New curfew opens up mixed bag of access
(CNS): There will be some relief for the community with the new shelter-in-place order (soft curfew) regulations that come into effect Monday but not everyone will be getting what they want. Premier Alden McLaughlin pressed home the message on Friday that, given the sacrifice that everyone had made so far, the lifting of curfew restrictions had to go slowly. This first phase, he said, was adding access to goods and services with the lowest risk of increasing interaction.
McLaughlin explained at Friday’s COVID-19 press briefing that the country was moving from level five ‘maximum suppression’ of social interaction to level four ‘high suppression’, based on the least risk assessment. The theme of the change is to focus on goods and services based on delivery, collection or outside work, such as pool maintenance, but not inside work, such as appliance repair.
The regulations (which are in the CNS Library) set out a long list of the businesses that can now re-open, provided that they follow the guidelines and rules surrounding social distancing. The changes should allow around 6,000 people and business owners to return to work and allow the public to buy things that can be delivered or call in services that can be conducted outside.
From the start of the curfew imposition, the priority was protecting human life and the health and welfare of the community, the premier said, which was still the primary objective. The decisions regarding the curfew have been informed by science and professional advice on how to reduce the transmission of the virus, he added.
This slight easing of restrictions, which will also see the nighttime hard curfew start an hour later, now at 8pm, and allow food delivery until 10pm, was about allowing some access to things people need without significantly increasing the risk of social gathering, he said.
Testing remains central to the decisions and steps government is taking over the level of social repression. The premier said the number of tests that have been done was a good number but it was still not a sufficient representation of the population on Grand Cayman that would allow government to relax the rules and have confidence in people mixing.
“The results this week have been hugely encouraging,” he said, adding that he was as close to ecstatic as he can ever get as they were certainly “trending in the right direction”, despite the one positive test today. But he said that “we are not there yet” when it comes to the level of testing to give the government a more certain picture of the prevalence of the virus.
However, as the testing continues to be ramped up, government will be able to ease more and more restrictions. Phase two is expected to be implemented on 14 May and that will see more stores opening and access to more services.
In the meantime, it is confined to delivery of goods or things going on outside. While not every service has been defined in the regulations that could re-open, the premier is advising that services or businesses that will not increase the risk of bringing people together that have not been outlined should contact curfewtime@gov.ky to get clearance.
The continued closure of the beaches and ban on non-commercial fishing for at least another two weeks is bound to make many miserable, especially those without a home pool.
The premier said the issue of the beach was a sore point, with relentless pressure on government to ease the shut-down. But he said the beaches present a major source of community transmission and that they are very difficult to police. McLaughlin begged people to be patient; he said he knew this would make people “feel terrible” but the risk was too high and “we have come too far” to risk the sacrifice.
But he indicated that lifting the beach restrictions would be under consideration for phase two.
See Friday’s full COVID-19 briefing on CIGTV below:
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Category: Health, Local News, Medical Health
We all want a quick release from this lockdown, but just think for a second: the virus has not become less contagious, and it hasn’t disappeared. It’s waiting. It can only spread by close proximity (at least, that’s what most of us accept will be the major form of transmission, people to people at close quarters). Once we open up, its a free for all again for the virus. That’s the problem. On top of that, there is no vaccine. On top of that, there is no herd immunity (if such a thing exists against it), obviously our quick lockdown and social distancing enforcements have a double edg sword – no herd can be created. On top of that, there’s going to be a 2nd wave (even if we didnt really have a 1st wave), and probably a 3rd and 4th as seasons come and go and opening occurs.
So before we can open, we have to accept that real plans for our safety get created and implemented. For example, we have to learn when the cruise or airports will open for non-returning residents, and what we plan to do with these tourists if any? they are our greatest risk should we reopen. Our second greatest risk is ourselves by trying to get back to normal. We cannot.
So, lets give the government a chance to sort this crap. They’re answers are not intended to hurt us, there is no conspiracy. There really is a killer disease waiting for us, and sure, it may not kill as many as we initially feared, but it sure will collapse our ability to save people who wouldn’t normally have died.
Its crap right now. But it will not get better if we rush back
Simple question. Can anyone explain the rationale of a hard curfew on Sunday? Going for a walk six days a week is fine, but somehow Sunday exposes the country to enormous risks.
Arbitrary and irrational.
BTW, why are we not allowing outdoor construction like Bermuda? By May 18th, that will be two months without income.
I think everyone is being responsible. Alden needs to get out of his utopian bubble and realize that an elegant, perfect solution is not possible. And realize Dwayne is way, way over his head and should probably step back from the panel a bit. I can no longer watch him live as it is so cringeworthy.
Power exercise. Next would come mandatory vaccination law, movement control apps etc.
police laziness
The Beating will continue until morale improves.
This government will not stop the lock down until the private sector is totally decimated.
They are “saving” lives… the fact the the lock down, lack of access to proper healthcare and people being forced in to poverty literally destroys people is irrelevant to them and their personal ambitions of self importance. There are more dead in world wide as result of lock downs, than the virus.
Really? You can honestly say that what you believe? They are doing this out of spite?
