Negative COVID-19 tests spell freedom
(CNS): From 21 June, government will lift many of the restrictions currently imposed on the community, Premier Alden McLaughlin announced Wednesday after news that a batch of 385 tests for COVD-19 were all negative. Since last Friday, just six positive samples from 1,378 processed tests have emerged. And with no clusters or spikes in the coronavirus here since the easing of restrictions began, Grand Cayman can now move to Suppression Level Two on Sunday.
At 4:30am on Sunday morning the hard curfew will be completed lifted, the shelter-in-place order removed and the alphabet name restrictions on the day people can visit supermarkets and other shops will come to an end.
The Curfew Time authority, which has managed the exemptions on movement, will be disbanded and people can go back to visiting friends and family at home. While social distancing protocols will still be in place and people will be required to wear masks, especially indoors, up to 25 people will be able to gather at any given time.
Speaking at the COVID-19 briefing, McLaughlin announced the removal of many prohibitions, from diving to pleasure boating. Salons and dentists will also be able to open and helpers and caregivers can return to work. Summer camps, day care and early learning centres, as well as other education establishments, will also be allowed to begin operating again.
The mandatory closure of offices will be lifted and most businesses will be allowed to open, though they must all practice social distancing. The premier encouraged all employers, especially those in offshore finance, to allow workers to continue working from home where possible to help them maintain the social distancing requirements.
Carnivals, parties, karaoke, dancing and contact sports remain prohibited.
The government is expected to release the full details of the regulations for Suppression Level Two before Sunday. It will include easing of more restrictions from 5 July and even more on 19 July, as Grand Cayman eases its way to Level One.
The premier said he knew that the lifting of the prohibitions would be very welcome and he was delighted to make the announcement. He said it had been made possible because of the cooperation of the wider community, which had largely obeyed the lockdown measures imposed for the last three months. He said he was happy that Cayman had been able to achieve this moment but it had been a long hard few months.
The premier warned that things were not over yet and there were major challenges regarding the virus still to come, as he pointed to the rising cases in Brazil and the United States, as well as the resurgence in China.
“Right now we are still very much in the trenches and this is but one phase,” he said.”I think we have won this round with Mr Covid, but as we look around the world it is quite possible there will be another round, or another round and another.”
McLaughlin said it was not necessarily a time for celebration because the great challenge that looms now for the Cayman Islands is how it can safely open the borders. “We are far from having won the victory,” he warned.
See Wednesday full COVID-19 briefing on CIGTV below, set to start where the premier outlines the removal of restrictions:
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Category: Local News, Politics
So without reading the whole article from Alden (been tricked too many times before) I’m going to assume he means freedom from him…he’s going to retire to another country that he hasn’t destroy. Oink Oink
11. 00am Law office? No surprise there if it is!
1105am don’t waste your time writing any explanation here because there are set pirates and nasty interlopers now on this island that have little or no regard for Cayman or its people. Who have been invited here by our very misguided elite and their political parasites who will no doubt under their corrupt influence and guidance open up our borders shortly too because of their economic desperation expediency now to recover there ill gotten rights and privileges. The bubble they laugh about Cayman living is unfortunately burst financially worldwide putting them and their materialistic utopia at serious risk and definately out of reach for a long time to come now too. Time to spend that sinking dollar???
You should write vampire novels.
No. No. He should stop writing altogether. Too Greed what the hell are you actually talking about and have you ever heard of punctuation? Just be quiet, please.
Why wait until Sunday?? What is the difference with this happening one day earlier?
Wasting time. Needs to hang on to the control of his people as long as possible.
From CNN today – for all those that think herd immunity is the way to go
People who have coronavirus infections but never develop symptoms could have weaker immune responses to the virus, a new study suggests.
The small study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Thursday, found that a group of about three dozen Covid-19 patients who were asymptomatic had levels of antibodies that were significantly lower than what was found among patients who had mild symptoms — a finding that suggests the asymptomatic patients had weaker immune responses.
The researchers, from various institutions in Chongqing, China, also found that the asymptomatic patients had a significantly longer duration of viral shedding — in which they could spread the coronavirus to others — than the symptomatic patients.
