NAOC bracelet.
4. Any businesses would have the right to refuse admittance to anyone wearing a NAOC bracelet, or whose name appears in a public database as having applied for a NAOC bracelet, until such time as separate queues are available to serve them.
5. The employer of anyone asking for a NAOC bracelet would be subject to the same penalties as asking an employee to pay for their work permit, with a minimum of five years in prison for anyone forcing an employee to apply for a NAOC bracelet against their will.
6. All businesses, including government facilities, will create as soon as possible, separate queues without any social distancing to service NAOC customers.
7. NAOC bracelets would have to be worn at all times, and not removed until approval is granted by government.
Basically, if someone wants to put their own life at risk the government should not be spending a disproportionate amount of resources trying to prevent it. Far better to prevent others from suffering as a consequence of their stupidity.
Exactly. And we can sort of watch how a version of that plays out in the US and UK. Except in the US, they won’t continue to get paid because the government thinks this is overblown in the first place and more or less over in the second place.
The whole entire point is that you’re not just putting your own life at risk, you become a disease vector that puts the lives of every single person you encounter in danger. PSo presumably those people wearing NAOC bracelets would also be living apart from all others who are not NAOC, and also waive all rights to healthcare, ventilators, etc should they become sick? You want to get yourself infected, fine, just don’t turn around and expect care when you’re dying.
Lol Brilliant. Did you think that up all by yourself? So, umm yeah, government isn’t scared about you wanting to kill yourself, NAOC bracelet and all. Government is scared of you being responsible for the deaths of others.
So you want to tag people? Right. Next idea…
Believe me, the hiding under the bed crowd needs the NAOC crowd more than we need you. We build hospitals. Your own stupidity is a greater threat than coronavirus.
I want an AOC one.
Writing articles like this one, and sharing it is a simple example of how scared some people are. It also shows you the world has very little imagination and understanding of the status quo. Not to mention that to write this and indirectly incite disobedience of the law is just irresponsible.
Allow me to clarify. There is still so much that we do not know about this virus and the complications is can cause. More things seem to be attrubuted to it weekly. Most recently complications for children. That said, while a large portion of persons who die from this virus are the elderly or sick, there is a percentage of people who are neither. That is to say, there is a chance, albeit small, that we are all at risk. So why would you want to admit in a public forum like the CNS/Internet that you approve of risking the lives of a portion of your population so the you can go to the beach or the bar? You’re moral code needs a refresher, or maybe you just can’t stand being in the same house as your spouse or children for such a long time. In either case, a deeper refection is urged on your part.
As for vision, this virus is not going away. If a vaccine will be developed and distributed it will not be before the middle of next year. So don’t count on it. However, Cayman is in a unique position to eradicate this virus locally if everyone starts to follow strict rules for social distancing and self quarantine. This is the only way we can fully regain our freedoms locally and not have to worry about getting sick if someone in the store near your happens to caught it sneeze.
The only way tourists can be allowed in before a vaccine is developed is if rapid tests are developed, which would allow for screening before boarding. Otherwise, opening up of boarders puts us back at square one. That said, even if we open boarders, do you actually think people will be willing to travel here or anywhere for that matter? I wouldn’t, but then I’m just cautious and have a science background, so what do I know about reality. What type of people do you think will want to travel? It will not be the cautious ones. It will the the careless ones, who don’t wear masks, don’t believe in vaccines, and are just plain ignorant. Not sure your want to let them in anyway.
The whole world will operate differently, but we have an opportunity to do the right thing by everyone. We can eventually resume our lives, find new avenues of employment for everyone, band together and find a way out of this.
Everyone has a great idea and opinion in hindsight, and when something isn’t to their liking. Forget your summer travel plans. Wherever you were planning to go, it’s likely you’re not wanted there right now. Furthermore, looking at how many countries are carelessly reopening their economies due to this kind of emotional pressure, you probably don’t want to go there anytime soon. You can’t will the world to go back to normal. We must find a new normal. The best way is to eradicate this virus locally, observe what happens in other places, learn from their mistakes and successes, and eventually find the best ways out of this situation and make Cayman Great Again!
I would vote for Alden if I had the right to vote, and I know the government’s response this far had been outstanding.
Stop writing this garbage and inciting people. Give facts not opinions.
Thank you. You saved me a half hour of writing. We need to tag team these selfish nitwits so that we can share the responsibility. And it is a responsibility.
Well said. Open up all the borders that you want…you’ll need people with money wanting to come first. And those people are nowhere near that point at this time.
You don’t know that.
And neither do you.
There’s only one way to find out and that way is not to say they won’t come. Dip shit.
There’s other ways to find out, nimrod. Like a little something called market research. Rather than “giving it a try” having quarter plane loads of diseased tourists – which wouldn’t really help the economy – sickening many of us an killing some of us, we can make sure there’s ample numbers to make it worth while. I seriously doubt many people want to visit the Cayman Islands before December – at the earliest. August through November are fairly dead in the best of times and tourists aren’t going to flock to the Cayman Islands in June/July (even if we were open for business) while this pandemic is still creating a lot of restrictions.
The risk/benefit of opening our borders to tourists anytime between now and at least mid-November isn’t worth it.
Yup, summer and Sep/Oct are normally dead in my vacation rental. I only get the cheap tourist at that time because it’s so much cheaper than the busy season. I got an email from a regular and they were wondering about how we were and checking in on the safety of the island and to reassure us that they would be back, once safe.
Yeah God forbid anyone should have the right to criticize government in a crisis. Or that criticism should be addressed by logical answers and debate rather than telling people that asking questions is irresponsible and tantamount to inciting people to break the law (particularly since part of the original article questions whether the restrictions are in fact legal – that kind of mindset would have had us have a cruise ship pier under construction by now).
So why don’t you start by providing answers to the original posters observations about the economic impact and duration, instead of just denigrate the poster by saying all they want to do is go to the bar or the beach without regard for public health? Perhaps because you don’t have any answers? For someone with “a science background” you seem remarkably ignorant of the difficulties and time scale of finding a vaccine (or how to spell border). .
We not voting for Alden again he needs to walk out of that office
Looks like a lot of people watched Plandemic this week
It’s amazing. They say the “experts” don’t know what they’re talking about but then they jump on board the conspiracy theorist train and believe a nut case, anti-vaxxer who has already been discredited for fudging results in a scientific study to prove her point. Because the “documentary” is slickly filmed, they think it’s for real! And they call the rest of us sheep!
exactly and I have friends that believe this BS. Complete loss of respect of those.
nope, I am re-watching Better call Saul. Sick and tired of on screen tragedies, crimes, wars and fights. As well as in a real life. Humans do that for millenniums.
Anyone beginning to wonder if the master plan is to use us as lab rats for the vaccination? Wouldn’t be his first time- GM mosquitoes and all. We would be perfect candidates- where else will you find an island full of people with no herd immunity? I put NOTHING past this government.
GM mosquitoes aren’t harmful. The dump is. Mosquito spray is. Leaving our pools unattended was a huge Heath hazard.
“Leaving our pools unattended was a huge Heath hazard.”
You exaggerate. I’m assuming you don’t know what life was like here until about the 1980s. Prior to that, that mosquitoes were 100 times worse than they are now. People lived through it. But more to the point, getting bit by a mosquito won’t kill you, unless it’s carrying a disease. There are no mosquito borne diseases endemic here. When we have flare-up ups of those diseases, it’s because people who are carrying the disease come here from places like Jamaica and Central American and then get bitten by a local mosquito, which can then transfer the disease to someone else. However, only a small number of people have ever been infected here in that manner. And since the borders are closed, no one was bringing in mosquito-borne diseases from elsewhere. So, while the untreated pools could lead to more mosquitoes, it was more of a nuisance than the “huge health hazard” you claim.
But the diseases the mosquitoes carried then weren’t like the ones they carry today.
What are you taking about?
You are tight. At worse there were a few ear infections /stomach upsets from swimming in pools that had bacteria growing in them.
Get over your damn pool! It’s been serviced now right? FFS why are there so many princesses here?
Listen up. We managed to keep our pool relatively clean by learning to clean it, backwash filter, test PH levels and add baking soda and Chlorox. We had no tools, we just improvised for the same health and safety concerns as you. It worked long enough until the pool guys came to fix it last week.
Good on you for taking care of yourself! Too bad all the whiners couldn’t do a google search and figure it too.
Do you really think Alden, CIG, the Gov and HSA are making these decisions in a vacuum? That the UK govt isn’t involved in these decisions & the plan for closing/reopening? If you do, more fool you.