I’m sorry you’re so angry and having such a difficult time, but it will pass, try to hang in there.
Fake news
“There are more dead in world wide as result of lock downs, than the virus.”
Bullshit.
Boi you will b surprised by this “economy” once it re-opens.
Send pictures of your curfew violations to curfewtime@gov.ky. Let’s all show Alden how sick we are of his shit and how no one is paying him any mind.
Yes, today is supposedly full lock down and I saw some woman walking on the side of road, NOT in a yard!
Sent 3 requests to curfewtime asking for an emergency repair to my leaking roof. Still no reply after a week – not even a no. What makes you think they read anything from someone without a connection? May as well shout down a well.
They don’t even respond to emails.
Thankfully we didn’t waste $500 million dollars on a port and berths that will never get used. I’m quite liking this return to less traffic and tourists.
Are you going to pay all those people who lost their jobs? Seriously, get real!!!
They are back in the Philippines now. The thought that the Port was going to employ Caymanians in a meaningful way is ludicrous and absurd. I accept that it would have greatly benefited a very few wealthy Caymanians – maybe that is what you are upset by?
The first sentence of his/her post is spot on. The second… well – tone deaf to say the least.
All 5 of them?
We could also save money on building schools from now on by educating children at home. More productive, less bullying, less drugs, less pregnancy, less violence to teachers and students etc. Less traffic on road, saving the environment, less cost to parents (lunch money, peer pressure buying, no need for uniforms), etc. big save on government with maintainability, teachers salaries, pensions, medical insurance these last 2 is a big save because they are for life. Plus building of 100 million dollar schools, which will never pay for itself.
The dock was going to cost 200-250 million. But it wasn’t going to cost the country a penny. It was also going to pay for itself.
Less tourists will show during this pandemic how important tourism is in this country. It will also show the amount of money that will be lost by the end of the year. It will cost our airport and air planes. The transportation of tourists was saving a lot of traffic backed up by first timers coming to an Island that drives on the left with small to no signage at all to find places on island. The crime will slowly go up as families will not be hired at a reasonable salary for the cost of living. Which means their children will face the brunt of domestic violence through emasculating their men, husbands in front of their children. Hope is being loss, as men will not be able to find a proper paying job because of work permits who work 6-9 dollars. With more people in tourism having to join NAU why work anymore? Stay home and drink and do drugs. Sad, but isn’t that what’s happening now?
Please let’s look at the numbers of local transmissions for Cayman over the last 6 weeks and be reasonable. If their coming in by air and mandatorily confined and any local transmissions (1) is secure and we are stepping up testing of front line workers let’s forget the next 4 phases and come up with a plan to open up everything by 31 May. We cannot hope to have a working local economy in all viable sectors if we wait until the end of June. My family are lucky enough to be employed throughout but a lot of individuals and business are not so well placed. Please Premier you are not treating Cayman as a single entity apart from jurisdictions like New Zealand. Fine to look for guidance but another to take every step that country takes verbatim.
Let’s endorse aggressive testing, and if those numbers — which should eventually be a valid representation of us all — are favorable, then, and only then move on to the next phase. We cay do this. We are SO close to being safe and self-contained.
Stay the course, Cayman. Maybe LC and Brac will be open before us. That’s okay. They are us also.
We are not code though!
I’m sorry. I haven’t a clue what you mean by that.
Our “government” has proven themselves to be the laughing stock of the Caribbean.
Their plan has not been based on common sense, but rather nepotism, dodgy science and incompetence.
Next week, masks will be mandatory as they try to convince us they know what the hell they are talking about.
Johnny Lee gonna rock it again.
Disagree on every level of your accusations. Have you heard of the Faroe Islands? How about New Zealand? That is the model in which the CIG is pursuing.
I think you are angry and feeling entitled. I don’t think you’ve ever been through difficult times, and haven’t learned the art of adapting to changing times. It IS an art, and it can also save your life.
Imagine if we could actually corner the virus here and then open up the islands based upon the firm knowledge that we’ve eradicated it within our borders. Of course there will be another wave later, when we open up our borders, but imagine how we could prosper locally, having effectively vanquished the virus.
I think your life is worth that sacrifice. Do you agree?
Great. Copy NZ BUT they can stay with their boarders locked they will have a local economy…..What will we have?
Other Caribbean BOT made a point in their opening / relaxing speech to first acknowledge they are planing to work out a way to open up.
But here we are waiting for a vaccine….This maybe years away IF they manage to make one. Great plan if there is one made by the end of the year BUT what is the back up plan?
Those two countries are not the same as Cayman! Cayman relies 100% on either tourism or finance. New Zealand’s economy is based on agriculture, manufacturing and services. Cayman is 100% reliant on people coming here either as tourists or offshore finance workers and visitors. This fantasy that Cayman can close itself off from the world is just that, a fantasy. Government is 100% reliant on income from these two sectors in one way or the other. What happens when the income stops? Who is going to pay for everything then? If you think it through the best the government can do is allow the virus to peak and subside in other countries before opening Cayman up again. Anything longer is suicide.
100% agree! well said.
