Airport begins COVID-19 testing trial
(CNS): With the arrival of the first fortnightly British Airways service between London and the Cayman Islands on Thursday, government has begun the trial run of its new protocol system with around two dozen people. The passengers selected for home isolation with a geofencing device will be tested at the airport, taken to their home on official transportation and isolated for two weeks under public health supervision.
The test run on passengers from the UK comes after Cayman passed another full week with no new cases of COVID-19, while cases in England have jumped by 167%. On Thursday Dr John Lee reported on 133 COVID-19 tests that were carried out over the last day and all of them were negative. Cayman has just three lingering cases of the virus in asymptomatic patients in isolation. Prior to the arrival of today’s BA flight there were 180 people in quarantine. All of the new passengers not taking part in the trial will go into the government facility.
Government has published a new Q&A page on its website, setting out the details of this week’s trial and how it will be rolled out next month when Cayman begins the first phase of its gradual border reopening programme.
The programme depends heavily on monitoring technology which will see passengers wear an iMSafe wristband, which communicates via Bluetooth to a custom mobile app on a smart phone and creates a virtual perimeter around the quarantine location. If the wearer leaves the location or tampers with the device, an alert will be sent to the monitoring team.
Isolating households will be required to get food and groceries via contactless payment and delivery left outside the door. Those in isolation cannot have contact with anyone during the 14-day period of quarantine.
No one in home-isolation is permitted to have any visitors, whether friends or family, not even if they have offered to drop off supplies. The households will be subject to random checks and anyone found to be in breach of this condition may be required to complete the remainder of their isolation in a government isolation facility and could be subject to penalties, which include a fine and imprisonment, officials have said.
Category: Health, Health Insurance
I can’t find the iMSafe app on the Cayman App Store….
There are proverbs that describe current situation with COVID19 is Cayman.
“Make a fool pray to God, he will crash his forehead”.
or
“Give a man enough rope and he’ll hang himself”
…the most mind numbingly idiotic mission in human history
Many of the expat haters on Brac have got their wish for all foreigners to stay in their own country. Same people just got to call Mo$e$ Trump or the Queen of Watering Place Juju to give them government handouts.
Damn expats buying land, building houses, renting cars, hiring people to clean yard/do repairs, buying groceries and paying electric – unna think we can not survive without you?
That is the anti-expat/foreigner sentiment among many in the community.
May you all continue to spend your pension money, skip your mortgage payments and live in lala land.
The problem is that the Labour building the houses, renting the cars, and clearing the yards are overwhelmingly expats themselves. Caymanians (other than a couple of oligarchs) are (at best) minor participants in economic activity.
I still find it quite surprising to hear fellow Caymanians with such disdain for expats. It is misdirected, Caymanians should look with disfavour on their government not the expats. The government has created the “issue” with the expats. The government is who sold the island to Dart, they permitted the commercial overgrowth on smb, they permitted the increase in building height on smb, they permitted the airlines to land thousands of passengers a day, they have allowed Health City to come in and begin establishing a two tiered health system. What the government hasn’t done is to protect Caymanian employment, encourage diversification, establish a functional public transport system, or deal with trash pickup and mount trashmore.
So although it is easy to blame the expats, it had really been our government who has failed us.
I do not disagree, but unless Caymanians perceive real benefit from what is happening the consequences are obvious. This is not an issue of who is at fault, but the natural reaction of an increasingly marginalized and irrelevant people, in their own country.
You have proved my point, you are resisting holding those accountable for selling Caymanians out, our beloved government.
Yes, but why is that? Could it be that Caymanians don’t want to work in the trades? Don’t want to labor in the yards? Caymanians certainly could, given their position in the hiring hierarchy. Hiring locals would be faster, easier and no work payments to pay for. Again, ask why the above is true.
There are no regulations on the nnEMF emitting wearable devices in the Cayman Islands.
Nothing on FDA site about this geotracking device. However they do have on bio-buttons, which is also nnEMF emitting wearable device and it says: not intended for anyone under 21. Not much else, since they didn’t really tested it and approval was automatic based on some 1979 technology, but at least they had to say that out of precaution.
