Cayman Islands borders to reopen in March
(CNS): The Cayman Islands will be reopening its border to tourists in just a few months, according to Premier Alden McLaughlin. In his New Year’s Eve message, he said that with the arrival next week of enough coronavirus vaccines to protect the most vulnerable, the borders can open in March. However, visitors must be vaccinated and provide a negative COVID-19 test to enter or they will still be required to quarantine.
“By March we hope to have successfully vaccinated and protected a sufficiently large number of our population, including all of those at most risk. If we can achieve that target, we should be able to open our borders once again,” McLaughlin stated in his New Year Message.
Having struggled to get through the worst of the health crisis, McLaughlin said his government was determined to keep Cayman safe.
“We will require that arriving travellers have also been vaccinated and received both a negative COVID-19 test before arriving and a second negative test on arrival, along with any other public health requirements. Travellers not meeting these requirements will have to quarantine,” he added.
The premier noted that availability of vaccines is the safest way to open up the country and the economy more broadly. “Our first shipment of vaccines will arrive in early January and we will then roll out our national vaccination plan,” McLaughlin stated, but warned that rebuilding will take time and “resolute effort.”
Nevertheless, the premier said he was confident that Cayman and its people will emerge stronger from the challenges everyone faced this year. “Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our economy will strengthen with growing private sector confidence and increasing investment.”
Facing a general election this year, even though he will no longer be running as the Progressives’ leader, the premier spent much of his New Year’s address outlining what he said were the achievements of this current Government of National Unity and the previous PPM-led coalition.
He said that continued investment is critical to the rebuilding of the economy in the wake of COVID and that will happen “as long as the business sector remains confident in the political and fiscal leadership government is providing”.
Heading into a new year and an election season, McLaughlin said that on all the main issues that matter to Caymanians, residents and investors, the government and the country was heading in the right direction.
“We have achieved much over this term. But we know there is still more to deal with, particularly with the pandemic and its consequences,” he stated. “This year has been a tougher time than any of us can remember. Yet as a country we have come through the worst of this crisis and while there is still a long road to travel, as I have said, we are on the right path.”
See the full NY Message in the CNS Library or watch it below:
Category: Local News
Absolute madness! My sister at home had just been diagnosed in England. My best friend in Scotland and her grandson; whom she has not been able to see since Feb. Bad idea CI Gov. Mind you, full of bad ideas.
Social media: not too sure about the safety of this vaccine, but getting blackout drunk this weekend. hope I can make the drive home, lol.
Myself and fellow biologists who look back to when we pricked boils to vaccinate: give me the damn thing and let me travel again
This new South African strain in the UK is vaccine resistant and will require a new vaccine XXX
CNS: As far as I can tell, not all scientists are confident that the vaccines will work against the new strains, but the prominent thinking is that they will. If you have a link to a credible source that says otherwise, please include it in the comment. We are trying to keep on top of new information.
UK health minister Matt Hancock seems to be extremely worried about that and the fact that we now have several strains which have mutated my point is not whether it will work or not why are our government officials here insistent at putting us at unnecessary risk by flying passenger up and down from the UK on this BA flight when everybody is banning people and flights from the UK?
You can’t stop that they will still coming back when the time is right like it or not
he is talking out of his aaaa…..they r holding off on 2nd vaccine in the US because of slow production. so what is he gonna do allow them to still come with one vaccine. again no plan…
The only claim to fame Alden can make this election term relates to COVID-19. If he messes this up, then all he has left is a tarnished legacy of being the worst leader (whether Leader of Government Business or Premier) that the Cayman Islands has ever seen. No pressure, Alden.
Take a look at whats happening in uk and usa, opening borders is madness.
What you should be doung RIGHT NOW is putting in border restrictions and not waiting for the uk to make a decision on their mess first.
Dont mess this up any more
Didn’t see a mention of cruise ships coming back in March. Hope to never see them again.
Agreed. Cayman is much better off, including economically, without them. We need to concentrate on high end, extended stay, stay over tourism. It is incompatible with mass market cruise tourism which is dead anyway (it kills people in pandemics and this one is far from over).
You do realize there aren’t cruiseships going from Wuhan to USA? So how did the virus get to the USA? Trusty old aeroplanes!