It’s not like just because we re-open the airport we’re going to get record air arrivals again. Most people just aren’t going to travel until they’re going to be able to go places with no restrictions (so they can enjoy the restaurants that are supposed to be good and the attractions that are popular and draw crowds etc) and no quarantining in either direction. That will be a very long time from now. And until that happens hotels can’t even open to receive the tourists because their operating costs are too high. So we are not in control of this situation as you seem to think we are. It has taken over everyone and everything. We are at its mercy and that of our automatic instincts and decisions as human beings about how to deal with invisible enemies. Nobody is going anywhere for a long, long time. At least, nobody but the Trumped up crazies in the Great American Heartland who will most certainly be carrying the coronavirus (as well as the other disease they all suffer from, stupidity), and we don’t want them here.
That was the old Cayman. We will just have to wait and see what rises from the ashes. One thing for sure is its gonna be different.
What would you do? Open up the borders for the few hundred tourists who might come between now and December, bringing Covid-19 with them? Now that would be the height of stupidity.
There seems to be a lot of delusional people who think that we can just end the lockdown and things will go back to normal. Ain’t gonna happen. The world economy is shot to hell and it has nothing to do with what the Cayman Islands Government decides. Tourists aren’t coming back here in significant numbers for 2-3 years AT LEAST. Sure, you might get some rich folks wanting to come to escape the misery of the U.S., but most people aren’t going to have the discretionary income to take expensive trips to the Cayman Island even if they were brave enough to travel. The typical person who does has the money to come to Cayman by air is the age group most at risk. The cruise industry is decimated. Intelligent people aren’t getting on cruise ships any time soon – if ever again.
The world has fundamentally changed and the sooner people let go of the past and start accepting the new normal, the better off we’ll be.
If the 1918 pandemic is any indication, the second wave of Covid-19 will be three times worse than this one and the third wave twice as bad.
Before this is all over, the majority of us who don’t die beforehand will probably be infected by Covid-19. However, to prevent a repeat of Spanish flu and the deaths of 50+ million, the world needs to spread out the infection rate to tolerable rates that allow better treatment of those who get sick.
I’m sorry, but whining doesn’t help.
100
Tourism contributed about 20% of NZ’s total GNP. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/immigration-and-tourism/tourism-research-and-data/tourism-data-releases/tourism-and-the-economy/
How is that so different than our economy? They are doing FINE!
Look, I don’t pretend to have all the answers. What I can see clearly is that we’ve come this far and are SO close to containing all the CV virus right here.
We can mitigate THIS wave of CV. The next wave — which will likely be accompanied by the seasonal influenza — will be a whole ‘nother animal, and everywhere will probably Let Slip The Dogs of War. Meanwhile, we have saved lives. Good lives and good on us.
Peace.
who is going to come to visit? all the borders are closed
Baumont, next thing is we’ll have our three musketeers at the briefing performing the haka in grass skirts provided by Jon Jon.
Thanks for the fugly visual. EW! When I have nightmares of a CIG Lūʻau and poi fights, I will blame you.
He’s too self-absorbed to listen to reason. He wants his good life back and he wants it now and he doesn’t care that others value life more than the good life. Best to let him whine like the spoiled brat that he is and ignore him just like our government is thankfully ignoring him and his ilk.
no mask=selfish pr!ck
No mask = healthy person.
Do you need someone to help you determine if you’re feeling ill?
Stop the fear mongering.
how exactly do you know that you’re not asymptomatic???
SMH get educated, with all the news out there at this time there is NO EXCUSE to be ignorant.
Mask=someone who doesn’t realise they are almost entirely ineffective.
They don’t work
https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2764367/effectiveness-surgical-cotton-masks-blocking-sars-cov-2-controlled-comparison
better than nothing, that’s all we got right now
what’s the big deal, I’m sure wearing a mask would only be an improvement to most people’s face.
As a person fully responsible for my own body (my body, my choice), I do not consent to any form of invasion.
Never ever trusting people of Cayman with my health. NEVER
Good
One less fool we have to worry about!
So you think jon jon isdoing a good job?
A Health ‘Minister’ who does not know what a pipette is, or even able to pronounce it?! An absolute farce that no one can deny. I started off quite confident in this bunch, now I am getting increasingly annoyed. My humour ran out last week.
You started out confident in Dwayne??
Not even Dwayne started out confident in Dwayne.
A lot has changed since March. What was considered necessary and justifiable in March no longer holds true. There is NO compelling evidence anymore to support extended lockdowns. It would be the right thing to do only if it saves more lives than it costs.
“There is NO compelling evidence anymore to support extended lockdowns.”
So says Commander Butthead.
shut up beavis
We are all spending more time at home these days, indoor air quality and HVAC services are more important than ever. The majority of people are currently working and studying in their residences.
Aside from providing comfort, this equipment is vital for health and safety in addition to productivity, particularly for air filtration and food and medical supply preservation, especially in this time of quarantine.
HVAC MAINTENANCE is essential to mold prevention and bacterial growth. HEALTH AND SAFETY!!!!!