Are people under 21 who arrive to Cayman also must wear a geotracking band?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), representing 60,000 pediatricians, in December 2012 urged Congress to protect children from the dangers of wi-fi. “It is essential that any new standards for cell phones or other wireless devices be based on protecting the youngest and most vulnerable populations to ensure they are safeguarded through their lifetimes.” The full letter is published here:
http://www.electrosmogprevention.org/cell-phone-safety-campaign/american-academy-of-pediatrics-supports-rf-protection/
What if you don’t have a cell phone? Or a cell phone that purely does what it says on the tin i.e is only for phone calls (no app capability) like my Dad!!
How are Sweden doing,,,,,,,,they did not lock down,,,,,,economy is OK . So which experts got it right? They all change their minds so many times it hard to keep up. Sweden for those who haven’t checked has one of the lowest infection / mortality rates for Covid-19 in Europe!
Back again with the bogus Sweden libertarian case study circa March. Their own health officials have subsequently walked-back earlier confidence in their stay-open decision. They absolutely did not have lower mortality than their Scandinavian neighbours.
They do now!
That isn’t accurate. What they said was they should have protected seniors and those with underlying health conditions earlier in the process.
For the general population that wasn’t locked down their numbers are better than countries that did lock down.
The Second wave is here UK and most countries now in Lock down Why are we trying to defy the obvious situation Cayman stop listening to this hocus pocus plan which is obviously going to fail LOCK this Place Caymanians stop listening to idiotic foolishness Please where your MasK.
the casedemic is here, but it is not pandemic or second wave. They were counting people who died in the “first wave”, now they count “positive” cases, 90% of which have fragments of the virus that is harmless to anyone.
UK is have 2nd wave, it’s one of the worst country along with U S A for the c-virus. So why is Cayman opening up to U k, crazy real crazy.
MOST countries are NOT locked down. Jeeze.
Keep calm and carry on
Because they have given up exterminating the virus from their communities. For them it is impossible. For us not only is it possible, we have achieved it!
WOW how proud you must be…I guess you have a job!
This is a IDLH situation. Immediate danger to Life and Health.
More irrational fear and hysteria. Please look up the actual morbidity and mortality of covid. It is not 100%! Please stop perpetuating the believe that everyone will die, it is simply not true. Look at Cayman’s own stats, over 200 positive without death or severe morbidity. Testing within 3 days of arrival, isolation for 10 days and repeat testing will result in reasonable detection of a potentially positive case. Anything more than this is an unreasonable burden without a significant increase in safety.
$1,000 dollar fine for breaching self isolation. May as well have made it 30 pieces of silver. Is that all our safety is worth?
There is opportunity for a reality tv series here:
[in geordie accent] “Banged up in Bodden Town, day 13”
This made me laugh!
If the wristband relies on a cellphone, what happens when the phone runs out of battery/loses signal/gets dropped down the toilet/eaten by dog/[insert a.n. other specious excuse here]?
Put it in a bag of rice.
You get a visit from the COVID Police. No signal is the same signal as ‘left the phone home and went clubbing’, so the response should be immediate.
There’s the question: It Should be an immediate response, but will it? Will there be people dedicated to monitoring the data 24/7?
Good question. Did anyone think this through???
With Flow’s unreliable internet service and many relying on WiFi instead of unlimited data expenses… or credits on prepay phones…in the Eastern Districts, this will be a Keystone Cops routine before long.
We live in a world where it’s less frowned upon if you fart in a crowded elevator than if you sneeze. And certainly less scary, apart from for the underpants after a curry.
Some used to cough to cover a fart. Now we fart to cover a cough. Same judgement, different cause.
Me? I have always avoided elevators. Also, much of curry is suspect, unless prepared yourself. Love that fenugreek.
Seriously? Good luck with that. 1950s Cayman, here we come.
Alden has only spent $100,000,000.00 so far. By May that’s another $100,000,000.00. Sound familiar?
Are the people wearing the geofence device confined to their house or are they allowed outside in their yard? What about people in a strata? It would be nice to have some clarification.
And what about beaches?
What part of their house do you not get?
Their yard may include a beach that the public is also entitled to use…
I know someone planning a holiday to the UK that believes they will be able to use their private yard when they return and quarantine. To each their own I guess but I do see a lot of residences that sort of share a yard or balcony, or are not actually separated by a fence, and wondered what the actual regulation was.
just get a life
i think they can’t go outside, maybe a yard/patio? But not for a walk around the strata ground
Obviously, no common yard access while in quarantine. No strata walking, no use of common stairwells, handrails or tennis courts, and no pet walking. You (and everyone else in your household) are confined inside for 2 weeks and then need to pass a retest. It would be nice if dunces would read the guidance before asking for clarification.
