Kirk staff test positive for COVID-19
(CNS): Three staff members at one of Grand Cayman’s major supermarkets, Kirk Market, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the management stated in a release issued late Friday night. As a result the store will be closed on Saturday, 9 May, in order to deep-clean it. These results are in addition to the single new positive announced by Medical Officer of Health Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez on Friday.
The release from the supermarket said that all three staff members are asymptomatic.
“Meticulous contact tracing has been carried out to track down every colleague who has been in sustained or adjacent contact with the affected team members,” Kirk stated, adding that all close contacts of those infected “have been tested and excluded from work while we await their results from the HSA”.
The new positives were part of the Health Services Authority’s screening process of all healthcare and other front-line workers across the Cayman Islands and may dampen hopes that the virus has been largely contained here.
Dr Williams-Rodriguez said at Friday’s press briefing that there were 40 active COVID-19 cases on Grand Cayman, with none on the Sister Islands. The three new cases from the Kirk workforce are in addition to that figure, though the full results of the most recent batch of tests has not yet been revealed.
Kirk stated that the closing of the store this weekend was part of its COVID Emergency Response Plan and that they will “conduct additional stringent sanitation and deep-cleaning procedures for the entire store”.
The COVID-positive staff members had their employer’s “full support”, Kirk said. “The safety of our team members and customers remains our highest priority, regardless of the challenging times we now face.”
The release said the store’s management was “monitoring the COVID-19 situation very closely, while actively collaborating with the Health Services Authority and following all recommended guidelines”, as they wished their staff members “all the best in their recovery”.
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Category: Business, Health, Medical Health, Retail
“I mean, say what you want about the tenets of national socialism, dude – at least it’s an ethos”
Loads of us think the lockdown is too harsh and the virus is overblown as a risk. And loads others of us think we’re not locked down enough. There is no consensus and nor will there be. However near everyone agrees this virus is here to stay, whether a vaccine comes or not. So we have to accept living with it.
Like we learned to live with cars – they’re very dangerous, so we limit speeds allowed on roads, etc. most people have a car, most people don’t die in one. This virus has to be looked at similarly- it’s a massive risk if we let it run rampant unimpeded. So we bring in social distancing and border controls. Many of us will get the virus and most of us will not die from it.
Same as cars.
Every year the car accidents fill up hospitals a bit more than skateboarding accidents
Every year the covid19 is going to add patients to hospitals more than the common cold will
We have to learn to live with it, but we don’t need to die trying to live with it. Currently, the lockdown is slowly killing us and it’s unnecessary if we simply practice basic hygiene and social distancing.
Just like not speeding.
You’ll get home fine to fight another day if you drive carefully. And if you don’t lick an ATM
Be sensible and adjust.
Tomorrow I shall solve world peace…
Car is tangible….COVID 19 is invisible…especially in asymptomatic carriers.
yes, that’s why we stay 6ft away and don’t lick ATM machines
If any one really doesn’t understands the world we live in right now, we need to wake up and change our lives.
All we can do is slow down the death rate and give our society a chance to build up defenses to keep as much people healthy and uninfected until a cure/vaccine can be found. Until then we are all living with the possibility of death around us at all times. We will soon live with the risk of infection as an everyday realty. For some they prefer to take that risk and continue to live their life but restricted and not in quarantine/lockdown.
WE wear mask now, we wash our hands, we social distance. Freedom has to now be redefined for everyone and it is different for everyone.
There is no cure and until you get infected you have no clue of what YOUR outcome will be.
Stay home for NOW until we have masks for everyone, until we have tested all frontline workers, until disinfecting becomes habitual, until our population can be frequently tested.
This is a new life for all of us and we all need to have adapted before we can start to live the lives we had before outside.
Buy masks for your family, teach your kids to keep their hands away from their mouths, invests in your home life and get familiar with online channels to stay in touch with loved ones.
Quit smoking NOW more than ever and if you have the opportunity to hug your loved ones you should do that now.
Complete horseshit.
What an intelligent argument! You’ve utterly convinced me with your compelling counter-arguments and clear grasp of all of the important facts.
At 1:46 pm: completely agree.
It is evident from your point of view that your only source of information is following the major US news outlets. Please, get some sense.
The takeaway from this is: you won’t necessarily know if you are infected and shedding COVID-19 virus particles. The intelligent response should be to take greater care in public places, not advocate to loosen up interaction etiquette.
Do not be complacent my fellow citizens. Just because our numbers are low, just know that the virus is out there. Just looking for a host.
YOU!
Not a silent majority…..
Boo!
As much as we wish to hide or defeat covid we will discover sooner or later we are going to have to learn to live with it.
Einstein u so sma’art!
Applied for my pension money. Response – Your application will be reviewed. You will receive an indicating it has been accepted or declined. If declined you will be provided a reason.
Ok so that’s what the law says
at 9:16 pm. I can see you need anb article to discuss your pension. I had to laugh. This article was not about pension. Thanks for the laugh still.