HVAC technicians are considered an “essential business” by the standards of the Shelter in Place orders EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY IN HOT CLIMATE.
Functioning CRITICAL infrastructure is imperative for both public health and safety as well as community well-being.
• Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, builders, contractors, HVAC Technicians, landscapers, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the SAFETY, SANITATION, and essential operation of residences, businesses and buildings such as hospitals, senior living facilities, any temporary construction required to support COVID-19 response.
THEREFORE, workers distributing, servicing, repairing, installing residential and commercial HVAC systems and other cooling, refrigeration, and ventilation equipment CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
It is not an oversight, it is a crime to compromise health and safety of very same people CIG tries to save by excluding cooling, refrigeration, and ventilation business from critical infrastructure category.
It’s been 6 weeks, seriously everything on your house is broken? Perhaps you should have considered preventative maintenance cause REALLY???
Maximum Suppression
High Suppression
Moderate Suppression
Minimal Suppression
All Clear
That’s what the paper says. I still know no more information than before I read it.
The word suppression bothers me! Are they referring to the virus or the people?
Seriously? Are you that obtuse?
Supression of the virus or the people? Full lock down on Sunday is unnecessary. We should at the very least be able to exercise
It’s cruel now
As the world attempts to go paperless, JonJon takes more paper notes to every briefing than he carried home in five years of secondary education.
He had a secondary education?
According to his testimony for his 2011 trial, he went to Sunday School until he was 25.
so are we allowed personal trainers to come to our houses, if jesus rides on a donkey?
I really not sure if Jon Jon confirmed iof it was allowed or not
I would like to understand the legality of some of the governments restrictions as there seems to be a fundamental issue where they are stopping people doing activities that would have little or no negative impact on community transmission. As an example the hard curfew on Sunday still remains. Why? When it is OK for us to exercise from our homes on Monday through Saturday why should we not be able to do this on Sunday? The first reaction of the authorities has been to introduce hard and soft curfews with draconian penalties rather than actually try and introduce other measures which could work and still provide people with their fundamental freedoms. I can understand why these might be used at the beginning of any restrictions but the more they go on the less proportional they become and the more these restrictions will alienate the government and police from the people they are tasked with protecting. I can already see this happening with people’s reaction to the authority of the police where they are no longer held in the same respect as before the crisis started. They have now become an agency of enforcing dubious restrictions rather than protecting us from real crime.
The response will undoubtedly be that the police can’t cope but this is both bizarre and ultimately a lie. Do you see hard curfews being introduced in the UK, Canada or USA? No! The police can cope in those jurisdictions. Anticipating the response again it will be that these places have much higher Covid infections and therefore it shows the Curfews are working. But again this is a bizarre response. Cayman can be isolated off from the world, which is what we did when we stop all incoming passengers by air or by sea, none of these countries can be isolated in the same way. Isolating a small country will naturally lead to a lowering of the infection rate compared to other jurisdictions.
It was Benjamin Franklin who stated “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” I fully support the implementation of limited and intelligent restrictions when needed. However what the government has introduced goes way beyond that and should be challenged by anyone who cares about fundamental freedoms.
It really comes down to the law and the constitution. I was reading an article from California where the lockdown is being challeged legally because the burden falls on the government to establish reasonableness when imposing emergency regulation that infringe upon constitutional rights. Further, as you stated, the burden also falls upon the government to establish that alternatives that are less restrictive could not be used. Closing the beaches is a good example. I’ve yet to find a scientific reason why the beach should be closed. In fact, what I’ve read is the virus lasts for little more than 1 minute in a beach environment.
@2.32 I don’t know what the Cayman constitution says about guaranteeing freedoms in this context. What I do know is that the authorities were very quick to close not only the beaches but all access to the sea. Again, why was this necessary when dealing with a virus? If I go diving with a friend, how can that be more risky than me walking along the road by South Sound dock when I am literally running into scores of people every night at 5pm? So why has this freedom been removed from me? Because the Police can’t oversee it? So what? We have been diving here for 50+ years without Police oversight, why do we need it now? Their excuses do not make sense and this is one example of a freedom they have removed.
The government has had the last 5 or 6 weeks under severe restrictions to personal freedoms to consider what is necessary for one thing and one thing only – What restrictions are needed to contain the virus? Yet they are not acting as if they have the absolute right to do what they want. They don’t!!!
No restriction on personal freedoms are absolute, they have to be proportional to the challenge at hand. It is clear to be that there has been significant overreach by the authorities here in many different areas.
I am not suggesting in anyway that we look for the kind of elimination of restrictions completely as has happened in some US states. However it is important for the government to explain why removing all of these freedoms is necessary and justified for anything longer than a few weeks and they have absolutely failed to do this.
I am happy to have the curfew, makes me feel a bit safer some twit without a job is not going to try to rob me
It was Benjamin Franklin who stated “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
If this is about health of the people then the ability to go outside is paramount. The beach closure needs to be lifted as does hard curfew on Sunday. Bermuda who started late had no test kits have opened their beaches and walking trail to get people outdoors into fresh air
Everybody gets social distancing now and it still should apply
To CIG you started strong but you’re losing it now
Dog grooming and car washing WTF
12.09pm Govt know their coffers will soon be empty. These curfews along with draconian penalties are not just to oppress the law abiding public, they are a deliberate tactic to augment the revenue lost by their own over the top policy.
