Isolation breachers could be jailed

| 18/09/2020 | 71 Comments
Cayman News Service
HSA Public Health staff at ORIA

(CNS): As government began its pilot quarantine programme, which allows some arriving passengers to isolate at home rather than in government facilities in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials have confirmed that anyone who breaches the isolation rules could go to jail for six months. Two sets of public health regulations were published on Friday to facilitate the phased reopening of borders from 1 October, making it an offence for those in isolation to permit another person to visit them.

However, there are exceptions to the new rules for those with written permission from the Ministry of Health. Food, grocery and medication delivery services are permitted, but those delivering cannot enter the premises where people are quarantined or have contact with the residents.

The regulations also stipulate that in multi-dwelling premises, such as condominiums or apartment buildings, these restrictions do not apply beyond the residence in which those in isolation are being quarantined.

The regulations provide for a fine up to $1,000 as well as imprisonment for up to six months if anyone contravenes the new rules.

Officials confirmed that in the trial run for the new system, which began Thursday evening with the arrival of a British Airways flight from London, 29 people from twelve households were selected to take part in the “quarantine in residence programme”.

“All participating travellers went home to an empty isolation accommodation,” officials said in a release, explaining that during the trial these arriving passengers will not be quarantined with members of their household already here. “None have household members on-island isolating with them.”

Government has said that a multi-agency public sector team has been working for several weeks to develop what was described as a safe and effective quarantine process that is reinforced by monitoring technology and other safeguards, such as regular check-ins. The objective has been to create a multi-layered process that offers as much protection as is possible to the wider Cayman Islands community.

The process includes a PCR COVID-19 test at the airport for passengers on arrival. It is not clear, however, if those who test positive will be allowed to remain in home isolation or whether they will be required to go a government facility.

The revisions to the Public Health Regulations followed Cabinet approval of the team’s pre-launch testing proposals. A bill to increase penalties for breaches of these regulations is set to be considered at the upcoming meeting of the Legislative Assembly.

See The Control of Covid-19 (No.2) Regulations, 2020 which facilitate the potential for travellers to quarantine at home, under the direction of the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) on the Government Gazette along with the Prevention, Control and Suppression of Covid-19 (Partial Lifting of Restrictions) (No.4) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 that clarify the requirements for home quarantine and how these will be enforced.


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  1. Anonymous says:

    18/09/2020 at 8:15 pm
    WTF? I’m always in the sun and have high cholesterol. What witchcraft are you talking about? lol
    – – – – –
    WAKE UP BUDDY! IT IS 2020, NOT 1961 when it was declared that cholesterol is bad. The older you are, the higher cholesterol needs to be. My grandma is the evidence, being perky at 94 and having what is considered by conventional doctors “high” cholesterol.

    Besides, it is only high if TC is above 300 and ONLY if the ratios (TC/HDL, LDL Cholesterol/HDL) out of wack.

    Sulfate deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency you’ve never heard of. Like vitamin D–the widely recognized “🌞sunshine vitamin”–sulfate levels depend depend on 🌞sun exposure. The synthesis of cholesterol sulfate occurs when the skin and surface capillaries are exposed to direct 🌞sunlight.

    There are numerous, this century studies which are easily found, that say your cholesterol level does not matter unless you have Familial hypercholesterolemia. But Low cholesterol is really bad news.

  2. Anonymous says:

    U.K. is imposing a £10,000 fine why are we doing a measly $1000 for Yes Eric you and your fool fool misconceptions some people need to stop going out for food exposing us to infection and getting their hair done whilst in quarantine.Caymanians I implore you to please wear you mask these people Are not self quarantining and they are not checking to see where they are either what a disgrace.

  3. Anonymous says:

    The operative word here is “could.” Just like breaking curfew..Does anyone know of anyone other than the first one that was jailed for breaking curfew…

  4. Anonymous says:

    We’re so painted into a corner it’s ridiculous..Guess what, eventually we’re going to walk across that wet paint, guaranteed. All of the panic porn you’ve been fed daily and economic devastation will have been for absolutely nothing.

    Congrats on embarking on the most mind numbingly idiotic mission in human history.

