CMO reports on just 63 COVID-19 tests

| 29/09/2020 | 22 Comments
Cayman News Service
HSA COVID-19 Testing Clinic

(CNS): Only 63 COVID-19 tests were carried out over the last day following the latest positive result in a returning traveller currently in government quarantine. However, all 63 of today’s test results were negative, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee has reported. But with over 300 people still in quarantine or home isolation, Cayman may see more positive cases emerging over the coming weeks, especially given the planned reopening of the borders later this week.

As the virus still rages around the world and the US and Europe face a surge in numbers with the cooler weather, the future for Cayman’s tourism product remains bleak, even with the expectation of a vaccine some time next year.

Research has revealed a growing number of people around the world who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated when this becomes an option. In addition, there is increasing concern that any vaccine that is developed may not be effective for obese people, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 in the first place. Therefore, a vaccine, if one is developed, is very unlikely to be an all encompassing solution to this health crisis.

COVID-19 has now killed more than one million people around the world, which most public health experts believe is a significant under-count as a result of poor testing and reporting as well as probable concealment by some governments.

The coronavirus has infected over 33 million people, and while the vast majority survive, there are still lingering and not yet fully understood health implications for some.

While some still believe the world is overreacting because people die of many diseases all the time, this virus has in a very limited time had an impact that rivals some of the gravest threats to public health, past and present. It has exceeded annual deaths from AIDS, has killed double the number of people who die from malaria every year and is close to the 1.5 million global deaths each year from tuberculosis, which kills more people than any other infectious disease.

Here in Cayman, some people continue to call for the borders to reopen without the strict quarantine measures and for government to balance the risk of exposure with the need to restart the tourism product.

But marking the grim milestone of one million deaths on Tuesday, Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said people must not forget that this pandemic is still accelerating and shows no signs of slowing down. The World Health Organization has also warned that the pandemic still needs major control interventions amid rising cases, even as many countries are resuming normal life.


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  1. Anonymous says:

    I would urge people to look at what Bermuda is doing. It has reopened its borders to visitors with sensible pre travel and at arrival testing and quarantine requirements. It has not seen a spike in positive Covid cases and community transmission is low to zero. They now have daily flights coming in from the USA and UK and are able to control the incidents of Covid 19 through the large scale testing they are doing. On 28th September they reported 1232 tests with none positive and have conducted nearly 65,000 tests to date. Bermuda doesn’t require expensive GPS monitoring of arrivals and has moved quickly to bring in pragmatic procedures for arriving residents and visitors. The gotobermuda web site now lists many hotels which are open and ready for business.
    The government of Bermuda has continued to show a flexible approach to handling the pandemic, balancing public health needs with the legitimate economic needs of any society. They will continue to be flexible in their approach, even if this means changing or toughening the current restrictions.
    The Cayman government’s approach continues to be too rigid and their response time way too slow in nearly every area. If we continue at this snails pace then economic reality will take over and tourism will regress by at least 5 to 10 years. As an example the Global Citizen program is dead in the water and unlikely to yield positive results unless there is a rapid change in government direction and speed.
    Our government has been at pains to “save” everyone from Covid and the result will be large scale destruction of people’s livelihoods and businesses that support tourism. You cannot cut off a whole economic sector from operating for 9 to 12 months and expect it to survive. Many Cayman businesses are struggling right now and are on life support financially. It won’t take much for many of them to tip over the edge into closure.
    The government should have introduced 14 day home isolation for returning residents in August. There was nothing stopping it doing so apart from political will and operational dithering.
    The government should have opened our borders on September 1st to people owning properties with pre arrival testing, arrival testing and then testing at the end of 10 days.
    These actions would have allowed us to understand whether we could begin to open up to visitors who wish to come and self isolate for less than 14 days but with multiple testing at different times.
    At the moment we are a beginning to look like a joke. Hope is not a strategy and we are hoping the virus will go away. It won’t! We are hoping that a vaccine will be the magic bullet. It won’t! (It will help but it won’t make everyone safe). And in amongst all this the world is just getting on without us.
    The Cayman government needs to step up its game and move with purpose to restore the international links which are our lifeline. If they do not then it won’t just be the tourism sector that suffers. Financial services and other areas will begin to slow as Cayman cuts itself off from the world.