The new study included data on 37 Covid-19 patients who were diagnosed before April 10 and developed no symptoms while isolated at a hospital in the Wanzhou District of Chongqing, China. Their health data, taken from blood samples and other tests, were compared with 37 other Covid-19 patients who had mild symptoms.
The data showed that, even though the asymptomatic patients were experiencing no symptoms, they were still shedding the coronavirus — meaning they were infectious — for a median duration of 19 days. That duration of viral shedding was significantly longer than what was found among the patients with mild symptoms, which was 14 days, according to the study.
The data also suggested that certain antibody levels among the asymptomatic patients were significantly lower relative to the symptomatic patients. Antibodies, which are proteins that circulate in your blood to help fight off infections, can hold clues to your body’s immune response.
Among the asymptomatic patients, 81.1% had reductions in their neutralizing antibody levels during the eight weeks after being discharged from the hospital — compared with 62.2% of the symptomatic patients. The researchers found some other differences in the patients’ health data, suggesting that “asymptomatic individuals had a weaker immune response” to the coronavirus.
Anther “new” study that ends up suggesting a possible opinion maybe. What good is it really? I mean other than suggesting that said researchers are “earning their salaries” Good for them. Go back to work and prove something to the end.
CNN=Conformist News Network Bunch of Lying Criminals with big Paycheck.
Again with a sick twisted obsession with CNN.
Wendy; most offices have confirmed today that on Monday “everyone must be back in the office”.
We need a bit more clarity from government on office regulations (are we expected to work the whole day with a mask on?)
Not one office that I am aware of, my office in financial services is not re-opening.
Ok big shot. You know someone in all the financial firms and they are all not opening.
Poster just said one office he was aware of, not the whole sector. Wind your neck in.
Read again “not one office I am aware of”.
Or, who’s going to take care of my young children all day since we don’t employ a nanny!!!
How were you doing it before? Are you now entering the workforce for the first time? Summer camps will be opening up with the next week or so.
My kids are too young for summer camps. Was doing it with daycare before. Why do deadbeat dads or childless men keep chiming in on our requests?
Read (or get someone to read to you) the rules about social distancing in an office.
No they didn’t
With some saying it is not required as it is not considered public space. However , how is an AC system circulating the same air of 100s of untested people for 8+ hours considered less risky than a short period in a supermarket ?
Nobody has said anywhere that “everyone MUST be back in office.”
About time. Reasonable voices have finally been heard. The coronavirus is fake news, nothing worse than the common cold.
We need to throw the borders wide open and allow everyone to exchange nasal secretions with everyone else on a daily basis until herd immunity is achieved. Any casualties would have been casualties anyway and are nothing more than acceptable cost of doing business.
Fake news with all those dead people all over the world? Are you ok hun?
How many people have died in Cayman over the last three months? How many died of Covid-19? The global numbers are still small compared to other illnesses hun.
You are fake news. Propaganda. Proper pain in my rear end more like.
Sorry accidentally thumbs up. You need to chill
Lol 🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, 2.2 million coronavirus cases and 120,000 coronavirus cases in 4 months in America. A real hoax. Suggest you go and spend some time in Floriduh, the next large coronavirus epicenter. You will love it there. Wish you good health.
Hmmm….
SWFL: Nobody I know got C19, pools were never closed, people play tennis everyday, they bike and jog and walk. Pizza place had eating in customers when I stopped by. Hair salons are open. Nearly everyone wears masks at supermarkets. Medical labs and imaging centers are working. Some doctors do telemedicine and those who take patients wear PPE including gloves.
So what are you talking about?
Yes, I do love it here. All is peaceful and orderly.
Too bad it is now not peaceful and orderly in Floriduh. Hospitals are filling up.
Hospitsls in florida are not filling up
Obviously Jake you were educated in Floriduh.
ICU’s reaching full capacity in Florida today. A full scale health disaster about to happen. Believe the doctors not the Governor.
As of today 80% of all ICU beds in Florida are occupied by coronavirus cases. Going up by the day. Watch any of the Miami TV channels if you do not believe me.
Honestly, I was not aware that so many people could not read!
Hmmm… So why are 80% of ICU beds filled in Florida hospitals today?
Maybe your idea of peaceful and orderly.