Cayman is doing nothing that other countries aren’t doing & nobody knows the “right” way to handle this situation. Nobody knew how each country would be impacted. It was and is a wait and see. Restrictions will be lifted in a sensible, phased manner – the higher numbers of recovered, the fewer symptomatic, the more restrictions will be lifted.
CIG had no choice in this, it’s their responsibility to ensure all who live in Cayman are safe, expats and Caymanians alike. If we hadn’t locked down and had many Caymanian deaths, the local community would be immeasurably scarred. If, simply because expats outnumber Caymanians, we’d had a high number of expat deaths, what would have been the outcome of that, do you think? Should any children have died we would all lose.
Watch Borris’ speech yesterday. One of his main arguments is that we should be outside exercising.
@ 11/05/2020 at 6:05 am – yep. and watch what happens there in the next few weeks. Boris has never listened to the the experts.
Yep, you should DEFINITELY take excercise advise from Boris. DEFINITELY!
Most people are getting paid full salaries sitting at home. Propose a cut in salaries and see how fast people beg to get back to work.
That is fine with me. I know how to live within my means – whatever they are, as many poor people all over the world do – and be happy with a simpler life. I just don’t want selfish idiots putting my life in danger so they can get back to their good life. This is a paradigm shift, a life changing occurrence in our lifetime. It isn’t going back to the way it was. There’s a new normal coming, but not today, Bono.
Sonny or U2?
Yup, I’m saving so much being at home and don’t miss anything. Yes all I want now is things that make my home comfortable,
Most civil servants you mean, definitely not most employees of private companies.
Exactly. Everyone writing stayhomecayman still have income. Scared of CV? Try being scared of losing your business, your home and a way to feed yourself and your children.
I don’t. I still staying home.
That’s probably true.
Moving forward to all the young people out there. It would be wise to save your money for these type of emergency situations, granted this is an extreme case, but emergencies come up for all of us. That fancy car you can’t afford? You don’t need it. The latest phone? Is yours still working? Then you don’t need it.
Want another baby? Can you afford it? Don’t need it. That new pair of shoes? You really don’t need that!
@ 10/05/2020 at 9:41 pm – getting full salaries while sitting at home working (you forgot to add “working” to the end of your sentence so I did it for you). Most are still working – just from home. WFH.
Fact. 81% of deaths in Canada are in senior care homes. Yet government there made no discernible effort to isolate and control access and protect them. Same in NY although I don’t know exact numbers.
So tell me again why we are locking down the entire country when we could control the problem by focusing on the elderly and at risk groups.
We are all potentially at risk. Virus is still too new and so much to learn. Look at recent effects on younger children… Are you sure you or a loved one doesn’t have an underlying condition that increases risk? What about the healthy that have died… too many questions…
I wonder about the fear we would live under if minute by minute stats were provided for all other illnesses.
You nailed it. Most of us would tune out completely while the others insisted we drop everything and bury ourselves.
But we do know, so you’d rather bury YOUR head about it?
Of all the deaths in the UK….less than 400 have been people under 45 years of age. 95% of deaths occur in people older than 60. More than 50% were older than 80. 8/10 had at least one known co-morbidity. One third of all deaths in the US are from nursing homes. 16% of deaths in England are care homes, which is high considering that less than 1% of the UK population are in care homes.
Saw a photo of a “healthy” individual who died from covid….she was clinically obese…another risk factor for the disease. About 50% of cases don’t even show symptoms….A better bet would be to protect the most vulnerable and let everyone else carry on. Of the 6 children who had the issues with the suspected inflammatory aspect of the, all had underlying health issues.
And how many under age 60 die of cancer? A lot, (on average 2,000/day in the US) and they are now not getting the care and testing that might save their lives. The “we need to stay at home and hide” crowd love to say we have blood on our hands if we want to manage an opening up. What about the deaths you may be causing (arguably a lot more than by covid) by not opening up. Perhaps you are the ones with more blood on your hands.
I hate to bring up the expat/Caymanian thing, but I can only imagine that someone who cares little for the life of the elderly, but be an expat with no elderly family on island, so there is no concern for their life. However, with this new news of how it has no affected children in a scary, albeit rare way, I wonder if that will finally change some minds? I’m only trying to understand why ANYONE would be against trying to protect the lives of others when we are SO close.
You can’t hide forever. The economy will kill you when covid doesn’t. Cig has enough cash to line their pockets then hide for the rest of their lives while all other civil servants won’t get paid. Then shit will really hit the fan.
It’s like talking to a child. Please don’t exaggerate. We WILL NOT be in lockdown forever.
“I’m only trying to understand why ANYONE would be against trying to protect the lives of others”
Because they are facing bankruptcy. People facing bankruptcy are desperate and depressed. Even suicidal. They also believe this disease is not real but blown out of proportion. Conspiracy theories are all over social media.
My question then, is would they still be facing bankruptcy if we opened up to the local market? No tourists are coming no matter how long you stomp your feet. I am sorry.
moving forward all businesses will need to evaluate and adjust their offerings, their customer service and all aspects that a profitable, long lasting business should practice.
I am an expat with elderly relatives abroad. I’ve lived here almost 15 years. I am equally scared for everyone, especially the elderly and vulnerable here, as well as my own family and friends back home. I am well aware of the dangers of this virus and I care very much for everyone, regardless of where they are or come from. Please have a heart, we are not machines, we have families we care for just like you.
#staysafecayman
Government made efforts (albeit, a bit late) to protect the senior care homes. Some of the laws passed (ie. nurses and social workers cannot work in multiple senior care homes) were passed too late… Also, there are/were terrible shortages of equipment, poor preparedness, negligence, staff shortages (so some staff were coming to work sick) etc. which also contributed to the many deaths in the homes.
Juvenile imbeciles seem to prematurely self-assess that they might stand to get a Fox news “mild case” (Boris Johnson classic example). You have no idea, until you do. You can also still shed billions of virus particles while completely asymptomatic while killing those vulnerable “disposable people over 45” via your ignorant conceit. That’s why you in particular are the people that need to be kept inside. It’s not the flu.
Alden is a complete fool. He is destroying this economy and taking away our rights. When will the people of Cayman wake up and start civil disobedience like in the US? How about we freeze all government salaries and see how fast they open up this country. Btw I’m Caymanian before any idiots call me an expat.
If it helps, I was only going to call you a damn fool, Caymanian, expat, or otherwise.
You’ve been hoodwinked. Bet you took cash out for Y2K.
LMAO
You are probably a government worker collecting a salary and sitting at home doing nothing. Death rate of this virus is less than 0.1% so can someone tell me why the entire country is shutdown?
How does being presumptuous help your argument? It boggles my mind when I see ppl with a semi reasonable point of view or valid question undermine their own argument by presenting themselves as proper jackasses.
Trumper and all that goes with it. Just go
Today Compass has attempted to “explain” dim-witted Caymanians that ‘Right to life’ is most fundamental of human rights. Frankly, I have never seen such a biased and manipulative headline.
Compass craftily omitted to explain rights of 60,000 healthy people whose freedoms being forcefully limited without providing adequate and transparent justification for the measures being taken to contain the virus and protect public health. Such measures under international law as well as constitutional law in democratic states, have to be necessary, proportionate, and reasonably related to legitimate public ends.
The essence of human rights is that the authority of government resides in the people. People are not passive targets either of the virus, or of governmental programs. So it is not enough for any government to merely assert they are doing what is necessary because they have statutes (and sometimes interpretations of constitutional provisions) that allow for human rights derogations or limitations in times of public health and/or national emergency. They must provide an adequate and transparent justification.
So far no justification has been provided.
There is no emergency! Why is Alden able to act as a dictator?
To 6.48pm Because right now the clear majority of Caymanians agree with what the Government is doing.
I think you will find the vast majority of expats do too. Let’s not make this a nationality thing just because of a few selfish and vocal assholes.
Power is his achilles heal. We paid dearly for his school buildings, which would save Cayman education. Now he has more power and cannot see the forest for the trees.
A dictator? Go read a history book
Time to lobby the governor to reinstate human rights!!
The governor needs to step in to free the people! Enough is enough!
Genius (7:11 p.m.) and Genius (7:40 p.m.) at work.
You mean we will legalize gay marriage? Awesome!
RIGHT? People crying about their civil rights. Why are they not crying for those that REALLY are being shafted????