    • Another month of lockdown says:

      I believe the CIG looked like a joke months ago. Now they just look insane. Here is an excellent site to view all the islands that are open.

      https://www.caribjournal.com/

      The list is long and it is sad that all the Cayman tourists will be spending their dollars in other places while the CI hides under a rock.

      I have to wonder if there isn’t something else driving the CIG’s decision making process. Something unrelated to the CV virus, like retaliation to a group of developers, resort owners, or operators. Nothing else makes any sense anymore. Wish someone could find out, but too many feel comfortable with the CIG turning the screws on an entire industry.

    • Dlf S says:

      2:15 a.m. – You are 100% correct in everything you said. It is frightening to consider how many businesses will tip over the edge into closure. Even with the line of credit CIG has secured the government can not indefinitely support all of the individuals and businesses dependent on tourism.

  2. dlf says:

    In my opinion, the “phased reopening” is somewhat of a joke, the border isn’t really opening unless you are a resident, Camanian or an extremly wealthy propery owner that can afford to be away from home for an extended period of time. CIG needs to make a decision regarding the future of tourism. If they intend to keep the borders closed until there is a vaccine or a proven treatment for Covid then say so. If that is the case then the Cayman Islands need to be prepared to exist as a bubble for a LONG time. Regardless of what the decision is there needs to be a decision made and the public needs to know what to expect for the future. The idea that we will “wait and see” what happens with this so called soft reopening is not helpful. Business need to know WHEN and IF the government has any intention of bringing tourism back. A business plan can not be made based on the “wait and see what happens” approach. Make a decision CIG and make it public, stop beating aroudn the bush.

    The Cayman Islands are indeed beautiful and magical; however, it is my opinion that if we keep people away long enough they will not return. I’m sure some will say it’s fine if people don’t return, some want things to go back to the old days but the old days were not necessarily the “good old days.” Without a realistic plan to bring tourism back, I’m afraid these islands will suffer greatly.

    • Anonymous says:

      Wearable tracking devices emit radiation. Putting geo tracking wristbands on children as young as 5 years old to wear 24×7 in the absence of any nnEMF safety regulations is a crime.

      Besides the peak RF exposure from Bluetooth devices, which is what the SAR measures, parents need to be concerned about the cumulative RF exposure,

    • Anonymous says:

      business plan? forget it… this is somethings this gov never presented and never will

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes CIG talk to your people and make a plan!

    • Anonymous says:

      Dlf you are exactly on point with everything you said in your post. Pick a date and let tourists know if, when and how you are opening. This wait and see is ridiculous. People book early and are not going to wait to see what Cayman Island does to book their winter escapes and once they pick other islands, they may not return.

    • For what it's worth says:

      All correct. The CIG has signaled its intentions through the last few press releases:

      – The CIG has money for about another year. I expect they will use every last pence.

      – Dart closed and said we will look at Oct. 2021. CIG knew this ahead of time. Dart can make a few phone calls and they know enough to lock the doors until next year.

      – Other condos and tourist supported accommodations will be following Dart’s lead if they are smart.

      – The regulations for quarantine are in place for the next 18 months. This makes me wonder if Dart is being overly optimistic. Maybe they didn’t want to start a panic by stating they would remain closed until March 2022.

      – The mystical high net worth individual with private jets and yachts that will be clamoring to come to CI for 16 day imprisonment – makes me wonder if the CIG has access to the ganja storage locker.

      It would be a comedy if it wasn’t reality.