How the hell do we access Fidelity? Nothing on website and no answers to emails, WTF?
Oh boy Fidelity…. They probably reject everything…
pension@fidelitycayman.com
Watch for other supemarkets to have the same problem, unfortunately. Cayman was slow to “ramp up” testing so it is very likely that the people who are now positive passed on the virus without even knowing it weeks ago to many, many others.
Dr. Lee tells us that they are doing well with testing but that is not my view. The way he presents infomation is often very confusing and he always appears to be somewhat unprepared or missing information when he shares the daily results.
Governmnet is in a very difficult position as regards navigating the reopening. Many people are in dire need and need to work but opening up our economy will bring more cases. Construction is vital to our economy but it will be very difficult for the contractors to manage what their crews are doing onsite once the supervisors leave. It is difficult to constantly maintain 6′ even when you are on guard.
Stay safe Cayman and wear a mask.
@5.51pm not sure if I understand why construction is so vital right now when so many buildings are empty?
it gets low wage earners back to work, so that’s good right?
I believe 5:51 is referring to how many workers are in construction. Construction simply employees more people living month to month than most other occupations.
Yes, and probably the least risk compared to cleaners, nannies, servers
Disagree about Dr Lee. So thankful for his knowledge and professionalism. If you can’t follow what he is saying, I think it’s maybe beyond your comprehension. Some of it is complicated, but he’s great at trying to explain it IMO.
Construction can be re-opened. Maybe not with as many crew, so it will take even longer, but some aspects only need 1 or 2 working teams. Just needs good planning on the part of the contractor. Definitely can be done!
7:40 am: granted doctors are notorious for inability to avoid medical jargon in explanations to patients, but Dr Lee has been thrust onto the national stage. It is his job to translate information so that it can be quickly and readily assimilated by the public.
I am sure he welcomes feedback so he can improve.
And while he is working on being clearer, he can avoid sounding so apologetic. Am a little tired of the “inviting” people to do what is in the interest of life saving public health. Or sometimes even appear to be side-stepping these “invitations entirely for fear of offending.
Medical authorities need to be tactful while not appearing afraid of being firm.
He doesn’t care. He’s still getting paid.
Agreed! It’s been very slow moving doing the testing!! Supermarket staff was an obvious that should have been doing weeks ago. Now it’s been spreading to the wider community. frustrating.
Nobody said the virus wasn’t out there. Which is why we are also asked not to go out on a name day “mission” unless we absolutely need to. I still see moms bringing their newborns and teenagers like it’s a normal recreational outing. If there is a mob in the baking aisle, I take a risk-based approach and either circle back later or do without pancake mix for two days. Be in an active contagion mode. Stay home Cayman.
5:51 pm, a definite thumbs up from me.
Dr. Lee, I appreciate your critical role as a member of the panel, but it is true, you mostly seem a little bit unprepared and your information is at times not easy to follow.
Suggest that you spend some time writing out what you plan to highlight, and honing it down to key messages, carefully thinking about the order in which information should be presented.
Then spend some time with a PR professional who is charged with helping you to figure out each day what media are most interested in and what the public most needs to know.
These appearances are not an ancillary duty, it is a key responsibility in your role as CMO. So avoid the temptation of treating it as if it were an interruption to your no-doubt pressing other duties.
Lol, I think he’s got more important things to do than spend time with a PR person. SMH
I think Dr. Lee is doing a great job given the fact that he is trained as a pain specialist, but he doesn’t have a public health background. All doctors receive some training in public health, but he’s obviously had to come up to speed on some things. l would rather have a doctor in charge who knows what he doesn’t know rather than one that thinks he knows everything. I don’t think if there was an epidiemiolgist on staff they would’ve prioritised testing two islands with 1 case to date before testing all the grocery stores on a densly populated island with 80 cases. However, you have to go to war with the generals you’ve got. Truth be told there was probably no way to erraticate this virus without 100% lockdown which wasn’t feasible.
When are going to man up.. if we don’t ship these work permit holders off immediately! We are surely headed for a disaster – we are in this mess because we have been to kind – now is no time to be kind or be mr nice guy. These people must go! we owe them nothing! Status holders need to follow suit – if they cannot sustain themselves they must go.
Be very careful. God don’t love hate.
Just death
What a dreadful and ignorant human being you are. You are bound for misery in this life.
He’s already miserable that’s why the comment. Sad.
@4:33pm. Surely you’re a “fake person”..I mean not a Caymanian for sure. If you are; you’re either very sick (covid?), or full of uncalled for hate.
Perhaps both?
Ye , it sounds like a troll. Alot of them on this site and others to spread this nonsense on purpose. Ignore.
@4.33pm Hope you have plenty in your pocket! Would like to see you pay for every status holder to leave. LOL Try Dart first and see how you get on! LOL
Status holders don’t need work permits. They Caymanians.
@1.28pm Read and reply to 4.33pm comment
4.33pm If Corona virus could read you would be at the top of the hit list, along with your thumbs up.