It may prove very difficult to attract visitors here under the current new system, whether that be non-residents who wish to reside for a longer term here in their homes , Global citizens as proposed to stay under the new scheme . Tourists definitely not. Essentially, you are jailed for 14 days in your own home. A barometer to go by is some folks I know own 2 homes here in Cayman & discussing yesterday they would only envision returning (for a long term stay)if the home quarantine was a maximum of 5 to 7 days , with adequate testing on both ends to show negative for infection. Government declares they expect ‘ 800 visitors in October ‘. The reality is that unless Government comes up with a workable plan , that people will just go someplace else.
We’ll have to suck it up for another 6-9mo. In the meantime, If you look on the bright side, the island will be able to strongly market itself to those long term stayovers who want to enjoy life in a safe place. There are plenty of retirees who will deal with home isolation and hen stay for a month or more beyond that.
it will still be around in 6-9 mos.
You wish! LOL
😮😲
Take care of the Dump first.
Not two weeks worth, we won’t!
BA flights fully booked for Oct though.
A pretest before. A pretest at landing. Tourists stay at hotel and wear masks except while eating, pool and beach. Masks worn at airport and transportation. Social distancing at hotel. Excursions can be planned thru hotel only ( ie diving , etc) only to start with sanitized individual companies ( a bubble company lol).
If it makes GC feel better, another test on every 4 th day.
“..iMSafe wristband, which communicates via Bluetooth to a custom mobile app on a smart phone”
CNS, the link you provide is for a different Imsafe device wich requires “…no app download or user initiated bluetooth pairing”
CNS: Sorry, you’re right. I’ll see if I can find the right link. If anyone finds one, it would be greatly appreciated.
CIG should know. I am very good at researching but couldn’t find it anywhere including FDA site (since it is a radio frequency transmitted device that must be regulated).
If it’s not for use in USA no FDA needed.
Hahaha. What percentage of the persons we quarantine and monitor have tested positive twice? The answer hovers around zero. Given that fact, (unless someone can truthfully prove otherwise – and now would not be the time to reclaim the Italian’s death as ours) where should we start with policy making? Here’s a clue, no one is ill …
Could be this one
https://www.telink-semi.com/combating-coronavirus-ble-technology/
“Designed by WiSilica using Telink’s SoC solutions for BLE, the TRACEsafe iMSafe electronic wristband delivers continuous location management capabilities. When activated, the electronic wristband pairs with smartphones via the BLE protocol, enabling users and administrators to manage locations and regular check-ins through easy-to-use dashboards”.
But finding info about the actual device seems impossible. May other have better luck.
Here it is
https://www.medicircle.in/unique-covid-safety-wristbands-launched-spykke-innovations
Don’t think it is FDA approved.
” …no app download or user initiated bluetooth pairing required”
TraceSafe Debuts Wireless LTE Quarantine Gateway Technology https://apnews.com/0ba0e5e2f57fd042fab63f4a79f72eb4
Wearable technology are small devices using advanced technology that are designed to be worn in clothing or directly against the body.
RF transmitters in wearable technology expose the user to some level of RF radiation. RF radiation is a form of non-ionizing radiation made up of radiowaves.
To be sold in the U.S., equipment that transmits RF radiation must meet exposure limits set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). These limits are designed to reduce exposure to RF radiation.
Russia, China, and many European countries have limits well below those of the U.S., and are focused more on the dose of EMF over extended exposure periods, instead of the immediate thermal impacts that the Western nations base their limits on.
Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium have created exposure standards “specifically intended to minimise (sic) the yet unknown risks” of Radio Frequency (RF) and lower-frequency electromagnetic fields. These countries are trying to do their due diligence to make sure their citizens aren’t guinea pigs as the real-life wireless technology experiment is carried out.
Instead of reacting, these countries are predicting based on current evidence that chronic, long-term exposure to wireless radiation might have more adverse health effects than current short-term research is showing.
The current SAR exposure limits for RF mobile device exposure in the
U.S. (FCC guideline 1996❗️) no more than 1.6 watts per kilogram (energy) can be absorbed by any 1 gram of tissue.