Just because Cayman is lucky enough to have avoided Covid deaths you should realize that the rest of the world has not been so lucky. This virus is not a hoax. Count yourself lucky that people you know and family members have not been extremely sick or Have passed away these past few months due to Covid.
Trumphole alert!
it is discouraging that anyone who reads would say something like this. I’ll bet you also wet your pants to get your mama’s attention!
You’re delusional and part of the reason why so many died. Apparently no one you loved died. Useless POS.
I hope the Premier is paying attention to Jamaica where new cases are from travelers. He has been sooo cautious to open on island business and schools. Please be double as cautious when opening back the borders. The borders are the greatest threat. Unless all travelers are in mandatory quarantine until 2 negative results at their expense, this will be a huge risk.
Great idea if you don’t need a working economy for you to have a job. As you seem to only be able to think of yourself you must work in civil service right? In which case lets get rid of all expats and don’t let any Caymanians back in until 2025.
Incredibly impractical to quarantine visitors for 2 weeks. The most efficient process is to limit the travellor at the point of origin, not the destination, Cayman. Cayman is extremely limited in its capacity to care for a deluge of sick people, therefore it is reasonable to have a stringent border entry plan in place. Mandating all passengers provide evidence of a negative Covid test within a few days of arrival to Caymen would be effective and reasonable. If a passenger is positive or has not had a negative test, then they should be not allowed on the plane to Cayman. This can be checked before boarding at the present time when passport is being checked. Hopefully our leaders can make this plan happen.
Can we get some clarification as to when we cease being Alden’s “people”. Is that June 22nd, July 5th, July 19th or some other date in the future?
When the election comes. Shut up and vote! I’m sure you’ll probably still complain because that’s what whiners like you do.
You can have 25 people meet at a restaurant but if you bring 1 balloon you will be fined $300/person.
Why do you need a balloon?
You haven’t been to many sex parties, have you?
Because I want to. 🥳🤹🏽🤡🍴
if you have to ask, you’ll never know
Why is the social distancing dropping from 6 ft. To 3 ft during one of the stages? Does the virus stop traveling as far?
Because it’s absolute bullshit that’s why.
Woke yet?
Yes, it is so weak it can only travel 1 meter and only if it was accelerated by sneezing or coughing.
Who cares if you get it and youre only asymptomatic….you wouldn’t even know if we didn’t test.
Yes we are much safer from catching a virus that does not kill as much as just driving on Caymans roads. Great job there. Fear of the virus and no fear of ruining the economy has put Cayman on the road to economic ruin. Soon the private sector led food charities will run out of money at which time CIG will step in and mess that up. Then it starts. The get all the Expats to leave movement fully endorsed by the Government here will wrap up soon after and Caymanians will finally get what they wanted. Have fun with it.
Sadly, and whilst I agree with much of your post. The fact that most of our tourism comes from North America means that even if we had remained open without restrictions, the economy would have been just as devastated.
And as we open back up, it’s going to be interesting to see those businesses who remain greedy and try to rip off those who want to help support them.
If a bar or restaurant doesn’t show respect to those who support them, dump their greedy ass’s and go elsewhere.
The battle against tyranny has been won. #freecayman
What a stupid comment. Plain stupid!
Many other islands including Gibraltar, The Faroe Islands, The Falkland Islands, Aruba, French Polynesia, and Isle of Man stuck with their lockdown and high levels of testing a bit longer and achieved local eradication of the virus. I do not understand why we could not do the same thing and i sincerely hope that this opening while the virus is still spreading in the community will not turn out to be a deadly and very costly mistake in the long term.
Pro-profit bots or idiots at work on the thumbs down buttons. Same IQ either case.
Do you live off of handouts or profits?
Can always tell the people who inherited money.
Because Alden waited too long to shut us down remember? He was still allowing a floating petri dish to offload a passenger as late as the end of February.
We didn’t close up until a month later.
OMG did Gibraltar break away from the mainland…?
Because we are that much smarter than anyone else.( All evidence to the contrary) but still we Caymanians never do what anyone else does no matter how good it works for them. Everyone hopes for the best but decisions should be based on reality………
except here.
I have been to over 15 different venues to collect or purchase food in the past 3 weeks why is it that a certain group of expats, keep showing to many of these food locations without mask??? and are clearly not social distancing either, are they immune to the virus or the law or both?