I wish the selection process for Covid was STUPID, as I would be screaming “OPEN DEM DOORS”!!!
And exactly who will have the money to spend within the economy when it begins to open without tourists.
And surely your hatred of expats must extend to doctors, nurses, hospital sanitation staff, EMT’s, police, domestic helpers, fast food staff, supermarket staff, garbage men, electricians, plumbers, a/c guys, pool guys, pest control, teachers and civil servants.
You see, your blind stupidity will leave you with nothing and nobody to take those 30,000 workers places. The offshore industry would dry up and your economy would implode within days.
And FYI, many of them are in the front line during this pandemic, pandering and caring for ignorant ingrates such as you.
Let’s hope you don’t need their help when Covid comes knocking, or do you want to pick the ones that can stay, like some concentration camp guard sorting out the condemned.
People like you make me sick, you don’t deserve to call yourself Caymanian.
@4:33pm – Why is it that you cannot seem to understand that a status holder IS a Caymanian?
Because heritage caymanians don’t consider johnny-come-lately paper holders, caymanian.
How well written!
I think I get the gist of what you’re trying to say but you are so inarticulate, it is not so easy.
If Cayman ever decided to ‘ship the work permit holders off’, the country would be left with the likes of you to fill their jobs. God help Cayman!
All Cayman essential businesses should awaken to their position of liability in not taking training and employee/customer health control measures seriously. They are allowed to make money now, only by accepting this public liability. Austrian ski resort, Ischgl is facing a mass lawsuit on behalf of more than 5,000 ski tourists as prosecutors continue to delve into whether charges should be laid for criminal negligence or worse. Pay attention.
Hello, none of you minded all of these grocery store employees working flat out, especially during the first few weeks when people were out “hoard” shopping. They may very well have caught it because they’re resistance levels are down or simply because they are exposed to so many shoppers, most of who didn’t have the courtesy of wearing masks. Thank You Kirks for having an emergency plan in place and following it.
Learn about ‘Viral Load’ people, then decide if you want to take their place.
It won’t help.
There is countries and states within countries that had no new cases for weeks while on lock down THEN 1 or 2 appear.
It is here and probably 50% don’t know they have it.
If 4 people in a home are on lock down for 6 weeks or all could have it and not show. The last person could then be infecting people at the end of 6 weeks of lock down.
Viruses by nature adapt and spread, why does everyone want to achieve the unachievable.
Keep the infection rate low, control social distancing and keep the curve almost flat to protect our hospitals from overload.
Its that easy!
That’s what we were told the goal was when the madness started.
Alden was absolutely right 2 months more of Level 10 should fix this problem stop listening to these idiots talking foolishness because their economic fantasies have been put on hold You heard borders closed till September ! AAAAR let the beatings continue!!!
For those who are alarmed: don’t you know that in theory everyone you meet could be infectious? I operate on that assumption and I take all possible precautions, including staying home as much as possible.
Stay calm, Cayman. Unless you really have to leave home, stay put. Visiting the supermarket, wear your mask, keep your distance, and be in and out as quickly as possible. And wash your hands as soon as you get home.
Just do your best and hope for the best. No need to panic.
Except that your advice is the very definition of panic. And unless you live alone and do not mix (which means you would not shop in the first place) and also do not use places frequented by people, then you are highly likely to be exposed at some point.
Yes great idea. Let’s take away all of our climate favoritism that has helped us through this crisis with not a single person in the hospital, and instead opt for air conditioning, alcohol, and mental health problems. I’m sure that will fight the virus better than fresh air, humidity, exercise and sea water.
Just wait until the meat shortages hit and we haven’t been allowed to fish.
Mental health issues were here way before Covid.
And this will reduce them right?
Of course!
Do not panic, fear is the worse enemy. Stay home as much as you can. Essential workers please protect yourself and this is for police too as i see them without mask nor gloves and in many cases in groups inside of a vehicle like sardines; this is a major concerned that needs to be addressed asap. Take care the elder and most vulnerable. God bless you all.
Yes but let people exercise or go to the beach!
It is not working! you cannot spend a life in lockdown. and covid is not serious enough to stop living! think….people were working with covid! let us move forward carefully, handwashing, mitigating, and continue on. if 4 people in kirks have covid, a lot of others have it!
“Covid is not serious enough to stop living?” Try saying that to the relatives of the 280+ thousand people who have died due to covid.
You do realize there are 7.7 billion humans right? That number is tiny on a planetary scale.
You are joking right?
I am laughing at you.
Laugh all u want….we will eventually all get COVID!
Actually no, Herd immunity would likely take over at about 70% so once 70% have caught it, or been effectively vaccinated against it, the rest probably will not.
Don’t believe me? It’s been 100 years since Spanish flu. I am willing to bet you have not caught that yet.