6.22 You say “The essence of human rights is that the authority of government resides in the people.” There my friend is the answer that eludes ypu..Alden is able to do what he is doing because the majority of the people agree with him.Thank you
Funny, you refer to Bermuda as having “a plan to reopen tourism”, so I looked for one. You must be leaking Bermuda government secrets so be careful! Because the official line I’ve seen everywhere, from the official gotobermuda.com (Bermuda Tourism Authority) to the Bermuda news is “there is no official timetable” but it will reopen once it is safe. Isn’t that what our government is telling us too?
Why you lying?
@6.20pm. I never said they had a definite plan. I said “It (Bermuda) has publicly said it will bring its tourism industry back online as soon as feasible”. Google it and see for yourself that they recognize they need to get their tourism industry back as soon as feasible. They are active in this area. By contrast we haven’t heard anything from our government about their tourism plans. When there is silence then people will interpret what is happening themselves. They’ve had 6 to 8 weeks since this all started and they should be front and centre working with the private sector. The first we saw of the Minister of Tourism was last Friday! With regards to everything else I said about Bermuda it’s accurate. Their transition plan was released in detail to the public. We had a piece of paper waved at us on camera which turned out to be a graphic of 5 phases with no more detail!
Jamaica is opening up 1 June. Westjet twice per week. Aldiot, with his self righteousness, put us into debt with the schools. Now he will put us out of business altogether.
Yeah – I am sure those planes will have quarter loads at most – opening up to lose money and being in more cases to overwhelm Jamaica’s healthcare system. Do you really want to be like Jamaica? You do realize there’s a reason most Jamaicans want to come to Cayman – and it’s not because the food is better.
More fake news. Jamaica’s stats look better than ours and their lockdown basically failed with widespread non-compliance. I really wish some of you would wake up.
LOL – do you really believe Jamaica’s stats? You’re really woke all right. SMH
Why not. Their politicians are far more educated than ours.
Are the stats in S. Korea believeable? They never locked down. Shouldn’t they be a few factors higher than Spain?
In fact they are lower….much lower. Even lower than us in fact. Our cases per capita are 600% higher with a stringent lockdown in place. And our testing per cap is higher..But but but….
LOL
The Jamaicans only want to come here for work. We don’t have that any more as a lure as we slide into 3rd world squalor.
Most Jamaicans come to Cayman because it’s closer to home versus going to far away places. You make it seem as if Cayman is the only place Jamaicans relocate to.
Jamaica? You mean the country that won’t let its own citizens return?
Many tour operators are advertising and collecting money from people for holidays in destinations that currently have no plans to reopen their borders, including Cayman. I have seen nothing officially declaring JA’s borders will be reopening.
I was wondering where the poster got that June 1 date from as I’ve seen nothing as well about reopening to international flights.
LOL, Yeah that ‘s going to go over well. Anyone that wants to go to Jamaica is not the same customer we want.
You shouldn’t say that because plently of tourists island hop all around the Caribbean and British overseas territories. So the same tourist that came here goes to Jamaica, DR, Domonica, St Martin and other islands.
I think they read a recent headline, but not the article itself. Boston radio interview.
After the bizarre Friday conference i concluded the following.
1. The Premier is not looking out for the best interests of the Cayman Islands.
2. He is completely out of touch with timelines for a vaccine.
3. Assumes there will be vaccine. You know what they say about assumptions.
4. He and his administration are not up to leading us through this.
5. Alden likes old people. A lot.
You cannot make your decisions on one group.
Will someone please help us and deliver us from this crazed trio of men who are completely out to lunch.
The world is opening up, the catastrophic projects were wrong. We are lucky.
The projections were not wrong, we were able to curtail them because we locked everything down. That was the whole point.. to reduce the catastrophe.
I am so fed up with the time-wasters – announcements of happy birthday / prayers / poetry / thank you’s etc. GET ON WITH IT. Have a second version with preachers doing the briefing for those that look to our government for church services. I do not look to the premier nor any of the government ministers to preach for me. Lawdy
Furthermore, why aren’t the churches doing their own online services for those that genuinely do need to keep religion as part of their lockdown.
I have to watch the briefing half an hour delayed so that I can fast forward through the BS.
Friend your lack of being informed is really bad. Almost every local church is online on Facebook, YouTube and Zoom.
Criticizing and complaining without knowledge. Typical.
Well in that case let’s leave the press conference for matters related to coronovirus and let the churches run the sermons. Give us a break.
I could see this being a very popular opinion amongst the expats living here who moved here to reap the financial benefits, but have no aged/vulnerable family members here. They only care about their incomes. They have nothing to lose by opening the floodgates here.
Sure. There you go. Well done to bring in your anti-expat feelings again absent any intelligent reasoning. SMH and STFU.
Um, no. I am happy with the curfews so you don’t speak for this expat.
It’s a very ill fated feeling towards expats , imagine if all expats leaves the islands then all the investment will stop coz they know they can’t rely with caymanian coz they need a skilled migrant n they have no other choice then to rely on foreign work permit holder . So if all expats leaves the investment will still coz no body want to invest where there is no future so hope u have some respect for expats . We are not stealing form ur country but we working hard everyday so the busness here survive n they can pay revenue to the CIG. So don’t be a facist, coz we know the world better than the people here so stop those facist feelings
I was with you until you said you knew the world better then we do. REALLY ??
I lost it at “COZ”
This has nothing to do with expats… many Caymanians are suffering needlessly because the government has struck the wrong balance, they are playing wack a mole with the virus while many suffer. Alden wants to eliminate the virus which is impossible. Repeating everything the New Zealand prime minister says is not a plan. This virus will live with us for many years and we obviously cannot stay home for years. We are now fully in stupid mode.
The plan is not to stay home for years, pay attention.
I’m not an expat. I’m a lowly paper Caymanian who’s been here 25 years. Yesterday I received communication from a true Caymanian. His fear and anger of what is being done to his people and country by the Premier frightened me. Until now, Cayman has been great for some expats, certainly not all. Right now its not good for anyone. But if Cayman fails today, expats have alternatives, Caymanians do not.
The expat vs. Caymanian BS is what will drive this country under that’s for sure. Everyone has played their role in the success of the Cayman Islands, expats included so don’t add fuel to an already enormous large fire. This article, this whole comment thread and the general comments of most people here are just ridiculous. This is a time when the government is making rules and sometimes in life you just need to suck it up. The true colors of some people are becoming very clear. As someone said above do you think that Alden is making these choices in a vacuum? Alden has stated yes, these choices will have grave consequences on the economy. He never lied about that. Stop trying to scare people as if you can see into the future. You clearly don’t know that while the financial services play a big role on this island most work is done with clients that live off island and who don’t need to be here to have the work done, nor do the financial services need to be in a physical office. The work that needs to be done that requires a physical presence from the company, most are already still here. So the rest of the world reopening will allow that to continue. What everyone needs to worry about is everyone’s mental health and support each other not write articles like this and add comments like above about expat vs. Caymanian it is getting quite old. This isn’t #caymankind it isn’t #caymanstrong this is #ridiculous and the anti expat stuff is #hateful
This divide is only going to get worse as this progresses. As a paper Caymanian, I can see how “Caymanians” have grown to hate the expats. I’m getting there as well. Be respectful of the country that you are “technically” visiting. Using the theory that past behaviour dictates future behaviour, there will always be more expats willing to come, will we lose some great ones? Absolutely, but also other great ones will come.
Well written, well said, I myself agree with you. I would hope that someone in the leadership circle here would see things this way. But for every person who sees like this there are at least one and maybe two who see things the opposite. We are all different souls and no two will agree on everything. We are all different physically also. What feeds one person might be harmful to another and a pill that cures one will almost certainly harm another. There is and never has been a universal cure,test,and or vaccine. So it is with the lockdown. As a small part of a large society we are all forced to follow one man’s best idea on things that matter. Such is life in a democracy. The other side of the coin is that our ideas should all matter to those who lead us. We should also have our turn at bat as long as we cause less harm than good. There’s the rub. As long as they cannot see the long game the short game is all we have. Low consciousness is the norm here on Earth.. Their way is strong. The force is stronger and doesn’t mind time. Patience.
I believe you meant “such is life in a dictatorship” not democracy.
This is exactly what Alden needs to hear, but he’s too arrogant to even be able to process any of this, on top of that, he sees himself as a God sent. Just listen to his self importance during the press briefings!
Before Covid I found Alden arrogant and even personally experienced it trying to talk with him. He has humbled himself considerably through this and I much prefer the politician he is becoming to the one he was. I don’t agree with everything he is doing some of it seems illogical, but overall he’s doing a damn good job.