Couldn’t help yourself could you?
Fake news is the best news to the ignorant.
7.45, are Jamaicans expats ?
Test spells freedom Florida just closed all bars and restaurants keep up Alden see where it ends up?? Spike coming shortly Cayman because some here just don’t get it
Fake news.
And those people will all be asymptomatic mostly too. Not scared, you can wear a hazmat suit if you are.
Yes, you dummy, and hospitalisations are increasing because the people are asymptomatic, right?
Hospitalisations are increasing – you mean the single case we have had in 2 months? Increasing against what base measure? Think the max we had at any point was 4. You comparing against the previous weeks of zero to say 1 is an increase? What about this week with zero then? Or is your theory that because hospitalisations are increasing in a different country with different shut down rules and open borders and a history of completely different severity of cases that the same applies here whilst our borders are shut? Careful before you call someone a dummy and then demonstrate a complete lack of any grasp of reality.
Florida has now become the epicenter of the coronavirus in the U.S. However, will end up being much worse there in next few months. 33% of the population is over 65 years old.
Idiot Trump Governor is still in total denial and thinks doctors at the Centre For Disease Control are fools just like his hero Trump.
There is a reason they call the state Floriduh.
The Florida governor is certainly not a stupid guy. The guy earned his undergraduate degree from Yale and a Law degree from Harvard. Absolutely more impressive than the crackerjack box degrees held by the majority on this island including the jackasses that run firms here. Unfortunately, Ron De Santa is a Trump nob licker. It’ll be his downfall.
*Ron DeSantis
Floriduh is running to the Kool Aid with Governor DeSantis the new Jim Jones. So much for an Ivy League edumacation..
Just because you go to Ivy League schools does not mean one is bright. Similar to Senator Cruz of Texas, and also an Ivy League grad, DeSantis does not accept basic medical science and science related to climate change. They both have serious gaps in their education.
Did you go to an Ivy League school? It’s not that they don’t accept medical science… it’s that it goes against their agenda. Clearly you don’t have an Ivy League education and I’m sure you would never have been accepted. It’s always the jealous ones who knock it.
Believe me the Ivy schools are highly over rated. One third of the people there are legacy students or have parents who made huge donations.
Donald Trump went to an Ivy League school as a mediocre student in high school, while Jared Kushner’s father made a 2 million dollar contribution when his son was in Grade 11 at a New Jersey High School. I happen to know through personal acquaintances that Jared had a C plus average in Grade 12. However, money talks at Ivy Schools. Legacy is so important too.
I know I went to an Ivy. In my view best thing about an Ivy is the network you make while there. So valuable if you want to go into politics.
Still better than Cayman college or Cayman Medical school where professors with MD to their names have not practiced medicine for even one single day. I watched on YouTube they teach by Power Point presentations. Power Point is killing education. Facts travel from the teacher, to the PowerPoint slide, to the students’ notes with little or no opportunity for discussion.
That’s not saying much.
If you don’t/won’t apply the logic vetted by the scientist, and advised by the Medical Practitioners. The relevance of your attendance to an Ivy League University is net zero.
DeSantis does his best to keep up with his stable genius hero In Washington. Anti science and anti medicine. Climate change is a Chinese hoax.
They love him in Floriduh which says a lot about the people in Floriduh.
For an individual who is not a stupid guy DeSantis is certainly anti-science.
His views on science border on the bizarre for someone who is “impressive”.
Wonder how many “jackasses” here are as anti-science as DeSantis?
I would argue the Governor is a stupid guy. All the top medical officials in Florida are saying if nothing is done Florida is going to have a full fledged health disaster in July similar to NYC in March and April.
I cannot believe all the senior medical officials are incorrect. But DeSantis is playing politics to please his man, Trump. Thousands will die unnecessarily.
SAD.
Ahhhhhh. Thousands will die.
But of what?
Please understand people will die as is we all are due that fate one day. But this is killing people by depression, suicide, hate crimes… look at the police. People have lost it. Is that a side effect of covid19?
When was the last time you were in Florida? Do you even know anyone who lives there now? Any Caymanian voter can talk down any other countries leadership but the only ones who care what you think work civil service.
Florida is a retirement state. Lots of senior citizens. So if there are large numbers of cases it would make sense and is to be expected.