H1n1 is Spanish flu, particularly harsh version but thats all
Here’s the thing, the hospitals are empty (regarding COVID) for all intents and purposes. The flu clinic is not reporting any major uptick in calls. There have been minimal new visitors to our shores in near 2 months. At some stage, 2+2 does equal 4. Our country does not have a COVID pandemic, and any rational observation can only conclude that its been out in the community all the time and for some reason (heat/sun/vitamin D/luck) the virus strain here isn’t all that bad. There’s really no point in continuing a lockdown. There’s every point in continuing with social distancing measures, and of keeping borders closed obviously until we can be certain visitors are negative OR we can isolate them when here.
There’s not much more to it any more.We got lucky whether earned or by chance. But enough now.
Grand Cayman has at least 42 Active Cases whose prognosis could go anywhere from here until they are subsequently confirmed as negative. We don’t know. Some people go to bed asymptomatic and wake up that night unable to breathe. Some people seem to be doing better, and then it resurges to other organs. We don’t know…and you especially can’t make that call based on your junk understanding of the novel aspects of this new disease – which does kill and can severely injure those that survive.
The local hospitalization and recovery rates don’t seem to support your thesis. Even those admitted to hospital – with the unfortunate exception of the Italian gentlemen, who was admitted for a massive heart attack – are either out or undergoing treatment for non Covid related health problems. Your “some people’ examples appear to be entirely based on overseas experiences.
You make a of assumptions.
Why would we want to amplify local transmissions, actives cases, and eventual body count, while we still have the option to snuff them out locally altogether? That’s the dunce thinking of those that haven’t seen what this disease can do, or know anyone that’s gone through it, been severely scarred, or died. I’m sorry, but “death to those over 40” is not a plan.
And why would we want to wasted the last 7 weeks? With just a few more we will all much more confident to get out there and spend some money, instead of opening to soon and keeping the lock on the wallet in case of another outbreak.
“Normal flu, if I get that, I’m going to infect on average 1.3, 1.4 people … by the time it’s happened 10 times, I’ve been responsibly for about 14 cases of flu,” Montgomery said.
This figure comes from calculating 1.3 to the power 10 which yields 13.786.
“This coronavirus is very, very infectious, so every person passes to it three, now that doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but if each of those three pass it to three and that happens in 10 layers, I have been responsible for infecting 59,000 people.”
This figure comes from raising three to the power of ten, which yields 59,049.
“Montgomery’s estimate of coronavirus infection rates is a little higher than that of the World Health Organization, which says that the average person infected with the coronavirus contaminates between 2 and 2.5 people.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vs-flu-social-distancing-infections-spread-explainer-video-2020-3
________
If that’s true, why isn’t the entire island infected by now? The Kirk staff alone would have infected hundreds by now just like the flu. Get a grip people… your silly masks and locks downs aren’t and hasn’t been saving anyone.
LMAO 1.3 to the power of ten is 13.7862347425724972123478; Cayman needs some better math teachers.
Clearly you didn’t read. R Naught 1.3 is the flu, 2.8 is the covid according to the CDC.
That means the Kirk people would have infected nearly three each. That’s 9 people, and those 9 would have infected nearly 3, that’s 27 in only TWO hops of the corona. And I hate to tell you but the Health City patient “zero” was not the first person here with the Corona.
If this virus was as lethal they claim it is, there would be hundreds in hospitals, with many dead by now, especially in a place the size of Cayman…. And especially especially, at the time to invoked the lockdown in late March….. Lock down or no lock down by then, we would would have many people affected and seriously ill and many dead.
Fairly difficult to assess that, with less than 10% of Grand Cayman tested. We have a chance to completely control this, much like Greenland and New Zealand did. I think our “silly masks and lockdowns” have likely made all the difference here. Those four frontline people were said to be asymptomatic, but positive for the virus. That means it is likely nobody — including themselves — knew they were sick, and yet very possible that they were contagious.
Covid-19 is much more contagious, however CIG got on it an enforced strict measures expeditiously. The measures work. You just proved it.
Cowardice is not the solution.
Nor is foolhardy ignorance.
All we’ve proved is just how fast morons can destroy the economy and people’s lives.
You are right and wrong. Covid cannot wipe out New York with its elevators, subways, and sidewalks. But if your single digit represents our government, yes we can be wiped out.
Our strategy is not to have a curve at all, which is the right approach on a small island. We want to drop the active cases to zero like other small islands have done, and hold it there until there is more medical knowledge, and a viable approved way out.
Even if a vaccine takes 15 years?
don’t be so dramatic. The situation is obviously fluid, why do it have to be set in stone right. this. minute???
No one has ever come up with a vaccine for any of the corona viruses.
I’m not fan of Bill Maher, but in this case he’s spot on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28I5WyLp15o&feature=share
superb find, thank you
Bill is always spot on.
lol
I am usually a fan of him, but in this video he does not mention the reason that Covid is not a usual virus our immune system can deal with. Its rate of contagion and consequences are serious enough to warrant the measures taken by most countries. Sorry Bill, you’re not wrong about dealing with day to day germs, but your monologue only applies to healthy people. I will do what I can if it helps elderly or not so healthy people avoid this disease.