I don’t agree with all of his decisions in all of this, but he has earned my respect for his life-first resolve. I back what he is doing and will shake his hand (if we still do that in the future) and thank him when this is over.
The way the CIG is handling COVID-19 pandemic, the gov is very slow in massive testing dispite having enough testing kit to test the entire population but the government is relaxed n just watching. Implementing the harsh lockdown, I ‘m not again the gov but what I want to say is despite being the richest island in carribean te rapid testing of the entire population by CIG is much more slower than any other developing countries in the world . So we should focus on protecting the venurable people but on the same hand we should put some safety measure to over come this pandemic n the only way is to do rapid testing n my only concern for the gov is they r hiding from the fact n crating panic among the population of Cayman Islands n the rapid testing plan is not going effectively.
Exactly right.
Finally!! You are so correct. The current approach is a disaster. Someone needs to apply critical, rational thinking.
The only way out is to open the borders and start treating this virus like any other health issue, the chance of dying from it are proven to be extremely remote.
The current policy also assumes the only cases are those it’s recorded, why are they not doing antibody testing to see who’s already had it and been fine, months ago?
The current policy is also fear derived based upon early widely inaccurate projections.
This emergency approach is outdated, there is no current emergency.
“there is no current emergency” 5.37 because of careful and thoughtful planning by Govt.
Thank you! Took the words out of my mouth.
The problem is our schooling in mats not too good. So we a likkle behind.
But there is a great fear amongst the ignorant. This is the driving factor.
Partially because they are so susceptible to believing one of the many conspiracy theories.
So how many dead people are acceptable to you
Are you going to try to stop all cause mortality too?
Are you looking into the world statistics? This is no emergency. In addition, check what is takes to confirm a positive covid case. You ll be surprised.
They’re not even testing for covid19 infection, only RNA
Most people don’t want to know the truth. It justifies their mental laziness.
You could say the same thing about road accidents yet we keep on driving. But if you need a number I would say 30.
The usual amount. You and I both will die some time. While I am alive I would like to be able to choose living a life instead of hiding from getting sick. Or in this case hiding from other people who think I will get them sick.
Really? Take a look at this snapshot of the US paying particular attention to the graphic showing covid deaths v other causes: https://www.businessinsider.com/chart-us-weekly-coronavirus-deaths-compared-heart-disease-cancer-flu-2020-4
Then take a look at figure 3 and the cliff notes in this report: https://www.brookings.edu › …PDF
Tracking COVID-19 as Cause of Death: Global Estimates of Severity
Exactly. The death figures are only those (a) reported and (b) since end of Jan when WHO started recording. In that time globally we have just under 300,000 reported deaths. Do the math to get a better picture of what the annual figure for Covid might be, and the gravity of the pandemic becomes clearer.
Bravo! Well said.
I don’t think we are near to a point where we can open up the borders. To do so would render all our efforts so far for nothing. However we must collectively do all we can to imfluence the government to open the local economy. We don’t have time for an unnecessary 6 week phased approach. Even the UK has just announced that people should be encouraged to go back to work. Boris Johnson himself made that announcement. Do you think he doesn’t understand the severity of the virus? He nearly died, he understands better than anyone. He also understands that society cannot just stop because of this. We can’t cause our economy and society to implode because of this virus in the name of being able to say that no one died from it. Make no mistake, more people in Cayman will die. Thankfully it’s likely to be very few, especially if we do well to protect the most vulnerable members of society. But we cannot sit and wait for a vaccine that may take years or may never come.
Erm. Boris did not encourage everyone to get back to work. Listen again. He couldn’t have been any clearer yet your comment totally seems to miss the crucial parts of his speech on that topic. This is how misinformation spreads.
That’s because dummies only hear what they want to hear.
So many epidemiologists, sociologists, statisticians and economists in this tiny little island! We are richly blessed indeed. And of course there are not many vulnerable (eg, say, aged 70-90) foreigners living here. Most are younger or/and better off by virtue of their having to meet criteria to live and, in most cases, work permanently here. So if the vulnerable were to start dying it will be our older Caymanians that are mainly affected, something the Premier has said he and his Cabinet have, like it or not, steadfastly refused to accept. You either accept this principle or reject it and your response will determine whether you support the government’s approach or whether you go for boiled frog fables and gloom and doom scenarios which will certainly have to be addressed, here and in the majority of the rest of the world. It is not an easy crisis to deal with and the experts will be assessing the world’s response for many many years to come, with all the benefits of hindsight. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not think that those expressing views different from mine and in line with the original comment or the post at 2:21 should be denigrated and told if you don’t like it go elsewhere; it’s valuable to hear thoughtful differing opinions. No one know the correct answer to all this at the present time.
Remember it is possible and simple to keep the vulnerable safe without detriment to the entire island, this isn’t rocket science. You can still easily open the island at the same time, the fear of this virus is out of control. Maybe there should be more focus on healthy living, sure that would have helped Boris too!
No, it is not “possible and simple” to open up and keep the elderly and vulnerable safe, except in your propaganda-warped mind.
What cannot go on forever will stop. The lockdown is only sustainable whilst the Government has enough cash to pay the Civil Service. Once the Civil Service start to get furloughed, there will be a dramatic reassessment of policy.
The commentary has good points and except for the occasional unsubstantiated statement that only serves to rile up the situation (no one has said we will be closed until mid 2021…) it has only one major problem.
It is an attempt to look literally and rationally at the actions to date and take them at full face value, when in fact, we now know, 90% of what is being done has a louder bark than bite and that is only because a significant portion of the population has pushed limits, resisted instruction and made a vocal storm about our rights being limited.
And yes, some are. But the one that is not, and the one I personally value most, is the right to live, and live safely and as healthy as possible.
Left to self-police, we would be having beach parties, gathering with friends and generally misusing the privilege of thinking for ourselves, and thus government has to set some guidelines and we have to follow like obedient, if not resistant, children.
Believe me, when Alden pontificates about life over the economy, he is not completely ignoring the economy at all – but if he brings it into the debate too early, the goal of life preservation of life will be diluted and undermined.
So I will pose a few questions and thoughts to open minds, with luck, and embrace the reality that we are not in this alone…
And that one last part needs to be in the front of all our thoughts.
But why can’t we go out on Sunday, that’s a perfect example of us getting limited unreasonably??!!!
Well, that is easy to say when you work a normal (whatever that is) job. But our front liners are there every day. Every. Day. So you go out on your letter day and reluctantly rest in between. Meanwhile our front liners are out every day – the lucky few in retail get the Sunday off. The police and health care workers, on the other hand, are running extended shifts. And yes, they get days off, but those that work on Sunday also get a little reprieve. Less people to monitor, fewer judgement calls to make. Less people coming to the hospitals and other places that still remain open. No visits to the government lockdown isolation facilities giving the workers there a break too.
This is not just about you.
But I am healthy, I don’t need a mask…
I am not really going to say much about this often addressed subject – it is not about you. The three asymptomatic employees at Kirks were ‘healthy’ too – but did they inadvertently give it to grandma who thought she was getting a lucky day going to the front of the special line on her one day out shopping this week only to fall victim to your selfishness??
This is not about you.
But the economy, we will not survive a shut down.
Well, I know the circumstances are very different, and the luxury of this shutdown is that we control alot of it. But after Ivan, for those that lived it, we had no choice. No timetable. No tourism. No banking. Nothing. THAT was a shutdown. And we built back. This time it is the whole world. So take 2008. It was the end of the financial industry. Cayman was going to die. And we built back – with the rest of the world.
And here we are again, Chicken Little. Yes, the sky Is falling, from where we are, right now. But we will build back. We. Us. All of us, I hope. Working together.
This is not just about you.
We can argue all day about Sweden vs New Zealand vs USA vs Germany vs Japan vs China vs Russia vs Canada vs Cayman.
At the end of the day, after a lot of lengthy analysis, this pandemic reaction will be worked over, reviewed, analyzed and directed. There is no right answer going in, and there may be no right answer coming out.
There are arguments that at the end of the day, regardless of the actions taken, the final results may be the same globally. Yes. In all countries. We are not even half way to the end of this. There is no way to call a ‘winner’ now. That can only be done at the end of the race, and it may be a photo finish.
But, the actual experiences along the way are going to be very different.
Many people cannot grasp what is meant by flattening the curve. In a very blunt way, it doesn’t necessarily mean cutting the numbers of dead, but what it DOES mean, is controlling the number that get sick at any one time in such a way that the health care systems can cope with the loads. So, yeah, I was wrong, it was about controlling the number who die – because presumably, if we have the resources to assist a managed load, we will be able to save more than if we had people lined up in corridors waiting for ventilators that are in overwhelming use due to so many sick at once.