Not True!
For what?
What is upsetting, liquor stores and bars are more ESSENTIAL than churches. So much for Cayman being a Christian nation. After all God has blessed us and protect us from worse disasters, our leaders would open bars and clubs before churches ???
It just shows to me if you are a Jesus-believer, they could care less. Money matters more to them than the gospel. Sad and scary.
Regulate the churches or suck it up. You decide.
you can no space out much in churches where as in restaurants and bars they are open spaces outdoor patios or so forth.
people in churches like to be all jammed up together.
I’m pretty sure that they bend over backwards for you Jesus freaks. Hence why equal rights are not a thing in Cayman.
Sigh. Churches pack large numbers of people in, close together where there is singing (proven to transfer droplets), physical contact (hand shaking, hugging) and this goes on for an hour or so (again, duration of time is important for transfer). Also potentially poor ventilation. Going to a liquor store where you spend maybe a max of 10 minutes, there are only a couple other customers and there is no physical contact between individuals has a much lower risk of transferring the virus.
This is not about what is considered more moral but what is considered more dangerous in terms of spread. If you still don’t understand that then I have little hope that this comment will get through.
Excellent reply. I hope the people you are responding to are open-minded enough to understand this simple explanation!
Found the covidiot that hasn’t been paying attention to how this spreads…
Check out the other comment that explains it for you perfectly @ 9:39AM
Sorry but you sky-wizard people are a declining constituency. You’re going the way of the dinosaurs (that you don’t believe were real).
All a politician needs to do here to get your vote is make a homophobic hate speech every now and then, no need to do more.
But let’s give thanks that God spared you from even worse things.
Your an idiot. But I agree it would be in the best interest of the island if Churches here are open to anyone.
6.24 only a few churches allow you to have a quick sip of cheap wine on a Sunday, and you have to stand in line for that.
Liquor stores don’t have those constraints, hence their popularity.
Just wondering if the people who were calling in to the flu clinic with Covid 19 symptoms were actually tested instead of being told to stay home to isolate – if the numbers might have been higher for the positives?
They could be tested through the drive through system or maybe even at their own place as i know the reason was given that it was to protect the community which I totally agree with.
Let’s please not confuse relaxation of curfew rules with an abandonment of civil responsibility and personal health precautions.
Sorry – that has already happened.
You mean free will?
Hope they keep testing and testing for months just to keep monitoring that re-opening doesn’t cause a surge.
Huh? And 16 people are un agreeance. Okay. Perhaps you should all go live in a cave in little cayman. Forever. Just to be safe.
Thank you baby Horus!!!
Too early. Watch and see.
FREEEEDDDOOOOMMMMM!!!!! Alba Gu Brath!!! Doon wae the morris-dancers!
Aye Laddie.
Funny how the whining sweaty socks always scream freedom, yet don’t like living in the land of their forefathers.
If all you can refer to is a fake history movie made by an anti-Semitic and racist drunk, then your call for freedom stands for nothing.
Oh awa an dinnae fash yersel!
Omg the salons and barber shops are going to be swamped! Not sure how one cuts hair when the customer wears a mask lol.
As they should be – they’ll get SOME of the business they lost. Probably a third or less given there were no events for people to get their hair/nails etc. done for, in addition to the closure itself, men will have missed anywhere from 1-3 cuts depending on their hairstyles and now they only need 1, etc.
They going to hike up the prices to make it all back… just watch
In the States companies have added a Covid safety tax to make up for the loss…..so ridiculous. We all lost money.
In Belgium they use sellotape and stick it to the face
Freedom has long since ceased to exist in the Cayman Islands.
The only freedon left is in Jesus.
Lord Jesus please accept me, imperfect as I am.
I’m not sure this Jesus of yours uses the internet.
If this is what works for you then go for it and all the best to you. As for the rest of us we never lost our freedom to live our lives our way. We choose to follow the rules that kept us all safe and we are. Only the ignorant follow only themselves and they are paying for it.
Please go to Jesus immediately and leave us in peace.
Three virtual cheers for our premier!
Ummmmm
At least you didn’t whine for a change.
And I was hoping you’d stop replying, but guess we don’t all get what we want.
Ugh…
#alllivesmatter