Huh?
How in the FF does that make sense to you?
I think that mobile mechanics would have been essential also…just a thought…
“Measured Approach”
The public understands the health concerns and the issues surrounding COVID. We have had a 24/7 relentless coverage for over two months now.
We also understand there is not enough law enforcement personnel to police the beaches; therefore, the government should invest in the public trust the responsibility to have access to the beaches/water.
Our Civil liberties have been “heavily” altered to achieve the desired outcome set forth by the government. The public has complied with these drastic measures very positively for many weeks now. This should be proof-positive that the vast majority of responsible individuals greatly outnumber the small minority of “knuckleheads” who lost us this privilege.
Regarding the population and the culture: We are not California (39mil population & 164,000 sq miles), and we are not Florida (20mil population-66,000 sq miles). We are a small island (60,000 population-102 sq miles).
My belief is it’s time for the government to show the same trust that the public has instilled in them and allow access again to the water/beaches while “strictly” complying with social distancing.
Since the word faith is used regularly by the panel in their pressers, have faith that the public will stop/interfere with individuals who are not complying with social distancing so as not to lose the privilege again by so few.
One option is this could commence Wednesday the 6th (if all is still trending in the right direction) while at the same time “test, test, test” as you stated
????
Why was pool maintenance banned in the first place, can curfewtime give their reasons?.
FFS stop beating a dead house. Everyone keeps asking the same sh!t questions. Your pool boy is coming to service you… Relax
Dead HOUSE. Lmao!!! How about dead HORSE! Ha haaaaaaaaaa.
curfewtime cannot even answer emails although I think they choose to ignore selectively.
CNS: Everyone, including members of the media, is receiving more emails with questions than they can possibly keep up with.
Can we play tennis again?
No rushing the net.
Or golf?
2.00pm No, but you can watch the birdies.
Only if you are Armie Hammer
Well, if nothing else, at least we can all get our yachts washed
When couldn’t you?
FOOD SHORTAGE COMING:
The food crop shortage of 2021 and beyond, will begin to appear in the late Fall of 2020. Food supply chain inadequacies, along with climate change, will affect agricultural harvesting season. This will cause a serious shortage of food, and even fresh water around the globe.
Really? Are you some sort of wizard. Won’t there be less mouths to feed? Nobody can know this as fact at this stage so stop scaremongering and get back to your tea leaves
Read what the WHO says ……. Food shortage coming.
Proponents of fear ultimately end up ruling the fearful. It is time for us to take a deep breath and analyse carefully what has been perpetrated on the people of the world.
More independent thought is required, less fear and above all transparent accountability from those in power.
I believe a curb side pick up of car service parts would be of assistance. I have oil light and engine light on over the last 4 weeks and apart from my mechanic saying it needs a service I’m stuck for parts for him to do it.
Google it.
Shut up!
There needs to be some kind of balance between saving the few and sacrificing the many. Many have been and still are sacrificing having a life and the future looks to be staying the same. The fact that the people telling us we need to sacrifice more are still working, getting paid, and doing what they want is not helping. Caymans own facts and numbers show that this virus is not as bad as the cure. Give us hope Mr. McLaughlin that we sill have lives again soon. I for one will be willing to risk it as I have risked everything that came before including the dangerous driving here. Hiding from the virus means no schools for kids, no jobs for parents, no easy way to build homes or fill them with what is needed to live in them, no car repair, no water sports, no dentist, etc. no economy and all just to stop the fear of dying sooner rather than later for the few. I know this is just one man’s opinion and I would not want everyone to have to do as I ask. But some of us should be set free to keep the economy and life flowing here while there is still time. Right now the only persons who are the safest are those who caught the virus and are past getting over it. Everyone else is just waiting.
This absurd government should be thrown out as soon as possible. The working people of this country need a government that has ZERO ability to destroy the lives of the healthy in this manner. Closing beaches is THE stupidest thing I have ever heard. Activity in the sun, saltwater and the tropical fresh air is the best thing you can do to keep a strong immune system
Oh yes. The “thinning of the herd” argument. I agree with you about the beaches, FWIW. The lives of the healthy. Do you even realise that includes the healthy elderly? Those that sacrificed for YOUR growth? You have rights. You have the right to do as you wish, for the most part. When you endanger someone else with your entitled behaviour, your rights end there.
I would so LOVE to hear your plan for going forward, and would be shocked if it didn’t dictate returning everything to the way it was as soon as possible.
Don’t worry, son. It will be your time before you know it, and you will also wonder where the years went, and value ten years as if it was everything.
Hear is a plan like other BOT….. People over 65 shelter in place….People with risk Shelter in place.
All others social distance best you can. AND go to work.
If you want to hide then hide. If you want to live then live. If you want me to hide then I want you to get it and get over your fear and leave everyone else their own choice..