  5. Anonymous says:

    I dont know anything about viruses or pandemics or viral load or stuff like that. But i do know one thing, and that’s our borders are not reopening properly (as in, normally) for years to come. Think about it – we’re currently trialling a 14 day quarantine. Fine, maybe it makes sense medically, etc, etc. But when does the 14 day become 0 days? Because who comes on holiday to quarantine? Not many. And any vaccine is unlikely to be around for a year before we can get it to everyone in Cayman AND every single tourist. It’s going to take years.
    Therefore, our borders are closed (as in how they are now) for years to come.
    UNless we drop the 14 day quarantine.
    Will we?
    I have no idea. If i was a betting guru, i’d wager that our borders are as they are today in 18 months time.
    That’s not good, but its likely true.

  6. Anonymous says:

    The fine for quarantine breach should start at $10-15k and go up past $150k. It needs to be sufficiently painful that nobody would dare violate it. Gear it by occupation/household income. Revocation of any work permit/PR/status would also be proportionate and fitting.

    • Anonymous says:

      Considering someone already broke curfew it’s not a bad idea.

    • Anonymous says:

      Why not “isolation breachers WILL be jailed?”

      Should be no need for waffling here.

      We have lost too much to invite another cause to another lock-down!

  7. Anonymous says:

    End of the day the virus isn’t going anywhere, it’s going gto come to Cayman and then what we close the entire island down again? Wait, then again? Wait, then again? So why not just ban anyone from coming to Cayman for the next god know how long.

    I’m high risk, fat, smoker, drinker and over 60, if I happen to die from the virus oh well. Wait I’m gonna die sometime,ive had a great life on this island and will die happy one way or the other.

  8. Anonymous says:

    And Cabinet cannot figure a way to let homeowners come back to their Cayman Brac and Little Cayman homes. In their infinite Mo$e$ Trump and Juju lack the leadership skills to safely and effectively transport people from Grand to Cayman Brac/Little Cayman and transport them directly to their houses.

    With the multitude of government employees who are hardly doing any sort of work right now, it would seem that Government would have enough overseers/babysitters for these people.

    I am extremely disappointed in Mo$e$ Trump throughout this whole Covid thing, very little communication during to his constituents- too much time fretting about cruise ships.

    O and while we at it what about the free computers that was announced for school children. Publicly announced that funding was approved. CNS please inquire to Juju about this unfulfilled public promise.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Remember this is Cayman islands. There needs to be a reminder that breaking the law MIGHT have consequences depending on who you are, who you know, and your status to John John and Juju. Also if your Caymanian you know that you are not likely held responsible.

  10. Outraged says:

    How are we to feel safe and protected when the BA passenger who arrived without permission has been allowed to stay after the Premier stated they were being deported?! Guess the rules really don’t apply to everyone.

    • Anonymous says:

      What about the people who arrived prior to the BA and were allowed to self-isolate. Apparently they walked out of the airport without being tested.
      How did this happen?
      Were they monitored?
      Were they tested at all?
      Why was this not reported in the Press?

      • Anonymous says:

        Yes, I don’t understand why some people are getting a free pass. Is it money or is just someone who knows someone else.

        My 14 year old daughter’s friend’s family returned on a private airplane and they were allowed to do their own self isolation at home. This is just not right. I had to warn my daughter to stay away from their home which was not a good thing to have to say to her but it was for her own safety.

    • Anonymous says:

      No wonder Dr Lee was so coy when asked about who paid for the deportation of the illegal entrant. Guess he didn’t want to just come out and say the Premier was wrong – hence the reference to an investigation and follow up report. Gives them a weekend to spin it. No doubt going to be a compassionate case and self quarantine placing the community in no harm. Sigh.

      • Anonymous says:

        They where a dependent of a PR, They are entitled to come home to their family!

      • Anonymous says:

        The premier should also be asked to list the “hundreds” of Caymanians working at certain hotels. He appears ill informed on a number of important issues.

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually he said at the press briefing that he was deported…He was corrected after the meeting which makes even more of a worry..

  11. Anonymous says:

    why bother with this plan at all if takes so much controlling and still poses a risk to the local populaton??

    • Anonymous says:

      As admirable as the plan is, it’s only as good as it’s weakest link. Given its government run, weakest links. One can only get approval to board a plane through Travel Time. Apparently not. One must test negative to leave a hotel. Apparently not. When our good doctor says there’s much to improve on, one has to wonder. Perhaps they need more time to prepare and train.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Well, if in your “Christian” hearts, Caymanians want to hang gays, surely you can criminalize just about anything!

