Latest test results COVID-19 free

(CNS): After a run of positive results among travellers being tested for COVID-19, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee said all of the 161 samples processed over the last day were negative. There are currently 25 active cases of the virus among 1,115 people who are in isolation or government quarantine. Five of those people have symptoms of the virus though none of them have been hospitalised.

CNS submitted questions to the authorities regarding the mutated and more virulent strain of the virus now spreading through the UK and the impact that will have on the next British Airways flight.

Late this evening we received a statement from GIS in which officials said that the Government’s Programme Board, which oversees protocols for Travel Cayman, was assessing the situation. Officials said if experts advise that the additional risk can be managed with extra safety measures, there is a benefit in continuing flights to and from the UK.

“We have some of the most stringent protocols for quarantine and PCR testing both on arrival and at 14 days anywhere in the world. This puts us in a unique and strong position to protect the community from the virus,” said Deputy Governor Franz Manderson.

However, there was no indication whether or not pre-arrival testing of travellers will be introduced.

The first BA flight scheduled for the New Year is on 5 January and that flight is expected to bring Cayman’s first cargo of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.