To make a choice you need to have a choice. You know like real life? I always knew that I could die any day and live accordingly. I also back your right to choose staying inside and hiding from life if that is your choice. You and I both are more endangered just driving on the roads of Cayman by other disrespectful entitled people every day. Do you still choose to drive?
Beaumont, I’d rather hav one year, lived to th fullest than to hav 10 spent hiding under my bed. Cowardice does not beget a life well lived.
With all the news on the race to get a vaccine by early 2021, let us give Alden all the cooperation he needs to keep us all alive by then.
About 20% of common colds are coronavirus’ there has never been a common cold vacccine found, what are the chances of covid-19 vaccine being found with in a year… very very slim chance.
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/common_cold_causes
2.08pm I heard about that amazing fact today. If someone has a cold they can sneeze in my face any time.
Don’t to confuse COVID-19 with other corona virus. This one is unique in many ways and can be deadly to you even if it hardly affects your neighbor.
Only six types of Coronavirus are known to have crossed over into humans. One causes Covid -19, one causes SARS, one causes MERS and the other three cause colds. There will probably never be a vaccine for the common cold, not because some are caused by Coronaviruses, but because there are at least 40 and probably more than 100 different viruses that cause the “common cold” and a vaccine would have to work against all of them simultaneously.
Would you put all your money on a bet there will be one by 2021?
Not a bet I am willing to take given the number of experts warning governments NOT to make your plans around a vaccine.
Need to see a doctor ASAP. I think I have 12 mile bank FEVER😞
Can hardware stores open for delivery or not? Regulations say retail stores can which I presume a hardware shop is but Compass article says they can’t. CNS are you able to clarify please?
CNS: The regulations are pretty clear that they can if they have a delivery service.
Thanks CNS. Shame the Compass can’t read the Regulations then
Why won’t the owners of the hardware stores say something
The y had to know this was coming
They did know it was coming, which is why they already have online shopping up and running. They must have had weeks of warning. So the government IS spoon-feeding the plan to the masses while whispering all of it in the ears of commerce, as usual, and is still not to be trusted and is to be thrown out at the next election.
What a man like a pretty picture. Still no plan in sight
Mr. Premie and Mr. Minister of Health..and all the others responsible the latest COVID-19 regulations.
Do you look beyond the WHO for your guidelines??? Apparently not. Many of us read beyond these closed borders. The New York Times’s editorial of Sunday April 26, “How to Save Summer 2020” urged leaders to use common sense in restricting activities for people in the long weeks ahead. But common sense does not seem an abundant resource in Cayman.
One excerpt:
“Numerous studies have shown that being outdoors or near green spaces can reduce stress, fatigue and aggression and improve attention capacity and cognitive development.
Dr. Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist, said that as local officials weigh the risks of opening up outdoor spaces they should consider the health benefits of access to nature. “Vitamin D matters for respiratory virus resistance,” he said in an interview on Thursday. “Fresh air is in my experience very good for the spirit. And exercise matters for health in general.”
Among other activities this editorial mentioned allowing recreational fishing. The same could apply to our coastline, especially the NON BEACH AREAS our fishermen prefer!
From NYT:
“Fishermen don’t like to sit next to each other anyway,” Mr. Beene, a tackle store owner said. He said that a local policeman recently came out to observe the social distancing at the lake and was pleased to see people fishing 50 feet apart.
Most current state public health guidelines don’t interfere with people’s ability to fish, so long as they wear masks and refrain from sharing equipment. Several states have even waived licensing requirements and fees for anglers.
As for the logic of allowing “essential service of pet grooming and car washing” this decision is completely bewildering. With so much time on our hands during curfew that we can easily do this ourselves, and so little if any extra money, how many people need such services? Or will the Elite use “pet groomers” to obtain the salon services so sorely missed?
Please come to your senses. All of you!
Indeed! I spit my coffee out when I heard pet grooming and car washing. It really does boggle the mind. Bewildered.
shhh, I’ve dressed up like a dog and getting picked up on tuesday for a trim
So go catch the next flight to the US as they are doing so well
Better yet just stay in your house and don’t come out. Most people in the States are living a normal life.
The arguments regarding this virus are still nonsensical:
1. We are keeping you safe by locking you in your home. This is completely false. Maybe we are keeping elderly people over 60 safe by locking up everyone that is younger, but most assuredly there is virtually no risk to people that are under 60. Why not come out and say it directly – “We are going to lock up every man,woman, and child to make sure that the people over 60 are not exposed to the virus”
CNS: It has been established that the elderly and people with an underlying condition, including diabetes and heart condition, are more at risk. However, in places where this has taken hold, many younger and healthy people have also died. At most risk among this group are front-line workers, such as healthcare workers and checkout staff simply because they come into contact with the virus more often. In the UK, see Coronavirus: Remembering 100 NHS and healthcare workers who have died. There is also the issue of the mental health of these people, which many have described as like working in a war zone.
2. “The virus is spread by droplets in the air” and “the virus is transmitted by asymptomatic carriers”. These statements are contradictory. Asymptomatic carriers (which means no symptoms) obviously are not coughing, and so cannot spread the virus.
CNS: I found this very wonderful video to explain this.