  13. Anonymous says:

    JUST REALLY REALLY REALLY THINK FOR A SECOND OR TWO, because insanity is happening in the Cayman Islands:

    “Isolation breachers could be jailed.”
    People, who are 99.999999999% free of virus and have done absolutely nothing wrong are threatened with jail if they make a wrong step.

    Meantime, sexual abusers, domestic violence perpetrators, child abusers, women beating men, burglars are FREE on bail!!!!!!!!

    WHO POSES A REAL THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY??????????

    Don’t tell me if they don’t like it, they should stay wherever they came from. This is not about that.

    This is a violation of Human Rights . This is contrary to Deliberation No.11 issued by United Nations Humans Rights Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25876&LangID=E

    “”the prohibition of arbitrary detention is absolute even during times of public emergencies” and urged governments worldwide to prevent arbitrary deprivation of liberty in the context of the measures currently adopted for controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

    What would awaken the minds of sleeping sheeple in the Cayman Islands?
    Where is an independent oversight and cooperation with human rights mechanisms?
    What prosecutorial and judicial authorities, government human rights departments of the Cayman Island are thinking about?

  14. Anonymous says:

    CNS: What about the reversed position on sending back the person who didn’t come here through TravelTime? Goes to show that no one will be prosecuted for anything.

  15. Anonymous says:

    With Caymanians out of work and the government going broke can someone explain why the government is paying for wealthy people to isolate for 2 weeks at $4k a go when they chose to go on a summer vacation to drop their kids at private boarding schools because they think an education in Cayman is sub-standard and they want to live free of children and responsibilities?

  16. Annie says:

    Oh sure, everyone will abide by the law. Our Government has traded our safety for the promise of a couple of rich people. None of whom will go to jail for six months. And 1 k is nothing to them. Disgusting, disgraceful, disappointing, but not the least bit surprising.

    • Anonymous says:

      It might seem “disgusting, disgraceful, disappointing” to you and everyone else that would prefer to see the borders remain totally closed or have the government pay for hotel rooms for two weeks for anyone who wants to travel here. But neither of those options is practical if we are to allow more people to come here. For those whose livelihoods rely on the tourist dollar (generally not the rich) the government has to find some balanced way of allowing more people to come here while minimising the risk of reintroducing CoViD to the community. There’s no *right* answer, but whatever the *best* answer is will need some sort of compromise. If the government has somehow selected everyone travelling at the front of the plane and sent them home, that would indeed be bad, but unless you know better there is no indication that’s the case. Lacking such evidence, this seems to me to be a good first step. If you know of a way that is less “disgusting”, please speak up.

      You are definitely right on your point about $1K not being enough. That is little deterrent to some people. Two weeks isolated at the Ritz for $10K or a BBQ at home with friends and family at the weekend and possible $1K fine? Where’s the balance?

      And jail time seems so implausible that it will not matter to them.

    • Anonymous says:

      We hear you. Kick off and keep out all expats. It is now the only way Caymanians can get the island back. Especially since it is mostly owned by Expats. However in the rest of the world a 14 day quarantine is the normal and it is working. Yes. Some people have broken the Quarantine in other countries and all of them face charges. We can understand that most Caymanians (like you)do not need to go off island to see family, work, medical,etc. but most expats do. If Cayman Islands Governments plan is to make it hard for expats to travel, work, and live here then it’s War. Most of the property on this island is owned by expats. They have a right to it Gay or not. Many of those land owners are getting tired of CIG not being able to make a plan. Cayman will soon need expat help to survive (as they always have). I think you are going to find them now helping only themselves and Caymanians can take care of themselves.

      • Anonymous says:

        That would be difficult 2.11pm – Everyone on the Island is an Expat, technically. Remember, the Island was uninhabited by humans some 500+ years ago so they, or their ancestors came from a different Country – i.e. ‘Expat’.

    • Anonymous says:

      There it is. The whiny crying of a pampered idiot. Everyone besides you is just a couple of rich people, a couple of gay people, a couple of expat persons. But they are not you so why should you care about them right? People like you are the reason that expats look down on Caymanians. If you act like an ass hole then be prepared to be treated like one.