So yes, this will go on longer in some countries. Cayman is probably one of them.
We are controlling outer release of people from the lockdown.
Each phase will see more people on the street, back in circulation.
Each phase will see spikes in cases.
These will be cases that were already there but only now found as the people are ‘released’ to go about a more free life, or they may be cases that slipped through and now hit those same people who thought the freedom was the end of their lockdown reason.
This is a long road, and this is not just about you.
It is a very complicated path ahead. Each society has cultural norms that make accepting restrictions and controls more or less palatable.
From outside, the USA’s ‘freedom at all costs’ approach seems insane. And the results so far, overwhelming dead and suffering, have bourne this out.
But who is to know whether the number dead would have been significantly less with stricter controls?
China has very strict controls and the people are, in large part, used to the restrictive life. They have had many deaths (probably magnitudes more than reported), but they have learned to live with controls, and the thumb of government has been slowly lifted. New cases are still popping up, and smaller areas get restricted periodically, but in large part, they have it controlled now, we are told.
New Zealand has been heralded a leader in this race.
They were labeled Covid-free, for all intents and purposes, a few days ago. But they are still on planet earth. They rely on tourism for around 10% of their GDP. They cannot remain closed forever any more than we can, if only for that last fact.
Hawaii, too, has taken its physical isolation and used it to its advantage, essentially locking down. But with tourism their mainstay, they are suffering. Unemployment is skyrocketing to the 30% level. We are facing a similar situation but have some level of fall back to the global financial world Invested here.
Cayman has, for a large amount of time during this crisis, followed the New Zealand and Hawaii models. There are similarities – we are all islands and we can be shut off. Hawaii, being American, has still allowed limited tourism visitors, but the few they have have resulted in additional burdens on the infrastructure and policing, and arguably only serve to distract from solving the problems at hand. New Zealand is much larger and self supporting and could self-isolate for longer.
Following the New Zealand model seems to have worked. Our daily parallels were very close and the results uncannily similar.
Indeed, it appears we only stopped comparing ourselves and our approach as being similar to New Zealand when it’s government took a lead example in the financial area and took a cross the board salary cut. At that point it did not escape notice we ceased following the New Zealand model quite so closely…
(Small dig… Come on CIG, most of us business leaders have taken a hit, often to ensure the wellbeing of staff and employees. Would it kill to skip a month of salary or apply a 10-20% pay cut across the board until we reopen our boarders or return to open local movement? No amount cut will be large enough to please some people, but any amount would be a strong sign of putting money where your mouth is when saying we are all in this together…)
At the end of the day, like social distancing, the ability to physically isolate is a major plus. And when we do reopen – which will happen – we will see yet another spike in Covid cases.
Just like the risk of potentially sick people going into a normally-sterile old people’s’ home, we will face a risk when we open.
But the hope is by then, our own local population will have built some immunity and better health practices. So when the virus does come back, it will be harder to take hold, and having previously filtered and controlled our volumes of sick, our health system should be able to cope with these smaller spikes.
Just remember, this is not about you alone, personally.
This is about Cayman and a global community.
I have heard several comments about the field hospitals being too late or maybe not seeing much use. Sadly, they are here now because we have NOT really controlled it yet. Our slow release from lockdown will result in spikes. Any one of these could be large enough to need these facilities. Now is the time to be preparing for this. Now is also the time to all be doing our part, including begging, pleading, hoping and praying and most importantly acting responsibly, in the hope that we don’t fully need the facilities at all.
But if we do, we will be ready, hopefully, and we can utilize the facilities we have under our terms, conditions and controls. Not under a wild-fire scenario where we see massive illness in a compressed time frame.
Stay safe Cayman – this really is about you too!!!
Your misplaced comment ‘ From outside, the USA’s ‘freedom at all costs’ approach seems insane. And the results so far, overwhelming dead and suffering, have bourne this out.
You know more people have died from pneumonia this year in the US than this virus, right?! Check the CDC website.
There will always be viruses, focusing on a healthy immune system is the actual solution along with herd immunity, sunshine also kills this virus, hiding inside is the exact wrong approach.
Protect the vulnerable and open the island back up again, get kids back to school and improve their mental health and you have herd immunity in no time, remember actual mortality is extremely low.
Is anyone recording domestic violence, depression, suicide,
substance abuse, statistics?
No one said ‘hide inside’ except you. Unless the sun and fresh air is substantially different in your backyard than on the beach, then your argument is merely selfish all about you… Sure, the beach may be more pleasant. Maybe you don’t have a mother, father, grand[aren’t, or even friends who could be more vulnerable. Or maybe it is just about you. So selfish. And so what if there have been more flu deaths. That makes it ok to jeopardize others so YOU can have the lifestyle you want?
Wow. That is the selfishness that is Cayman today – #allaboutmeism…
Not everyone has a backyard. Lakeview resident’s “fresh air” is different from yours for sure.
Stop manipulation by bringing hypothetical grandmas and grandmas into this discussion. Caymanian elderly are healthier than you are. Nobody wants to kill your grandma, people want to give future to their children.
Any different than the extreme selfish arguments you have?
Doubt you live in Lakeside, but if you do, please name the guy that held the gun and forced you to chose there – last I checked the dump was there before covid and the lock-down and with the fires, the risk was way worse but you weren’t screaming to be moved…
If you want the levels of freedom you profess, then go to a country offering them. If you want the luxury of living here, suck it up and follow the rules. Plain and simple…
(Cue the argument “but I am a Caymanian with nowhere to go…” Except if they apply for and use their British passport). Your bullshit antagonism is both repetitive and old… Get some new material or try it somewhere else…
7:30 – do you know how to fact check?
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this past flu season saw an estimated 24,000 to 62,000 related deaths in the United States. The flu season ran from October through early April. In the months since the coronavirus landed in the U.S., there have been more than 70,000 confirmed deaths caused by COVID-19.”
And we don’t yet know if sunshine kills the virus. Stop spreading misinformation and bs
If have hot to be kidding, you need scientific proof that sunshine kills or deactivates the virus(es)?
Ultraviolet lights were shown to kill mold, viruses and bacteria more than 100 years ago. In fact, in 1903, Niels Finsen was given the Noble Prize in Medicine for using UV to effectively treat patients with skin infections.
Today, UV lights are used for germicidal use in hospitals, restaurants and grocery stores. And they have been shown effective in killing sterilizing an HVAC system.
There is no such thing as 70,000 confirmed deaths to Corona Virus. That is just plain wrong. Most, if not all, of these deaths were from comorbidity. The virus probably played a significant role in some but in many, there is no shred of evidence that the deceased even had the virus. If you do not know that sunshine kills viruses, you are not even qualified to provide an opinion on the topic. You are the one spreading misinformation provided by someone else or by your own ignorance. And I did not write the piece to which you replied. It was swell written and exactly correct.
More fake news from RickNews.
8:23 – you’re not wrong but that doesn’t make you right either.
“It’s true that UV light can decrease the viability of viruses (including the new coronavirus) on surfaces, but “that doesn’t mean people with COVID-19 who expose themselves to UV light—or sunlight, which contains UV radiation—will get rid of the infection,” infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland”
Rick – you’re obviously a troll as none of what you said can be backed up at this point in time. I also didn’t refer to multiple viruses, just this one.
What is fact is that people with preexisting conditions, minorities (us coloured folk – most of us also fall into the preexisiting conditions category) and the elderly are more effected. I’m guessing you don’t fall into those categories but there’s a large percentage of locals who do.
The reason Caymanians say, if you don’t like how things are done here you can leave is because it’s true. It has nothing to do with us not appreciating your contribution to our society but it’s because it is ours, not yours. There will always be someone to takeover your job (or mine for that matter) and there will always be foreigners who want to come here. Maybe it’ll take time to get back to where we were economically but we’ll get there. In the meantime, if you don’t like things here, leave and go home or adjust and get with the program.
I’m an expat and I agree. You can go home to where you can demonstrate or whatever to express your views or if you feel it’s better there.
You also realize we are only 3 months in right? and as someone else posted somewhere else herd immunity is to protect the herd and who cares about that one or 2 of 10 or 20 that die to achieve it. We are not cows, well I’m not.