In 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised the FCC that its guidelines “do not account for the unique vulnerability and use patterns specific to pregnant women and children.” Still, the FCC has declined to update its standards, and many new phones have tested above the standard with independent lab tests.
🇺🇸The U.S. also has some of the highest Power Density limits for EMF exposures, showing it is not concerned with the precautionary principle.
Belgium has some of the strictest radiation regulations.
Its capital, Brussels, mandates only 6 volts per meter (Electric Field Limit) for public RF exposure, which is 50 times stricter than international standards.
Italy is another country with stricter regulations than ICNIRP mandates.
🇬🇧The U.K. complies fully with the 1998 ICNIRP guidelines for public exposure, but lack specific standards, and it has not updated its legislation to reflect the new Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) EMF guidelines adopted by ICNIRP in 2010.
Scientists believe the current EMF guidelines are inadequate.
Emissions aren’t the only factor that’s at stake when it comes to breaking down the impact of this sort of radiation. The specific absorption rate (SAR) — or the amount of radiofrequency the human body absorbs from a device — also helps to determine how much radiation actually seeps into our bodies.
While Bluetooth emit lower levels of radiation compared to a cell phone, their placement is a big concern to some health experts.
to all who downvoted this comment: you’re fools who don’t know what is killing you. At least when you’re choking on a cheeseburger you know that.
nnEMF is particularly insidious because it’s naturally invisible to the sheeple.
you should be demanding that the manufacturers are educated about the newest research and regulations; that the related safety regulations up to date; that the general public informed of the latest information on the commercial wearable devices…
but what I am talking about? 90% of you have no slightest idea, including Cayman “regulators”.
Cayman still 50 years behind when it comes to regulations protecting people’s health. Not even incinerator emissions are regulated, let alone EMF exposure. I bet your EPA or whatever doesn’t even know what SAR exposure is let alone its limits.
Try to ignore the downvoters on posts that require research, intellect and an open mind.
There are many of us who are not mindless sheep and appreciate you sharing your info. We are used to being called conspiracy theorists. And we are seeing the conspiracies unfold even if the sheep dont see anything until its staring them in the face.
I know that 90% have no slightest idea what I’am writing about.
Conspiracy theories are used to shut-down a conversation when evidence is available to question the status-quo.
A conspiracy theory… once a subject has been labeled as conspiracy-theory, it forces the masses take sides because they are faced with only two choices:
1. Be part of the perceived-looney-crowd
2. Be part of the perceived-rational-crowd
how about either party being able to confirm the source of their facts and having anyone care….
Are you allowed to have your family dog in quarantine ? Do they geofence your property to the street if a house or only the perimeter of the house ?
What about people in a strata – can they walk their dogs around the property?
What about personal trainers?
No
No pet walking unless it’s in a private yard. All arriving international passengers should understand that they may be carrying the virus despite having recorded a negative test snapshot 3 days earlier and conduct themselves accordingly. I wouldn’t want my dog to get coronavirus any more than anyone else. Glad to quarantine to make sure Cayman stays open!
The plan is for a second lock down, always has been.
Wherever you are on the planet is where you will remain unless you are very well-connected.
Reading the UK newspapers is pretty bleak. Things are changing almost by the hour. They are days away from a second national lockdown.
We are being swept along by a relentless, aggressive, nefarious force which will not stop until we are all rounded up and tagged somehow, like sheep or cattle to the slaughter.
This stop start, stop start is creating huge social instability.
No one takes responsibility, government is too afraid to stand up to the fearmongers and although you see scary pictures of viruses in the press, the truth is that it has not even been isolated as yet.
So the clueless government say, we are not doctors and the clueless scientists say all the evidence points to blah blah blah.
No one gets a straight answer and society as we knew it is slowly disappearing.
Can you imagine police beating women with batons for not wearing masks properly? Similar violence is happening all around the civilised world.
The demarcation line between the gentle sheep and the violent goats is now clearly manifest.
If anyone thinks that the governments of the world actually care about us, I am sorry, but you cannot be helped.
Who’s the fear monger ? Take a look in the mirror.
Fear mongers voice their fears of unsubstantiated information. Like the virus is going to kill 800 of us if we don’t do something. Stating another lockdown is coming, for a virus, no worse than other seasonal viruses, is unfortunately what is going to come.
Jesu…don’t do drugs, stay in skool kids.