3. It is more important to save lives than worry about the economy. The economy, as people are starting to realize, is not some abstract concept – it is the source of food and shelter for everyone. If ten thousand people are out of work, then they will by definition not have enough money to buy food or have shelter, and this will have a strong negative effect on their health. Given that people under 60 have little risk from the virus, the economic devastation into which they are being forced is far more dangerous to their health than the virus.
4.06am – you don’t have to cough to spread the virus. You simply have to breath. I would suggest you listen to Dr John Campbell on YouTube – he does an update on the virus around the world every day. He is excellent at explaining things, is very informative and has a large following around the world.
Is it ok for everyone pick up food from restaurant from.Monday to Saturday ?
Yes you can
I wonder about this too. I left my house on my letter day to pick up food, after being in for weeks, and the interaction I had the police officer was very apprehensive. He pulled me over and spoke to me like a child telling I’m wasting my time by being out on the road and he’s giving me a teachable moment. Then he made me wait for the longest time while he called in to check if my registration was up to date, even though he could have just asked for the documents.
9.18 pm Jamaican police showing us who’s really in charge. Put them in uniform and that’s what you get.
This police wasn’t Jamaican nor Caymanian…..his accent was islander but I couldn’t pick it up.
3.55am Only if you pay for it.
‘just two more weeks’…..heard that garbage too many times at this stage. economy still in free fall and no plan in place from cig.
I’m starting to wonder if Alden believes that the viewing audience has built it magnifying glass in their eyes. If he really wanted to show us that piece of paper he would have presented it in the same manner Dr Lee did with his graphs.
I am generally supportive of the Premier on the measures that have been applied to Cayman. The health services could not possibly have been able to cope with even 50 serious cases of COVID-19 that required ventilator support.
Nevertheless, the premier holding up (on a piece of paper) the various phases to ‘normality’ was very amateurish as I got up out of my chair, advanced closer to the TV, and squinted to try and read it!
Sadly, the continuing presence of the MOH at press briefings is nothing short of embarrassing.
Let the oppression continue
Could the CIG please give us the full and complete details relating to each Phase of the 5 Phase Plan. As citizens we need to know what each Phase will allow us to do in social and business terms. Why aren’t shops opening in Phase 4 – will they open in Phase 3? Will alternate supermarket dates stop in Phase 2 or Phase1? Can I go swimming or boating in Phase 3?
We’re all going to the supermarket and only 40% of us are wearing masks – yet the spread of COVID-19 is still very small indeed. Virtually non-existent.
We cannot base our Exit Strategy on the UK which has massive numbers of COVID-19, still over 5,000 more per day and over 27,000 dead. This means the virus is still rampant in the UK. But here in Cayman we have had only 76 cases total out of 55,000 people – that’s statistically zero!
Please publish the CIG’s comprehensive plan so we know about what goals and objectives must be meet to move on to the next Phase or people will not believe you have a real 5 Phase Plan. The economy is failing all around us we need clear direction otherwise we’ll all go bust waiting to get to your Phase 1 or zero COVID-19 in Cayman!!
They do not have a detailed plan yet.
“the virus is rampant” The virus has no existence separate from us. If it is rampant it is because people are continuing to spread it through behaviours that permit sharing the infection.
No news yet on how long we are going to be shut off from the world?
Logically, that’ll be forever. Alden can *never* reopen the borders without risk of reintroducing the virus. Shouldn’t we have a debate about this? Do we really want to murder the economy for keeps?
Who in the hell gonna fly here and for what and where in the world you gonna fly?
Geez….
Tell us please
People who have invested hundreds of thousands to millions in property. In case you didn’t know, we’ve built an entire industry around such people.
guess they don’t wanna do the 14 day quarantine.
I will fly to Cayman. On my way back from leaving Cayman. You stay hiding under your bed as long as you want. Nobody is going to stop you.
I will fly there as would many I know.
We invested a lot into the place.
Stop hiding your head in the sand! Thats right you can’t even touch your sand your not allowed!
9.34pm The goal is for Cayman Airways to get in the Guinness Book of Records for setting the largest deficit per aircraft, without going bankrupt (courtesy of the C.I.G.).
they are lookingh to break their own record!
If you think opening up the borders is going to save your business you should think again. The few that will come will not be enough to save you do best you figure out what to do now instead of hoping for the best and it never comes and you’ll be scrambling then. I agree we should know the potentially every changing plan just as you should plan for your future without tourists or many of them.
They only consult to cast Him down from His excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Psalm 62:4
Don’t think we need any more sermons thank ya very much. Up to my ears in pulpit outbursts and very little common sense right now.
There is no god. Religion is a concept designed for no other reason than to subjugate the weak and feeble minded. Plain and simple. Put down the ‘good book’ and pick up a real book preferably written by Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens.
Are they dead?
Religion is based on faith, the same way you have put faith in books by atheists. There is no proof God exists and no proof he doesn’t. Enjoy your opinion because that is all it is.
Atheists are some of the most religious people I know. Very steadfast in their faith. I pray for them.
