New COVID regs permit increase in crowds
(CNS): Up to 500 people can now gather in groups under the latest COVID-19 regulations, even though government is beginning a phased reopening of the borders. At present, everyone coming to the Cayman Islands is still required to isolate for 14 days. While some are still going into tight government quarantine, there are now over 70 households where people are isolating at home with geofencing technology.
Government officials are emphatic that, despite speculation and rumour, no one has broken the rules in either home-quarantine or the isolation facilities where individuals are paying to quarantine. But concerns persist in the community that the increase in the number of people coming to Cayman as new workers and guests is putting Cayman’s COVID-19 free status at risk.
Premier Alden McLaughlin has said that there have been no breaches and the trial last month provided a great opportunity to train the new teams, refine the process and enhance the technology solution. He said that over the course of October the teams will complete the development of the programme and those in home-isolation will be monitored by the new compliance team.
Following the arrival of several flights last Thursday, 110 people went into home-isolation in 72 different homes or a quarantine facility. All were tested on arrival at the airport.
Governor Martyn Roper welcomed the new rules on arrivals but warned people to remain vigilant. He said that while the extensive mitigations in place for home-isolation should give confidence and reassurance, people need to stay alert.
As government presses ahead with the phased reopening plans, it also published new regulations on Friday that will be in force until 30 November. The new rules increase the maximum number of people allowed at public gathering to 500 people, including at hotels, restaurants and nightclubs. There will be no exemptions for activities that fall under the definition of public gathering.
The premier said government was constantly receiving requests for an exemption to the 250 rule for functions, and given that Cayman remains COVID-19 free in the community and the government was confident in the protocols to protect the community from arrivals, it was safe to expand the public gathering numbers.
This increase is also reflected with maximum number of people on a boat or group of boats.
Introducing the ability to fish outside of territorial waters without having to quarantine upon return, the premier said fisherfolk must have advised the Port Authority and Customs and Border Control and received approval and a rotation number.
Mask-wearing remains voluntary except at designated places such as health facilities, airports and care homes, where everyone aged 10 and over must wear a face=covering. years old.
See the regulations in the CNS Library (scroll down to ‘Easing of curfew’).
See more details on Covid here.
Category: Health, Medical Health
Because the wealthy have no covid
Let the tourists in! We are a joke, other islands are open and doing it well!
Some of us a bleeding dry or have and this can not go on anymore.
Your suffering, and that of many, is significant. Letting tourists in is however not the answer. The dangers, including to the rest of our economy, are too great. If we have an outbreak, offices and construction sites would have to close, and then we would have nothing.
Instead we need to get on with permitting large numbers of wealthy extended stay visitors to come in and stay for many months, through quarantine or monitored isolation. The can fill the restaurants and dive boats, without endangering everyone from a health or economic perspective.
Right like people want to come in and be locked up with no freedom to move on and off the island.
Bermuda has done fine what’s wrong with us?
Bermuda has 9 dead and Covid circulating in its community. It is not fine.
Sure…They have sporadic cases and are the same level 2 travel advisory as Cayman.
The idea is to flatten the curve but our plan is to lock up and wait years.
How long do we wait? Until a vaccine is available and enough people have had it to slow the spread? Is so we will be locked up till 2022.
Even if they have a vaccine in February 2021 its not like magical fairies vaccinate the globe overnight … It will take a year!
No, the idea is to eradicate the virus if you can. Other counties cannot, so they are content with flattening the curve. There are other ways to earn revenue including by bringing in large numbers of long stay visitors, without risking a reintroduction of the virus.
Sure….Cant stay locked up forever! Dumb plan!
When do you propose to open? when a vaccine take affect if that even happens?
Actually, we can stay locked up forever. We cannot have a tourism industry and stay locked up forever, but if we are willing to sacrifice that we can do just fine as a safe bubble in an increasingly dysfunctional world.
The cases in 9 cases in Bermuda are not from tourists.
Actually they do and hundreds are being denied access due to lack of capacity.
Just got on a plane and flew there for business for a week.
Stayed in a hotel. Yes I have been tested 3 times but hey thats fine.
I don’t see why they have to be wealthy! Surely any expat visitor who is not being a drain on the public purse should be welcome to stay and spend money. What conceivable advantage would there be in deporting them?
It is better that someone who comes here spreads $1,000/day rather than $100. They both use up the same quarantine/isolation capacity.
Do you even realize what you are saying? YOU NEED THEIR MONEY, not wealthy people. But you have NOTHING TO OFFER. Greed is seeping from your every pore.
Umm, I think the hotels and restaurants need their money. The bigger the tab, the more for the servers. In what alternative universe does that math not work for you?
Gordon, you are referring to people who are already here. If they are sustaining themselves and will be no burden, of course they should stay.
The discussion is about who we let in next. If there are only 800 places a month, do we want them used up by persons who will be spending $100 a day in the local economy, or those that are likely to be spending more?
Us wealthy folks don’t want to be locked up for two weeks. There are many better options.
Go to those better options and stay there.
They are going to Bermuda, Cabo, and anywhere else but Cayman. I don’t think CIG has a grasp on what a wealthy person is. Hint – they are usually rational and they don’t waste time. Cramming them in a hotel room for 16 days isn’t going to fill restaurants or dive boats.
And you don’t have to close if you have an outbreak – the rest of the world has learned to live with it.
And more than a million have learned to die with it.
Exactly – they died with it, not from it.
What is considered an outbreak? 1 positive, or 2? This wolds will never see “0” positive within the next five years. Can the Cayman Islands isolate from the world for the next drive years? At some point, the borders will open and there will be Covid 19 cases. Be that only 1 or 2 or maybe more. Who knows? You will have a better chance of being struck by lightning.
I totally understand the reasoning of keeping boarders closed. But you can’t isolate from the world forever.