What school? The lowering of quality time in schools is the biggest loss of this virus.
We are in a very fluid part of history. I’ve studied the 1917-21 Spanish Flu; while it was likely a very different virus, the societal/tribal/cultural repercussions seem like we didn’t learn much from that time.
We can’t control some of the events which affect us. We can influence the repercussions of them. We can only control ourselves, and even that with focus and intent.
Caymanian heritage is (imo) a study of adaptability. That which cannot be changed must be endured, and being adaptable involves preparing for anticipated possibilities.
Don’t give up. You sound almost …. hopeless. I won’t be herded anywhere, and neither should you. We apparently have some growing changes ahead of us, as with everywhere else. Just hold on. We’ll get through this. That’s one of the beautiful things about these wee islands: We’re just so small that we can still find time to give a crap about each other.
People, understand that your government is doing the very best. They could have allowed it to get out of hand like what the bunker boy is doing, so please do yourselves a favour and follow the rules.
Do you believe government is actually going to fully monitor and enforce the rules?
Still waiting for an understanding of how minister’s wives do not get the rules enforced against them even when there is photographic evidence.
Amen!
Challenge for you. Politicians decide the lockdowns. They say it’s a incredibly deadly virus. Name one sitting politician, world wide, who’s died from the virus?
Challenge accepted:
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/politicians-have-died-of-covid-19/
And that’s just the USA. Go ask Herman Cain if the virus is a hoax? His answer will be pretty muffled from inside his box.
The USA lost about 400000 in the Second World War and that was over 4 years of combat, 9 months of Covid and they are half way to the same losses.
I guess it all comes down to where you get your news and how many deaths are acceptable to your leader.
Senate? House of Representatives? Don’t compare healthy young men dying in battle to a old and ill persons. Businessman Cain was a cancer survivor.
They have had 6 months to prepare and we still have inadequate quarantine facilities. Investors and residents prepared to endure and pay for quarantine are being turned away.
To be fair, they didn’t had six months. They were quite occupied with building field hospitals, releasing prisoners, setting up road blocks, doing military exercises and flying helicopters around.
Test #1 – opening schools. So far no sign of covid from that suggesting the island is “sanitary” internally
Test #2 – this procedure. This if it all goes well it will maintain the status quo, if not it will soon show in the community.
Problem/Question – What are Government’s contact-tracing protocols if covid resurges because of this?
Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say three lingering cases, but one one is ill?
This is covid nightmare waiting to happen. I want to see how many of these people are not going to mingle with their family and friends.
I understand there are some new work permit holders in this bunch. What if they decide they don’t want to be here and decide to go outside there apartment or condo and infect people on the property?
No one is supposed to know who these people are and this is the one time I really believe we should know.
Calm down!
The only way you won’t get Covid is to die of something else. You are the type of person who would kill everyone to protect yourself. I would take my chances with Covid before listening to scared people like you.
Let’s role the dice and see what happens.
So much for a maximum of 25 test households. This is increasingly looking like a farce. There are already pictures of passengers pushing their own luggage carts around outside the airport (bare handed). Are we really to believe the carts are to be disinfected before anyone else touches them? Who is liable if this charade causes the reintroduction of Covid, another lockdown, and the destruction of the wider economy?
It’s inevitable so let’s just calm down
It is inevitable only because we are permitting it. Quarantine works and properly managed, is safe. This is already looking like a shit-show.
Do your realize that you are still going to die someday just like everyone else? Do you realize that the world would be a better place for everyone else when you are gone?
I very much doubt that and am very proud of my substantial and continuing contributions.
Consider a large portion of the food in the grocery stores has been handled by those hacking, sneezing, disease riddled folks in Miami. You know, where the virus is raging out of control.
It’s not on boxes anymore. Bezos quickly put a stop to that rumor.
Just to add a little sanity to your apocalyptic scenario, lets say 1 in every 100 is infected, which is much higher than the current 1 in every 15,000 from the countries they are travelling, but you would need that infected person to be pushing a cart, you would need them to deposit enough virus on that cart (somehow), then you need that cart to have been missed from the cleaning, or glove wearing staff, you would then need the virus to survive long enough to be picked up, that person to touch their un-masked face, become sick and kill everyone, or something like that.
In other words, a failure to follow simple protocols risks the welfare of us all.
Whatever you do, don’t go to Vegas.