So protect those people by containment and have priority to healthcare instead of blocking healthcare to them!
I don’t see how destroying everyone’s livelihoods and closing hospitals helps old folks.
Locked down Hard curfew for 3 weeks till we get this gone Thank You
What if it never gets done? Even the test are not 100%. We may be getting false positives till further notice. Civil servants and Government paid will be fine for a while longer but the rest of us need to go to work and can not afford to hide much longer without going bankrupt. Once the economy crashes here then even Government will not be able to make payroll. What then? For some of us it’s already reality. For most of us it’s our future. Alden you and your buddies can afford to hide for a year or so but most of us just can not. Let us go back to work, have a life, and try to get back to where we were and feel free to hide from us for as long as you want.
Define locked down hard curfew? You can’t close grocery stores for 3 weeks because people need to eat, and if they’re open, what’s the point in stopping exercise?
Open the damn beaches and free up Sundays. Had enough of these lazy police complaining about a lack of resources.
bot alert.
Shut up please
We should EXPECT positive results. That is the exact point of doing testing. But as even the CMO said, the virus can linger in your system for 8+ weeks. These positives may have been infected 8 weeks ago, asymptomatic, so never needed to be tested.
The point is, we have flattened the curve, and there is no need to panic over the expected outcome of increased testing. This is GOOD NEWS for the reopening of Cayman. We are finding the virus was more widespread than thought, but the hospitals still have ZERO cases. We are winning. The number of hospital beds, the flat curve, and the increased testing mean we can continue to reopen. Stop the useless fear-mongering.
Do we want to drag this out for months or do something now? Mandatory testing for all front line staff would give us a real picture of the risk of spreading the infection. Have we just slowed the spread from extreme measures just over the last month just to have it pop up after people go back to their old habits?
To be clear, I agree with mandatory testing provided that if someone tests positive they continue to get paid. We cannot turn our backs on the positive people and push them into financial hardship. I would like to see 1000 tests per day — volunteers and mandatory.
COVID19 is out there and most likely has been out there since early February.
The CMO said it was not worth doing antibody testing as we have not had a significant outbreak BUT maybe we should do a small testing group of front line and some others that had bad flues earlier this year to see IF it was out there and to give us an idea of how much the virus was out there before we started looking for it.
New York City has shown almost 20% have most likely had the virus there now thats over 1.6M people have had it!
I don’t recall CMO saying it isn’t worth doing antibody tests. The biggest holdback thus far is those test haven’t yet proven to have acceptable accuracy
He said it on Wednesday or Thursdays press conference.
Yes not 100% grantee you are right BUT this is not to stop the spread by an infected person this is to se how many of us have had it even if the test is only 85% accurate it would give a good idea of how long its been here and how many may have had it.
All this can help seeing the true mount that is lurking in the community without symptoms.
That is my understand also; the serology tests can demonstrate overall trends, but aren’t sufficiently accurate to determine individual exposure.
Good, no lines on Monday then, I’ll be going there.
Yup cause no one else will
Hopefully this will be a warning to those acting so foolishly. In the last week some shops were allowed to deliver and maintenance/pool people back – why is there suddenly business as usual on the roads. We need another month of same curfew laws or the virus will be island wide in know time. Suppress and test for at least 3 more weeks before opening anything else up. Can’t believe people are being so reckles – pathetic.
In fairness, these were “asymptomatic” employees, and seemingly didn’t have any reasonable indication to know they were shedding COVID everywhere they went. Everyone should assume everyone around them could be shedding live virus particles, including themselves, even when they, or we, “feel fine”. COVID hijacks healthy human cells without any cell degradation manifesting as “sick” symptoms. This is just the latest example of why hand washing, avoiding touching things, using masks/gloves, and maintaining lawful 6 feet boundaries, actually matters in this new diseased world. The police and stores need to vigilantly regulate CMO policy so we’re not having to do this a year from now.
12:10 pm, you are absolutely correct. I could be carrying it and so could every person I meet.
I have no idea why anyone would give a thumbs down.
Because they are selfish
Because you may have to live with this every year.
we need persons trained by env health and public health to police the stores and enforce strict public health rules provided to all business operations. The RCIPS should be focused on curfew enforcement and thier regular duties. Likewise, Public Health and Env Health should be the competent authorities in this PUBLIC HEALTH crisis and not the Ministry of International Trade!
I saw 2 different DEH trucks on the road Friday, both had 3 people in the front seat no masks. This was on the bypass and I was side by side with them for at least 10 minutes from ALTS to Cost-u-less where I broke off. All of these employees should have known better but didn’t care less who they were with or going home to. So these are the people you want to enforce public health rules……
10.42am Name yourself and I will invite you to come and swim in my pool, while I stand there laughing.
Whoever said “traffic on the roads is back to pre-COVID levels” is delusional or forgetful. I took my usual drive on Tuesday and Thursday, and the roads were a ghost town still.