      • Dlf says:

        “For What It’s Worth” – Unfortunately your points are all valid. I find it amazing that CIG has secured access to a line of credit up to $330.4 million to assist with the fallout of Covid-19 at a cost of 1.96 million regardless of whether it is accessed or not. This information alone sends the message that this government has ZERO intention of finding a way to reopen the borders. At this point, the only hope may be the election in May. Possibly new leaders will see things differently but I hold out little hope. We will see many business close their doors permanently and many lives ruined. If CIG accesses this $330.4 milliion line of credit maybe they will pass it along to all business owners facing total loss, and all of the employess that will not have jobs for the next 18 months or longer depending on IF people decide to return to these islands once the borders are open. As I’ve said before people are creatures of habit I suspect many will find another island paradise, one where they are welcome, and just as they used to return to Cayman year after year, their new paradise will become their destination of choice and Cayman will become a distant memory.

    • Anonymous says:

      Got a well thought out , beautifully designed email from Bermuda tonight to Welcome Back visitors. Protocols, Procedures, airlines, stats, hotels, attractions all in one nice email. Very enticing! Come on, Cayman!

  3. Anonymous says:

    If the vaccine does not work on obese people the cruise industry is finished.

  4. Anonymous says:

    …a recent study by Johns Hopkins, more than 250,000 people in the United States die every year because of medical mistakes, making it the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer.

    When your employers mandate a flu shot make sure they have a legal responsibility to indemnify you for any lost wages for the positive PCR test. Why CAN this happen? Since 2013 the flu vaccine has had the SARS nucleic acid sequences in it. The PCR test only checks for nucleic acid homology, therefore you can be positive and never have C19. #FACT that cannot be argued unless you are pseudoscientific.

  5. Michael Curving says:

    I’m betting they’ll be able to ratchet the fear up again soon since respiratory viruses tend to be seasonal, and as we approach the winter months there’s bound to be a way of showing that whatever coronavirus stat they decide to focus on is rising, which of course the terrorcrats will try to scapegoat on the people for not bowing to their totalitarian lockdown edicts

  6. Anonymous says:

    It seems that Cayman is turning into one large quarantine facility.

    I Disagree with the article, but CNS took this position from the very beginning. Still glad it allows all points of view to be heard.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Wear a mask. Social distance.. Keep things sanitary. Wash hands. Pre and post test. No quarantine. Open borders.

    • Anonymous says:

      gargle and irrigate nasal passages. do it every 3 hours if you are obese and or afraid to catch the virus. the 1/19 solution of 10% iodine is safe even for eyes. why kill half million sharks if 15seconds procedure is all you need for prevention and in the very early stages?

      what really puzzles me that norovirus is so potent, so hard to kill and make people so sick, yet, people continued to cruise the world.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Keep the borders closed. Everything except Tourism is doing good, construction is booming on all 3 islands and everything is doing fine. If the borders are opened we will get a surged of the c-virus and another lock down. Then everything will come to grinding stop again. So keep the borders closed until January 2021 and then decide how long we need the borders kept closed after that.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Keep the borders closed, the cost of deaths and a large outbreak will be a lot more than the short term loss of tourism. The Law and accounting firms are still making big profits,KPMG, EY and PWC are making more than ever and Maples have staff with huge salaries with equity partners taking millions a year. Maybe government should open a deregulated zone for part of their business’ allow the billions of unregulated money into the country in in exchange for the country earning some proper cash. We have years of dirty money advertising in every USA movie let’s actually allow it. Then we can pump some of this into more jobs lost in tourism.

  10. FACTS says:

    The SARS-COV-19 virus causes the COVID-19 disease. SARS viruses are more prevalent during the winter months. Based on summer statistics SARS-COV-19 appears to be an hybrid virus as the consensus was for the virus to slow. Winter is coming and SARS-COV-19 and may yet learn something new about this virus. Only time will tell how our story of the SARS-COV-19 virus plays out.

  11. Anonymous says:

    What a farce of an article. Would have some validity if newborns to 40 year olds were perfectly healthy and suddenly dying of Covid. If a vaccine can’t help an obese person maybe the problem is obesity!

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