Damn, that was well said
I agree with some of the sentiment of this viewpoint, but I think there are several obvious deficiencies here:
1. Closing the airport until 1 September – we’d all like the airport to open sooner. But the idea that we are a month or even two away from a situation where we would be able to accept visitors of any kind without quarantining them is not realistic. Let’s face it, we are still struggling to run more than dozens of tests in a single day. This isn’t to say that we won’t get to this point before 1 September either because of some advanced testing protocols or simply because everyone else has opened up and we can’t afford to be left behind. The other thing that we have to remember is that getting people here is in the hands of the major airlines. And they will need to conclude that resuming their service to Cayman is worthwhile and will need advance time to get the scheduling in order. They don’t just start up service on a couple weeks’ notice. Yes, we have Cayman Airways which will be useful for residents to come and go, but a couple of planes won’t move the needle from a tourism perspective.
2. “And if you think that the financial services industry will save us, think again. Both planks of our economy are services and need lots of qualified people from abroad to make them work.” This is misguided. Everyone in the financial world is adapting and for now, it is accepted that business is being done remotely, by videoconference. We don’t need to travel to do business. You can question how permanent that is, and there will always be a need for travel, but how much this will recover before a vaccine (or acceptance of the new reality) is anyone’s guess. We also don’t need to attract new talent. If people are able to keep their jobs that will be a fine start. And there will be plenty of unemployed Caymanians who will need to be preferred for many of these jobs now more than ever. So arguing that we need to open the borders to import more professionals for the financial industry is off-base. Getting us off the EU blacklist in October would do us much more good in the short term than having a working airport by then.
3. “It is time our government followed the same path and clearly outlined its plans for the next 6+ months” – this is clearly unrealistic. As the author acknowledges, we are largely dependent on foreign investment and foreign talent. Nobody really knows what tourism or the broader economies in the rest of the world will look like in a month or two, let alone six. Suggesting that they formulate and publish a strategy that will be of any use to anyone is a complete waste of time.
4. The suggestion that the government has an “agenda” that they have hidden since the beginning and have rolled out these restrictions in steps to avoid civil unrest is, with apologies, ridiculous. Even though they have had their heads in the sand for a while, and a few weeks ago Dr. Lee was still trotting out statistics from the initial projections, he is a smart guy and will have now figured out that the real mortality rate is well below 3%. The issue is that say it is .3%, which is within the realm of possibility. If 40,000 people get sick over the course of a few months, that’s still 120 dead people. But also importantly that might mean more than 1,000 people hospitalised. We obviously don’t have that kind of capacity. Halve the numbers to 20,000: 60 people dead and 500 people hospitalised. Still overwhelming. I agree entirely that this virus is less dangerous than initially advertised, but it’s not so harmless as to suggest that the approach we have taken was wrong and that we should now open up with abandon. We are fortunate to be in a position where we find 3 cases at Kirk’s to be terrible news instead of burying dozens of our fellow residents.
I do agree that the government is moving too slowly in some respects and starting to lose the goodwill of sensible people who have otherwise supported them. The no exercising on Sunday rule, particularly now that driving to exercise is banned, clearly has no justification. If it is an attempt to stop people from gathering to worship, perhaps the council of churches could step in here and advise the government that they wouldn’t object to this change. I am sure their congregants would welcome the opportunity to get some fresh air instead of being imprisoned in their homes for no good reason. I haven’t heard a peep from church leaders in these pages other than a comment from Bishop Sykes commenting on the govenment’s appeal on the port legislation.
All this to say that I don’t think calling on the government to open the borders before September is going to be well-received by them, nor should it be at this stage. In a few years no one will be concerned that we couldn’t go to the beach for a couple months. People in North America and Europe, where most of our visitors come from, understand the gravity of this situation. They won’t lose confidence in Cayman for protecting their residents in this environment. If tourists and investors don’t have access to Cayman over the summer, it’s not going to cause them to abandon us forever. Nor will it cause civil unrest among locals. That said, we should finish projects while we can – many of the units have already been sold and hopefully most purchasers will still be able to close. But we are still better off having completed projects that may take a while to sell than a bunch of half finished structures causing a blight on the landscape.
I think the government would do well to be more aggressive in its plans to open the local economy for the precise reason that we are not going to have any tourists for a while. Let’s get the local dollars flowing and construction projects completed. If we have more cases and a few hospitalisations as a result of that, so be it. Only the most simple-minded people truly believe that you can distill this down to “money vs. lives” at this point. Life must go on. The author is correct that we can’t maintain anything like this for a year or 18 months waiting for a vaccine that may never arrive. Money will indeed soon run out. For residents and the government.
Unfortunately I don’t believe the government will take the opportunity to continue to show leadership by pivoting to focus more on rebuilding when the time is right. But “Oz” and others should take comfort that Bermuda, to use his example, is being slightly more aggressive than us. Despite their proclaimed “ethos”, the government won’t be able to stick to their policy if our competitor jurisdictions open their borders and start to thrive. At that point they will be forced to adjust.
Your mortality projections are assuming there isn’t already any level of herd immunity on the island which doesn’t make sense given the virus has been on the island since early this year, start testing for antibodies and you’ll see I’m right!
Yes you may be right but the government doesn’t have the luxury of making that assumption at the moment nor the ability to investigate it.
Good VP, thanks for contributing. Since there’s no debate or opposition of any kind to this government’s crazy policy course and thuggish approaches, we’ll be voting with our feet and leaving, expect others with means to do the same. Covid’s a natural disaster, the disaster unfolding here is man-made.
Please go. By you, do you think you have enough to charter a plane so we don’t have to wait until there are commercial offerings so we can be gone with your local bashing ways. Nirvana awaits you – get all your friends and go. We will work this out and be just fine – and probably a hell of a lot more friendly and civil with you out of the picture.
Hater.
What’s holding you back 3.49pm. There are evacuation flights out almost every week.
So even when faced with a life altering pandemic, some people still can’t look past the monetary issue. Greed is a hell of a thing. So if the government is so wrong, when does the author believe is the right time to open up ? And what is your plan to deal with the waves of virus reintroduction that will occur indefinitely with such an action ?
The virus is not scary, look at the actual mortality rates! Just keep the vulnerable at home.
Why do you believe it’s even a danger, you haven’t even thought about whether the thousands of daily visitors all year already created herd immunity?
Those would be the actual mortality rates in a world that has taken numerous approaches to mitigate the effects, right? Not the rates which would have occurred if it ran rampant. We all jumped out of a plane. We are halfway down. Please feel free to take off your parachute but the rest of us would rather keep the safe course and have a chance of surviving the landing.
What do you think the hidden agenda is? Who benefits from the lock down? Who enjoys it? Nobody. I don’t buy conspiracy theories. “Life before profit” means some of us will have to bankrupt unfortunately, and start again. That’s life. I am a 60-40 small business in tourism sector. We don’t quality for help from Government. It is extremely hard, but will get creative and deal with it. Or start again in different sector if it’s meant to be
Thank you for your perspective but unfortunately you are asking a fish to walk. The government has never been entirely transparent nor communicative with its projects, plans, and initiatives, the port project is a key example of that. Once more, it is additionally worrisome that Cayman broadcasted its border lockdown giving just enough time for private jets to enter the islands. Who are these people? Why are they coming here? Will they leave when the borders are opened?
There definitely seems to be a hidden agenda occurring, however what you forgot to mention is that now more than ever government and its politicians are being heavily scrutinized. Why did it take so long for the Finance and Tourism Minister to speak up? What everyday people and the millionaires and billionaires on this island will learn is that it doesn’t matter how much you dress up and groom a pig, it’s still a pig and will always love its pig sty. It’s the calm before the Storm.
I read your last couple of sentences and all it is is hyberbole. What I find amusing about conversations (and blog posts) these days is how every one is a futuristic expert in predicting doom and gloom.
I believe it is sheer uncertainty that causes people to pontificate. Embrace not knowing. Give yourself the gift of not having to be the expert, all knowing creature. Your family and friends will appreciate the break from hearing your absolute answers you have for every topic, especially your hidden agenda theory.
They are likely to be the super-rich folk who bought their own residencies and mansions at Rum Point and SMB. They also have their own private jets and helicopters, or charter them. Either way, when the borders are open they come and go as they please.
Yes, let’s advertise Cayman as the place to be if you’re not afraid of getting or sharing dangerous and highly communicable diseases. We can even offer return discounts to families who only lost one parent after a visit to the openly welcoming sunny Cayman Islands. Batabano, Caymass, Carnival, and Pirate’s Week every week!
Have you actually looked at the stats? You’ve got more chance of dying from the next hurricane on it’s way than this virus….
Have you been to the hardware store lately to prepare?
