Six new COVID cases include two on Cayman Brac
(CNS): Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee said Thursday that there were six new cases of COVID-19 among a batch of 344 COVID-19 tests carried out over the last day, two of which were individuals who are isolating on Cayman Brac. All six are currently asymptomatic and will remain in isolation along with another 1,556 people, as more people return for the holidays.
The news of six more cases among travellers comes against the alarming situation in the United States which recorded 226,953 new cases and more than 3,000 deaths on Wednesday, and as Cayman has witnessed a number of isolation breaches over the last couple of weeks.
Speaking in the parliament on Thursday afternoon, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said that “the public’s sense of safety and well-being has been shaken” by the breaches of quarantine, in private residences as well as a government facility.
“It is understandable that the public would expect and, indeed, deserves some reassurance that the measures we have put in place to safeguard the community are sufficient and effective,” he said, before he outlined the additional measures take that were revealed yesterday by Travel Cayman. Manderson said robust safeguards had been implemented but individual travellers must play their part by remaining in isolation for the stipulated period.
He said government was serious about prosecuting breachers and hoped anyone breaking isolation protocols would face the maximum $10,000 fine. He said prosecutors were appealing an earlier case where a breach occurred before the new fine was implement and the couple involved were given community service.
Putting the breaches into perspective, Manderson pointed out that while one breach is one too many, since 1 October there have been six breaches of quarantine, two of which have been prosecuted and four are still under investigation.
“During that same period, over 3,500 persons have arrived on island, and of these, over 2,000 individuals received approval to quarantine at a residence. By far, the vast majority of these individuals have completed their quarantine without incident,” he said.
“In allowing persons to enter our borders and quarantine at a private residence or at an approved facility, it should be noted that we are not operating a prison. We rely on the good character and good judgement of travellers and of course persons escape even from the most secure prisons,” he said.
Manderson said that Hazard Management’s Cayman Islands Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) would be helping with welfare and compliance monitoring over the holidays as the numbers of people in isolation are set to grow even further.
See Manderson’s full statement in the CNS Library.
Category: Health, Medical Health
The people quarantining on the Brac travelled direct from Miami to the Brac.
“..six new cases of COVID-19 among a batch of 344 COVID-19 tests carried out over the last day, two of which were individuals who are isolating on Cayman Brac. ..”
So these two on the Brac .. did they arrive from MIA/UK, and go straight on to Brac? Or were they local cases?
Did those quarantining in brac take a private flight there or were they mixed in with everyone??
The Brac has been wanting equality for some time.
Really and truly its comments like this that makes me and other CAYMANIANS feel that there is a real HATRED for us CAYMAN BRAC people.. Even this serious matter some persons fine malice to comment and be negative/evil! WHY?
Even the video they posted for the NATIONAL MUSEUM (the Cayman Dialect) the lady plainly said she wanted to return to “MY CAYMAN ISLANDS” when she went to the Brac shows the ignorance/disconnect, and that was shown WORLDWIDE! I feel that should have been edited out but was put in intentionally to show this. Anyway i love all 3 my precious CAYMAN islands and wish the best to everyone of my people during this very troubling times. ONE LOVE
Bracca.
Face the reality. U all want equality for everything. Even when it makes no sense.
If you u all have the most vulnerable population of all, why would you want COVID tourism? Bringing people back to your shores with the virus?
Its a miracle you all haven’t had community spread there because its an open secret that people will happily go over and look for so and so and visit friends and family who have returned.
That’s all it takes to get Covid running through your population who can’t afford it.
Cayman Brackers didn’t want this. Only a certain MLA wanted it.
IDIOT
Would like to thank Andre Ebanks in the London embassy for saving the day and sorting my travel time whilst at the airport.
Have a great Christmas
If people are going to start traveling to Cayman Brac to quarantine, other people who are on their flight should be notified so that they will have the option to choose whether or not they want to go on that flight with sick people.
AGREE!! I understand peoples right to privacy, and nondisclosures, but not if it is at the expense of innocent people who have just as many rights, yet are compromised by such nondisclosures.
People in quarantine in the Brac came on flights directly from Miami with other passengers who then went on to Little Cayman and Grand Cayman who must also quarantine. Everyone on the flights containing passengers getting off in the Brac must quarantine somewhere before entering the general population.
It’s not quarantine. There are no quarantine facilities in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. If these people get sick, it will be a catastrophe. They are supposedly isolating but people have been getting visitors.
No one said sick.
I wish to record my grateful thanks to Manderson and the entire travel Cayman team.
They have done an outstanding job.
Cayman is leading the way in reopening of borders. Lets pray for the people of Bermuda
You cant call our borders open at all!
Funny, I came in without any problem. The border is absolutely open – where appropriate.
People should not be allowed to come direct to Cayman BRAC and get tested and found positive. The island is too small for that. They should be coming to Grand first tested there and isolated there before being able to come to the Brac. Shame on Moses and julie . Brac are doing fine with lots of Caymanian and residents from Grand coming here and enjoying the Brac. Moses and Julie thinkk what will happen to the small community if the covid gets loose in it. Stop people coming direct to the BRAc and being isolated here. Stpp it now before it’s too late.
The 5 that shot down (dislike) 4:05 pm statement is either, drunk or is expats wanting to come to the Brac and don’t want to spend money staying in Grand for 2 weeks. I say to them, then don’t cone to the Brac period. For if you don’t care for the welfare of the Brac people. don’t bother coming here. Too many people are now known to be breaking quarinine/isolation.