Precisely – which is why all people should just be agnostic, accepting of our human inability to know the truth. You can tell from how people have behaved in response to this pandemic how they would act if a higher power revealed itself. We can never know if one exists. Blissful ignorance, following a personal moral code that shares much with the Ten Commandments, is the way to go.
I am liking the lockdown, I need to eliminate my bills.
It has been great for that. Companies can’t get their grubby hands on my money right now.
Alden want to build roads, for who? Fix the damn dump!
it is to early.
Never too early to fix the DUMP. Maybe too late by 20 years.
So, people can’t take care of themselves? Is that why you disguise it as “safety”?
Clearly, they cannot take care of themselves. How many of us have been watching the daily press conferences and seen the ridiculous amount of questions that are asked over and over at nausium instead of finding the information themselves or the constant whining about this or that. Out on your big boy pants people it’s time to ADULT.
Not quite sure you’re correct about access to strata pools….It wasn’t made crystal clear on the briefing but the regulation below appears to indicate that although pools can be cleaned they cannot be accessed by residents?
6. (1) For the purposes of preventing, controlling and suppressing the spread of the virus, no person shall —
(I) with the exception of persons referred to in regulation 8(2)(p) while carrying out their official or employment related duties, visit or permit entry to any person to a private strata pool
CNS: Yes. Apologies. My bad.
Hi Wendy, could you please ask at the next press conference, “why is it that we can’t drive to exercise?” I live on a busy, narrow road with no shoulders and no sidewalk. I just don’t understand what the problem is. I am one person walking with my dog. The money services opening up garner more activity than one person walking! Just really frustrated! Thanks for your time.
It’s going to be hard to convince anyone that there is a busy residential road anywhere in Cayman during curfew. Walk on the right, facing the oncoming traffic, and everything will be just fine.
Because you would piss Alden off. Bow down now or it will be another 2 weeks, miserable pleb. Know your place.
7:57 pm: we are not allowed to drive to exercise because of those persons who were on the road for other purposes but giving exercise as a reason. As usual, people spoil it for other people.
Those people should have had better excuses, like the rest of us did. Just make sure you’re always somewhere in between your home and somewhere you’re allowed to go, and you’re good. Those were just bad liars who spoiled it for all of us. Doesn’t mean the rest of us weren’t doing the same underlying, prohibited things like taking food to friends or meeting an eCay seller. The ones dumb enough to claim they were exercising when they were dressed for full-on, ‘come to my place’ socialising are responsible for this. Not the good liars who, judging by the test results, haven’t hurt anybody.
Press – MoH what did we get in return for the 5,000 test kits from St Lucia? MOH – Erm, urgh, erm, urgh, erm, urgh, erm, urgh, erm, urgh, erm, urgh something spelt p.i.p.e.t.t.e a word I’ve not heard before.
This is becoming comical.
Becoming?
The beach transmission hoax continues…..
In other news MoH explains pipettes in two languages.
Very funny…….I wonder what his first language is
Looking around the planet, our comparative problems and supreme luxury are honestly not much to complain about. Everyone needs to chill for two weeks and maybe if results hold, we dial it back to defcon three, then two, then hopefully all clear. There are literally just a handful of places at that stage…among them Geenland and Falklands. Steady as she goes.
And what good is that with no airport and boarders closed for years?
Borders
12:59 pm: the good that would do:
we will be healthy and able to conduct business as far as is possible until a vaccine or some effective treatment is found. I believe they will find a medical answer. And soon. Alden has bought us some time to enjoy life until then. Hang in until then.
“The continued closure of the beaches……is bound to make many miserable, especially those without a home pool or strata pool”.
Your observation does not make sense in so far as you refer to strata pools. Strata pools are not currently permitted to be used.
Wrong CNS. Read the regulations
CNS: You’re right. Sorry. I’ve changed that sentence.
How can the government say we can’t use our strata pools? They are privately owned.
I don’t see how the government can allow someone to be in home isolation but they are still legally allowed to walk around the strata common property as its private, and they can’t stop them but then say we can’t use the pools???
Selfish much?
Keeping beaches closed discriminates against the poor.
The Road to Surfdom https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-road-to-surfdom-11588352615
I don’t like getting into any community pool with all the nasties out there during non Covid times.
That’s not correct, unfortunately and irrationally. You can’t use strata pools or strata gyms.
The lock down and “hard curfew” is not rational and is not “science based.” Cayman has greatly limited its cases and that’s great. Bravo. Now let’s get back to work. You can not destroy the economy in the name of public health. The two are not in conflict. Trust people to make good decisions.
And no, beaches do not contribute to the spread of the virus. For the virus to spread you need more than “distance” you also need time in proximity to someone who is infected unless they are sneezing on you. Walking past an infected person outdoors will not cause you to become infected. This is not the measles.
And the science about the virus, fortunately accumulating at a rapid clip, tells us that the virus does very poorly on “fomites” in high temperature high humidity environments. This is a fact.
Government should take a step back, draw a deep breath while standing in the sand looking out to sea, and rethink its entire approach. Declare victory, trust people and open up the economy.
CNS: Apologies for the misinformation. I think it’s all corrected now.