This is government or police propaganda, and every Google maps traffic trends show this to be factually false data. Fake news should be investigated (even if it comes from the commissioner) !!!
were employees wearing masks
Wouldn’t make any difference either way.
Masks are merely a symbol of our submission to fear.
I really don’t like you. Do you even have any friends?
So an opinion that is not your own becomes a chance to ridicule? Did you learn that from watching CNN or MSNBC? Intelligent people discuss, rely on actual facts, not emotions, and then decide the best course of action! Stuffing your fingers in your ears and shouting invective at people who do not agree with you was great….in kindergarten!
Ok
I have many. I encourage them to be brave and live full lives with respect and dignity. I also encourage them to resist bullies.
Haha
Bullies like Donald Trump?
masks are the best display of caring at this moment. Clearly you don’t care. You probably live alone and have no one to care about or who cares about you. I’m sorry for you. I imagine being alone at this time would be incredibly difficult.
The real question should be were they wearing properly fitted N95’s (or better), or fashion accessories that look like protective masks?
The fact remains, many store employees are still not keeping a minimum of 6 feet apart from anyone, and they/store supervisors seem unaware of that legal requirement, even inside their stores. A paper mask at that distance isn’t going to do much accept make the wearer feel uncomfortable. The Premier and CoP need to make it crystal clear that the 6 ft boundary applies inside all public places, including inside those stores. There should be ticketing officers at the produce section so that everyone clues in to what is going on right now.
Not just in the produce section!
Inevitably, the more we test the more we will find. That is to be expected and not feared. What it does highlight is that even though there are asymptomatic people in high traffic front line areas such as supermarkets the infection rate to the general public has been extremely low. It would be a fair assumption to think that many of the people now being tested and are positive for COVID-19 were infected in December – March time period when we had tens of thousands of international tourists visiting our shores. These new COVID-19 positive cases could have had the virus and been spreading it for some 4-5 months or 16-20 weeks! Most of us have been to the supermarket without a mask during this time. And thankfully even with this assumption we have only 80 confirmed cases in total during the same period. This would indicate to me that COVID-19 is very hard to spread in Cayman due to the heat and humidity. The Caribbean Health confirmed that COVID-19 cases across our region is very low in all jurisdictions. We can go about our business / lives without too much worry as the evidence proves we are not as vulnerable as some would make you think.
Start with facts – that always helps. Coronavirus is not typhoid. There no evidence that any asymptomatic person anywhere has been infectious for 16 days let alone 16 weeks.
People who are infected may be infectious but asymptomatic for a day or two before developing symptoms. People who stay asymptomatic develop immunity that destroys the virus and makes them non-infectious after a few days the same way that most symptomatic people develop immunity and get rid of the virus.
Hmm you sure about that?
All of your facts are wrong. Look it up.
The problem with these comments is that false info is put out there and people who haven’t done any research believe it.
emotion…that is FEAR…has clouded peoples sound judgement. And the posters here do not seem to be aware of any facts! The covid death rate is much lower than previously stated. 80 percent seem to be asymptomatic therefore many people on island have it, have had it, and do not know it!
Once there is immunity they don’t even know how long it lasts for yet.
Say hello to two more years of lockdown.
Maybe now you idiots out there will understand why Alden is so cautious
Wait till Jon-Jon talks about this on Monday!
Maybe you idiots out there need to understand Alden isn’t cautious or else he’d get rid of Jon Jon.
…and which Sesame Street character would take over these portfolios?
He is not cautious. He is scared silly. Big difference.
All businesses need to take a page out of Kirk’s playbook. Be 100% transparent and as soon as possible.
I am encouraged by this.
Cayman has to remember that some one-third of our cases so far have been asymptomatic. That means that anyone that we meet, in our neighborhood, at work, or in the wider community could have cover-19, and we would never know.
It would be interesting to begin to do the antibodies test to see how many of us have already been positive for the virus and had no clue.
I think marl road was outing them so they had to.
All businesses should note that they are not impervious to the virus. Anyone can get this. And this will happen. You need to get out in front of the news, as Kirks has done. This is the right thing to do.
It is also what businesses need to do to retain the confidence of the public, who will inevitably be sharing marl road gossip.
I have no concerns about shopping at Kirks — at least we know that they have exercised proper intervention.
I hope, however, that this testing of all staff will not be one-off effort. I would like to hear that supermarket staff are being tested at least weekly. We have enough tests.
AND being paid whilst in isolation.
Proper intervention is getting only some team members tested and opening the store a few days later? Very smart.
Get well soon.
There’s nothing wrong with them.
Except that they can kill your granny, with no malicious intent, from across the room.
My granny is not afraid of death. Turns out it’s going to happen either way.
I am, cause I have a great life!
Look man. We’ve been immune to hardship for so long we think we can save the planet and prevent death.
From what?
Keep up with it, they have just been tested positive for coronavirus.
Watching the daily press briefings?
Did the staff members have regular contact with the public, were any involved in food preparation?. Have all employees been tested?.
9:01 am: Read the story!