  17. Anonymous says:

    I hope our Ministers are the first to step forward and take the Covid vax.

  18. Sad but true says:

    The words could, maybe and might be need to be replaced with “Will Be” in any policy government drafts. This flimsy legislation leaves too much room for multiple standards and leniency based on ones class, race, family name, political, social and religious affiliations.

    • Anonymous says:

      Agree! That’s the way Cayman rolls..”could, maybe, might. No Rules just subjective nights. Another Cayman ID10Ten failure

  19. Anonymous says:

    Warned for prosecution or actual prison?

  20. Anonymous says:

    But personal trainers are OK, right?

    Prison? Pull the other one…

  21. Anonymous says:

    This will make it work. As well as things can work on Cayman.

  22. Anonymous says:

    Yeah right. How many curfew breakers are currently incarcerated?

  23. Thank me later says:

    I’ll take the sex months please.

  24. Anonymous says:

    United Nations HumanRights
    Office of the High Commissioners

    COVID-19 not an excuse for unlawful deprivation of liberty – UN expert group on arbitrary detention.

    In its newly adopted Deliberation No. 11, the expert group establishes a set of guidelines to prevent arbitrary deprivation of liberty during public health emergencies, stressing that any control measures “must be publicly declared, be strictly proportionate to the threat, be the least intrusive means to protect public health and imposed only while the emergency lasts”.

    Moreover, “the States should urgently ❗️ review the existing cases of deprivation of liberty across all detention settings to determine whether the detention is still justified as necessary❗️ and proportionate❗️ in the prevailing context of the COVID-19 pandemic”, experts say.

    States should refrain from holding persons of 60 years and older, pregnant women and women that are breastfeeding, persons with underlying health conditions as well as persons with disabilities, in places of deprivation of liberty where the risk to their physical and mental integrity and life is heightened.

    Necessity and proportionality of the deprivation of liberty
    ✔️ Moreover, even the lawful deprivation of liberty may still be arbitrary if such detention is not strictly necessary ❗️or a proportionate❗️measure in pursuance of a legitimate aim. In particular, States must be mindful that detention that initially ❗️satisfied the requirements of necessity and proportionality may no longer be justified insofar as the circumstances may have changed significantly.
    https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25876&LangID=E

    • Anonymous says:

      And? When it comes to human rights the UN is so full of bull you can smell it from here! Look at record of some of the states currently sitting on the human rights council – Libya, Sudan, Indonesia, Venezuela! Past membership included Bahrain, DR Congo, Angola, Afghanisan, India, Pakistan and of course everyone’s favourite virus spreader the PRC.

    • Anonymous says:

      Chill bro.

    • Anonymous says:

      I thought this pertained to the detention of migrants at the US border.

  25. Anonymous says:

    CNS The imprisonment of sex months doesn’t seem too bad. (Paragraph 4)

    CNS: Thanks! A Friday afternoon oops.

  26. Naya Boy says:

    People who they infected will Die! Who Gives a frigging shit about their legal consequences? Where ya damn Mask Caymanians!

  27. Anonymous says:

    The regulations provide for a fine up to $1,000 as well as imprisonment for up to sex months if anyone contravenes the new rules.

    Sex months? Is that dependent on Jon-Jon’s full moon? Sign me up!!!!

    CNS: Oops! Corrected now. Thanks!

  28. Anonymous says:

    Insufficient Sun Exposure Has Become a Real Public Health Problem
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7400257/

    • Richard says:

      True, obese people sitting around inside with the AC on is the real health problem.

    • Anonymous says:

      Doctors still tell people to avoid sun and wear sunscreen. Or take statins for you “elevated”cholesterol when sunlight would take care of your cholesterol by sulfating it.
      Cayman residents are very lucky to live on sunny islands with beautiful beaches.
      It is not an indoor quarantine that needed but plenty of beach time.

      • Anonymous says:

        WTF? I’m always in the sun and have high cholesterol. What witchcraft are you talking about? lol

    • Anonymous says:

      Fascinating article. Thanks.

      I wonder if it could be the reason that covid cases went down in the summer in, say, Canada and are now slowly back on the uptick.

      Thanks again, it is a really interesting article. 🙂

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