Were you here last season? How much hardware prep do you do every year? What do you do with all these repeat supplies? Can I buy them in November for half price since you only used them for half a year and will be buying again next June? Be rea l. If there was a genuine threat, there would be allowances made. Until then, stop with the bs excuses.
And the death rate is only so low BECAUSE the world has been taking mitigating steps.
If you need freedom and the risks of opening up too early, you can probably still get a seat on the next evacuation flight…
You clearly have no understanding of how to analyse stats and data.
We can offer a free snort from a virus infused chamber when they leave too in case they missed out…
Premier said from the begging the sector focused on tourism industry will have to change focus and there will be no business this year. You just don’t want to accept it and want to go back how it was
Yes.
Seriously? Which ones of our elderly are you willing to sacrifice – and (although less likely) which of our children?
Bermuda is a crap example of how to deal with this issue. Look at their number of dead. They wish they were more like us.
Cayman survived cut off from the world for centuries. Cayman and Caymanians did it before (not so long ago) and can do it again. And just so you do not misunderstand we are overwhelmingly willing to sacrifice our tourism industry for two years if that is the price to pay to keep all the people of these Islands safe.
We have a great advantage in being a small and isolated Island with relatively high levels of organization and healthcare. We are doing what is necessary. Get along with the program, or get out of the way.
By the way, the frog may be being cooked but the only reason it is not noticing is because it is dead. We shot it in the head at the end of March. The action was deliberate and decisive, and has probably saved hundreds of lives. We have tadpoles and can (and will) grow some more frogs. We are also growing some salamanders to diversify our economy.
Love it. Excellent analogy. That’s the problem when city boys come to the country… If they want the city, it is still there. You’re in Rome now, time to behave and live like a Roman…
Yes. And we had to use our first names as last names to hide our sins.
2 trillion in our banks.
I dont see the problem.
It’s not your money! That’s the problem, you can’t feed the population with that especially when it’s moved elsewhere. So naive.
You realize it’s not actually in your banks?
Apparently not.
Good viewpoint. Especially like the headline-spot on.
What it didn’t question, who is making sure, in the UK perhaps, that virus suppression, and let be honest here, there was and is nothing to suppress, didn’t turn into restricting lives of healthy people to the point of indefinite “voluntary imprisonment”?
Mental faculties of people behind this “ concentrated camp” strategy must be questioned. Secondly, Cayman HRC must come out of hibernation and issue new statement what is commensurate with the real state of events in Cayman and in the world.
Short of tattooing numbers or alphabetical letters on people’s wrists, life in Cayman reminds that of a real concentration camp: people forced to move in alphabetical order in single file with police checking their ID ( on what legal basis), people’s movements are monitored on foot and from helicopters, movement tracking equipment is employed, people are forced to remain in artificial environment without access to fresh air, beach and sunlight; exercise time and duration (just like in a prison) must be in accordance with the order; access to cancer and other chronic and acute treatments is not available; dental and vision help is “ non-essential”; constitution guaranteed education ceased to exist; basic sanitation/safety measures, until recently, were prohibited. NONE of this make ANY sense!!!
So why in the world, in 2020, 60,900 Healthy people are being treated like incarcerated criminals? Since March there weren’t even 100 people who tested positive half of which has never developed any symptoms. Hawaii, Florida and other sunshine states didn’t see any virus explosions. 1/3 of all deaths in northern states were in care facilities (may be because they were all flu vaccinated and rarely see sun light?)
So the author is right, frog boiling experiment has gone too far.
FYI:
There is flu vaccine, yet 45-60k people die annually from flu.
1969 Hong Kong flu killed close to 1mil. worldwide, yet you never heard of it.
You’re so spot on!
And what about kids who haven’t played with another kid in 2 months? Where’s the compassion for them?
There’s block parties on Sundays for some….
Perhaps the Minister responsible will do the right thing and resign?
what about the kid that will lose their grandparent?
How many die of the flu strain that is in the vaccine? How many get the vaccine? Do you?
As for Florida and Hawaii, I suggest you read up the latest stats and if still happy with that type of result, please move there – we don’t want those failures here.
Thanks!
I would think that it would be useful for the Viewpoint author to provide their particular credentials (presuming they can preserve their anonymity given the use of a pseudonym). There are many assertions being made in respect to governmental decisions, which have been guided very specifically by public health officials with inputs from policy advisors in their respective areas of expertise, that would require the author’s own credentials to assess the argument appropriately. I’m particularly intrigued how they appear to be both an expert in public health and economics simultaneously. Kudos for an usual educational background, if that’s the case! If not, I would recommend they drop the presumption about knowing the impact of opening economic activities against actual widespread infections as comparing favorably to decisions to open the economy.
To note, we are arguably only a few months into a massive pandemic event that has already been directly attributed to over 280,000 deaths (and likely quite a bit more) and shows little sign of abating. It’s actually astonishing how quickly we’re becoming numb to the particular health impacts – not only the deaths but also what appears to be long-term health implications for many of those who were infected. These are people – people you are inherently suggesting should fall victim to policies that support the free-market as it existed previously. Perhaps in your assessment of what’s right and wrong you should also look at how the Cayman Islands is positioned to support a relatively isolated economy relative to its peers. With incredibly low debt to GDP, we can afford to support a damaged economy far longer than Bermuda, for example, with carefully developed interventions. Perhaps you should instead be asking how places like Bermuda ended up in the position where they are having to risk the health of their residents so quickly in order to economically survive? When you turn the perspective on its head, it could be seen that we are instead fortunate enough here to be able to protect our people for as long as we can.
If you think the government is so well placed how come they are relying on charity already to provide tests and food for those who have none.
Can you list the credentials of the Minister of Health? Do any of the government have critical thinking abilities as they don’t appear evident? They can’t move past assumptions from 2 months ago or think about all islanders not just a small fraction who can continue to shelter.
Doesn’t it concern you that islanders feel the need to be anonymous to speak against the government, look how many comments are on here vs facebook, that is not a democracy!
It is not islanders speaking against the government
It’s not the majority of expats either. Most of us are witnessing this ravage our home towns and we definitely wouldn’t wish it on Cayman. For the most part the government is doing well in very difficult circumstances.
I’m afraid there are, they used to be friends of mine. Used to.
Arguments do not need credentials. They stand on their own merit. Would the same points of views change if the author was not an expert in everything s/he says? It is obvious to me that there is at least a well earned graduate degree behind that reasoning, almost surely a doctorate. But I am not impressed by credentials, it is reasoning with evidence that impresses me. All the arguments made in the article are solid and without challenge. No one on this blog has said a single thing yet to shake any of the arguments.
Another spurious comment from RickNews.
Another know-it-all that fails to read our own Financials. The entire tourism sector is, thankfully, barely 25% of our economy at the best of times. There is really just one central pillar, and a variety of much smaller tresses.
Yeah but they make 100% of the noise.
The government has signaled its plan you just dont like it. What is your plan open up the borders and re introduce the virus all over again. I dont think so. If you like what other country’s are doing feel free to move.
You will never understand what is really going on watching CNN
SMH
You really are a dumb.
idiot
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Great so we irradicate the virus in cayman. Then what? Close the border until 2022 and the mythical vaccine?
do, you, have, a, better, plan? Ffs
Yes, read the above.
No they don’t ! the only plan these wannabe MD charlatans have is to disrupt everyone who has one to combat this pandemic! They need no more audience.
All we need now is another good hurricane to make cayman great again
Finally someone with a sensible perspective! Thank you for your very thoughtful post.
The current path of the Government is wrong and its position of absolutism with shutdowns for C-19 is becoming more and more obvious and untenable daily as new information emerges. The dire outcome that was predicted has just not materialised.
Instead, they have created a situation where too many economically vulnerable people are out of work and now isolated in the community which is leading to anxiety & depression & soon-to-arrive social discord. What was once flatten the curve to protect the capacity for hospitals has changed to the “ethos” of crush the curve to save lives.
Remember the chart with the red and blue curves? The y-axis of that graph is number of infections. Due to the contagion of the virus, the area under these curves is likely to be the same at the end of two years. So if the number of cases is similar at two years, then the number of people who cumulatively die will not likely change either. Mother Nature operates whether you agree or not and the weak and the frail are going to be taken out. What of all the other deaths occurring due to the shift in availability of resources – cancer patients for example not getting their treatment is a tragic trade off.
It is clear now that the virus will never be contained because of its clear infectivity. The chance for containment has long passed. The virus transmits before people know they have it and most patients never develop symptoms. Case in point: Kirks staff are asymptomatic!