1.30pm You read the story, and I defy you to give me answers to my questions.
This only shows how important it is to test frontline staff and rapidly.
Any front line staff that refuses to be test should be replaced pronto.
And get sued!
Everyone has rights. They have a right to not be tested like you are a right to not shop there.
Work permit record then.
No. They did not have a right to not be tested, any more than you have a right to drive 70 mph through a school zone, or have a right to drive intoxicated. Those behaviours pose a risk to the public. We are allowed to engage in dangerous sports and activities which only risk the health and lives of others who have also waived their rights.
Congratulations to Kirk Supermarket in their initiative to stay ahead of the news, and avoid marl road gossip. That is how you do public relations.
Also, very pleased that you have a Covid Emergency Plan and that you activated it so rapidly.
This increases the confidence of the public in your establishment. Congrats and best wishes.
I was there yesterday. No ID check, and hundreds of sweating shoppers sliding their skin and bodies along the same shared exterior wall. Two cops were standing and chatting in parking lot oblivious to distancing enforcement or whatever function they are supposed to now serve. Customers were generally practicing much better etiquette than on past visits. The cashier was extremely sensitized. Masks were provided to the few customers without one. The problem was with the stocking staff and delivery shoppers. They were absolutely clueless. Whoever is in charge of their training and oversight needs to either have the riot act read to them, or be fired. All of our food supply stores need to bring in a metal tape measure and demonstrate to staff (particularly non-English speaking) what 6 feet actually looks like. It’s not a request.
I’ll bet you those masks they gave out were touched all over by the “positive” employees.
Who knows. People can play dumb or bring your own. But none of it matters if 6 feet immediately condenses to 6 inches yards inside the store.
5.9 feet has been scientifically proven as sufficient.
I don’t understand why they don’t do the delivery shopping after the store is closed.
Right, people were acting normal because they realize that life must go on and they’re tired of living with hysterics.
Agreed with you 100% !
IDChecks for curfew enforcement are 100% Police responsibility. You can’t expect supermarket staff to enforce that. They are busy already.
Obviously Kirk Market is not good enough for you. Stop complaining and go find somewhere else to shop. Please. Most of us believe they are great.
So says the yoga pants brigade.
Actually pretty much EVERY nationality is NOT observing the 6 ft rule.
So how did they catch that then?
You don’t realize that they have to work with the public all day long? If not for them we would have no food. They may have caught it from you.
This weekend public health could test all staff working at Kirks and open Monday/Tuesday and any affected staff stay home. We have enough test kits.
What about two days from now? They need to be tested every day!
True that, especially given the housing conditions of many frontline workers. Social distancing is impossible for most.
Yes, every day, till there is a cure.
All of the supply chain functions should be screened, and volunteer supervision for etiquette/washing/distancing, and policing with a ticketing agent inside the stores. It’s not just a private enterprise situation anymore – this is a matter of territorial health, during a period of emergency powers. Being thorough really matters. Anyone in the business of handling the stuff the public are touching and bringing home (minutes later) to vulnerable people. We’ve been thinking this all the way along. Pretty basic, one would think?!?
And what of the customers they likely got it from, and all the customers the infected staff came into contact with? How can we control that?
cayman opened up to quick
Opened up? I’m not a gardener or car wash employee, so I plus 40,000 others are still licked down.
3 asymptomatic positive cases among front line workers in one establishment. When will it be time to ramp up MANDATORY testing of all grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant, delivery, gas station and other employees the public comes in contact with????
Make them submit or send them to prison!
No just send them home where they cannot infect people if they don’t want to be tested.
You think they live alone, or wha?
They are doing that now. That is how they they found out the people showing no symptoms were infected. The system is working. Kirk’s wasted no time closing down and I am sure they will open as soon as they can do so safely working with the HSA as stated in the article. This is a sign that our system is working and as the testing continues to expand we should be prepared for more positive results. Compare our numbers to the rest of the world and we are doing extremely well. We cannot just snap our fingers and have everyone tested instantly it would be nice but this is the real world.
I take it more as a sign of futility.
This seriuos now. This person may had contact with hundreds of persons in 1 day!!Braca.
It’s not that serious yet. Calm down bracka and go fishing.
Lucky brackas
Can you imagine how many there are in the fosters markets? they have a couple thousand staff, there is no way they don’t have a couple dozen too
The cat is definitely out of the bag! after several days of kirks employees infecting everyone around them, we are all going to either get sick, or be asymptomatic. The lockdown has not worked! open beaches and start a different program of mitigation.
Take it easy. No need to panic, 8:04 am. These few three are vastly outbalanced by our national statistics that do show that the lockdown is working.
lol, yeah cause opening up the beaches is going to help mitigate.
LockDown is NOT working. Time to take precautions, like this, and move on! Reduce people shopping at one time to 20 instore at once, shorten shopping hours from 9-6, bleach clean at nights, reduce small shops to one staffer and two shoppers at once, continue testing, and cleaning, continue handwashing and masks, vulnerable people can shop one day a week, and let COVID play out on island! Reopen beaches, etc. We need to get on with life.