Testing has and will continue to under-perform. The high rate of asymptomatic disease, false negatives, false positives and concerns over privacy mean that we can expect less from test and trace. People in Cayman have observed first-hand what happened to those isolated for their own good – only to be left stranded for weeks. Why do I sense any others in that may have any noticeable symptoms will just not self report? Could it be human nature?
Before government enacted such draconian lockdowns, economic activity and travel was already slowed. People socially distanced not because police were bearing down on them like as of late at your friendly neighborhood grocery store, but because it made sense when no one knew what the fatality rate was or how contagious the virus is. SD is still a viable strategy but you don’t need to kill off the economy to implement. #Sweden.
By now all of us know that the virus is practically impotent for those with decent immune systems. The doom criers and fear mongers among us, even if good intentioned, have fanned the flames of fear too long. We know better now – NO ONE is dying. The hospital is not overrun. In fact, hospitals are now much better prepared and in little danger of being over-whelmed so that is no longer an excuse. The back-up facility sits empty and unused.
The only way fewer people die from COVID19 over time is if the fatality rate declines over time.
But the basic math of COVID19 creates a huge barrier for any incremental success because already, more than 99% of people infected with this virus survive!
Any therapy that has a massive 50% reduction in death from a disease with 1% mortality (high estimate) delivers only a 0.5% absolute risk reduction. This is a key point.
COVID19 vaccine development is also a false hope. Most experts say a safe and effective vaccine is at least 18 months away. For any vaccine to be viable, it must have 99% survivability (of getting the actual vaccine) – that barrier is a huge hurdle for vaccine makers. Also, given the current amount of tension over vaccines, it would take only a tiny signal of harm to completely derail a coronavirus vaccination program.
The more we test, the lower the fatality rate goes. Early estimates had it at 3% which is now proven to be false. A better way to determine fatality rate is to look at historical all-cause mortality data and compare that to the mortality data that we currently see. The high estimate figure so far is not panning out.
Here is a great example:
Prof Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London told the UK government that according to his computer model, over 500,000 people would die in the UK if they did nothing, 250,000 people would die if he continued with lesser mitigation in place, but allowing businesses to stay open as usual. With a full lockdown, deaths would be 20,000 or less, and the impact to the NHS would be kept to a minimum. This model is now completely discredited by the real data. And he disgraced himself by having a late-night rendezvous with his married lover against the lock down restrictions. So much for credibility or morality. Hypocrite!
Moving on, Sweden used a strategy of social distancing generally and further implemented rigorous protections for the old and the frail, to try to minimize their risk of becoming infected and taking care of them if they get infected. They have not decimated their economy to do this. According to Ferguson’s prediction model Sweden’s population of 10 million would have a death rate around 35,000+, but its 3,175 as of May 8th. Across the world we hear that the majority of deaths are centered in old age homes.
Like it or not the endpoint of this COVID crisis is not next month but in 1-2 years. The island cannot expect to live in a bubble in the meantime. It is now time to open up and get on with living, and put the scarce resources into a strategy to protect those most vulnerable. The other 99% of us do not need to be treated that same as the vulnerable. For all the reasons above, it should be full steam ahead and we need to open the economy ASAP. Too much harm has already been done.
Sadly, the rub with the present COVID19 interventions is that they will just make poor people even poorer. The rich just work from home. The current restrictions and social interventions are harming the disadvantaged most.
So if we open up and everything goes back to normal, what do we do with our children? What happens if schools opens up and there’s an outbreak within the schools and say both parents have underlying health issues, what then? Even if 1% of the community dies as suggested by the writer, does our morgue have the capacity, are our funeral homes capable mass burials, or does our cemeteries even have the space for 700 graves? The way forward is total lock down for 2 weeks.
You’re assuming most people haven’t already had it, have you checked that assumption? The most common underlying health issue is obesity and that can be reversed easily. That doesn’t justify keeping everyone home.
The death rate for people below 60 is less than 0.1%
Wow. So you are thinking 70,000 people here catch COVID and 1% die = 700. Apparently Alden’s schools failed us.
You have been locked down for two months. OK, so its not total. It cannot be total, or more people will die from lack of services, especially the old. You cannot hide from your own fears and ignorance, but they can be cured. Just listen to reason and do your own research and you will have information which cures your fears. Ignorance breeds fear; education cures and calms. If you listen to these crazy fear mongering people who support the dictatorial response of governments all over, they are providing evidence of ignorance. The governments of the world (most, not all) provide the reason to fear and then sit back and wait for you to come to them for rescue or to mask their actions and agendas. You cannot blindly accept everything you are told. Think for yourself and do your own research. Ask questions.
I have and I’m not with you
Wow – aren’t bots amazingly
So true! Why are these facts not being considered, why is only one person’s outdated and inaccurate view determining the fate of all the islands? That’s not a democracy.
Normal government rule should return immediately, there is no emergency from the virus.
What’s going to happen with the airport closed when a hurricane hits?
How can you even prepare your home for hurricane season with the stores still closed?
Sense must prevail before it’s too late!
Is that you Dr Fauci??? Great!!! You’re an expert! No need to be anonymous. Tell us your qualifications, and lay out your plan then. You already have the benefit of almost 5 months of data, which the other dr didn’t have at the time, so your predictions will be even more accurate! Also, remember to let us know about all of your to-ings a great fro-ings so we use your moral failings to discredit your work. Go ahead, were waiting. You speak with such authority (I just KNOW you’re secretly an expert. No reason otherwise to listen to some anonymous complainer)
It’s not a sensible perspective but rather a perspective you agree with or perhaps fits your own narrative.
The government literally cannot win. Had deaths been piling up young same ones would be crying for UK intervention or take over.
Bermuda is on a collision course with disaster.
Tell me something. Would you support the government if they were the first Caribbean Island to open back up for cruise arrivals? Bearing in mind the cruise companies actually screen passengers and have medical professionals on board.
So what about air arrivals? We open up to tourists again and offer them what, 3 week packages of 2 weeks of quarantine with a 1 week holiday at the end?
It’s scary for all of us. You can peddle dystopian theories all you want. But it’s becoming clear to many Caymanians that there is a group of people here who would welcome COVID wiping out a significant number of our people for the sake of money.
That’s where our faith comes in. We Honour and treasure every life. Expat or local. No country in the world rallies to support premature babies, cancer patients, those in genuine need. We all reach into our pockets and support others. Expats coming here have learned that and many do the same.
My point is, this is not about boiling a frog, but it boils down to a balance of values. To most Caymanians and many expats, if you give them a choice between risking mass deaths or prolonged economic hardship.
It’s not an easy choice. There is no silver bullet, but history is littered with comeback stories of rage to riches. Only one story I am aware of is about someone coming back from death back to life.
Hard days ahead folks. Hard days. No conspiracy just reality.
Please explain the damn story of boiling a frog? Never heard of it.
CNS: Here you go.
🙄🙄🙄
Please define “mass deaths” of covid compared to other illnesses on a global scale. Warning, it requires more than one set of calculations.
2.21pm You make me so thankful for Alden, the Government and the Health Minister and all his support team (Dr Lee, Dr Williams, etc). Thank God you are restricted to anonymous posts on a blog.
Jon Jon shouldn’t be anywhere near a covid team. What a joke.
You sound like the author of the article but this is not an accusation, it is a commendation. Great points and very true.
Another point that is not being discussed is the missed opportunity to use the testing regime for strategic good. So far, testing is merely being used to confirm or investigate suspected cases. We are also testing frontline workers, apparently to ensure they are safe to interact with people. The latter approach is hopelessly wrong. The testing they are doing can only give you historical information and will not be able to tell you what will happen in the future. If a police officer tested negative yesterday there is no evidence that they are virus free today. Testing is almost a waste of time the way it is used now.
The best way to use the current test is a randomized test of a representative sample of the population. This will confirm the presence of the virus in the population and help to inform strategy. If we repeat the test several times, every week or ten days, two or three times, we will then know how the virus is being spread and assess the impacts along the way. The research report would then be valuable to inform policy. But these tests are based on testing for the presence of antigens. They cannot tell you if the respondent or subject HAD the virus.
The real progress would be if we were testing for anti-bodies of the virus, instead of the actual virus. The tests we obtained cannot identify antibodies. We need different tests to do that, to establish the level of herd immunity. Many of the so-called negatives from the current test could very well have had the virus and recovered without even knowing they had it in the first place. That is what the evidence from elsewhere is telling us. Cayman would be different from every other place in the world, if that were not the case here, but we are blind; no serologic anti-body tests!