They also need to have the staff who do the online/pick up orders do it when the store is closed, not when all the other shoppers are in there. There’s more staff than shoppers sometimes.
And what about all the customers ??
They done for now!
No worries Kirk’s. I will be there monday morning to shop.
Good luck trying to spend your Kirk Money in the midst of their record profitability.
I look forward to not seeing you there then.
It’s all happening because of government slow reaction, they r only quick in locking down the islands but despite having the enough no of covid 19 testing kits they failed to check the front line staff health. Our CIG need to learn from China , South Korea and the euro zone countries who got heavily hit by COVID-19 .
Overall I think the government’s response has been excellent, but the past two weeks they appear to want to rack up negative results by testing people that were unlikely to have the disease. If you really want to stop the spread you should test those who have the most contact with other people. Our front line workers have done an amazing job, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude! Not only does it make sense from a public health standpoint to test them first, but they should deserve to know the full extent of the risk they are taking. Unlike places other countries we have the means to fully erraticate this disease now and not wait for a vaccine to go back to living without fear.
How do you think they found these three positives. They were testing front line personnel. Just like you are bitching that they are not doing.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone. The supermarkets have always been one of the places that most people expected to find the virus. It speaks to the importance of wearing your masks and gloves and the importance of wipes, sanitizers and keeping your distance from other people.
The government must now ensure that all supermarket workers are quickly tested and that robust testing and monitoring protocols are in place going forward.
i’d rather people not wear gloves and instead focus on sanitizing and hand washing
the glove are often useful particularly for those who have to use a lot of hand santisers. You see, many of those products are hard on the skin. Plus, using gloves, the santisers go much further. Another advantage of wearing gloves is that it reminds the wearer not to touch their face (or elsewhere). Frontline people that have to wear them all day, the looser gloves won’t wrinkle your skin quite as much as tighter gloves.
I think it interesting that Cayman leaders have shown no interest in antibody testing that would determine how widespread the China virus is. It obviously is spreading unseen with few symptoms in the largely young Cayman population. This whole lockdown endeavor is very probably a waste of time and money. If it continues it is obviously a scam by the monied interests to wrest every bit of property out of the hands of the average Caymanian. When this is over native Caymanians will be serfs, bereft of everything the fathers worked so hard to give them.
It might not be the China virus as France had a confirmed case before them.
You are crazy
You don’t keep up:
https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-52526554
Cry me a river of conspiracy theories
I really hope Kirks as well as any future companies who find themselves with Covid positive employees take care of them financially. If not, why would any of our frontline workers want to be tested?
I’m watching closely to see how these employees and potential future Covid positive employees are treated as this will affect how and where I spend my ever shrinking spending moving forward.
I agree that the Kirk employees or others should not be financially penalized for working on the front line and catching the virus. They should be paid for the 14 or so days it will take for their immune systems to destroy the virus and for them to recover, following which they can then return to work. Once they have developed immunity they are the very people we want on the front line as they are extremely unlikely to infect anyone for months or years afterwards.
Wanting to be tested should have little to do with working on the front line however. Being tested regularly should be a condition of working on the front line until this pandemic is out of Cayman. Otherwise there is the ongoing risk that grocery store employees and others will infect many others.
We Brackers are praying for you all in Grand to be safe
We Granders are paying for you all to be safe.
We non delusional people are taking precautions and washing our hands instead of praying the covid away.
Be respectful and kind please
There are more currencies than mere money. All parts of Cayman contribute toward the whole. The Sister Islands pay far more in fuel and shipping costs than we do. Because of that, they get some breaks.
You have a crappy separatist attitude. I hope you don’t intend to stay here forever. If there ever was a time for all of us to pull together, this is it. It’s what the Caymanian people have been doing throughout history — pulling together in the face of adversity.
A lot of people whine. These are troubled times, I get that. Still, we are not a territory of whiners. We are doers and builders and farmers and fishers.
Well done to the store for letting the public know. I somehow doubt the press briefings would tell us where the positives are. This action alone could save many lives.
Agreed. I was in that store yesterday. It very frightening when you think of how close we can get to this virus every time we step out. We all need to do our best to protect ourselves against this vicious disease.
10:57 am: I was in their store yesterday as well, I and I am not the least bit frightened, because I take the proper precautions.
And I am 73 years old.
6.35am So you really believe the CMO would allow them to carry on as usual after the positive results?.They had no option but to close, so the cat was out of the bag.
The Kirk staff have been amazing. Continuing to be so incredibly friendly and helpful during this crisis. They each have my support and I will continue to shop there. I wish them well.
No Publix stores were ever closed in Florida when some of their staff tested positive and. All staff went into isolation? Why? This is not norovirus.
@5.40pm..well, speaking for the majority. We take life seriously here. We value the sanctity of LIFE.
And especially our elderly.
If you like Publix so much..please go to South Florida.
*safe swimming..