Where is the premier? asks PPM
(CNS): The opposition leader has accused the current government of an absence in leadership, especially when it comes to making decisions on reopening Cayman’s borders. In a press briefing at the Progressives’ offices on Crewe Road on Tuesday, Roy McTaggart urged the government to confirm 1 September as the reopening date. He claimed that they have had enough time to seek the advice they need and to realise that the country will have reached a level of herd immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination before that date, allowing the borders to reopen and give the tourism sector a timeline to work towards.
So far, the PACT government has not said what it plans to do regarding reopening the borders. Now that the priorities of finishing up the vaccine supplies and securing more have been addressed, in his last public appearance on Radio Cayman, Premier Wayne Panton said that the next move was probably to reduce the quarantine period to five days for those who have been vaccinated, ahead of a full border opening.
It is more than a month since the new government convened a press briefing to address the issues surrounding what happens next.
Once the vaccine programme resumes, it won’t be long before all those who have had one dose will get their second shot and before teenagers who are not cleared to receive the Pfizer vaccine can begin to get inoculated. The PPM leader said he believes that 75% of the population will have had the full course by then and the government now needs to fix a date to reopen the borders.
“Government now need to set the stage for a tourism recovery while assisting unemployed tourism workers,” McTaggart said. “The government cannot continue with an absence of leadership on this and related issues requiring urgent attention and decisions.
He said tourism will need time to return. In the interim government should extend the stipend to unemployed tourism workers until the end of the year and increase it to $2,000 per month. McTaggart also called for an extension of the pension contribution holiday until the end of this year, as it is currently due to expire at the end of this month, though it is clear that tourism employers and staff will not be in any position to make contributions for several more months.
“I know that the PACT government is inexperienced and trying to come to grips with the demands of their roles within ministries and the responsibility of governing and leading our country,” McTaggart said. “However, they have had ample time to seek advice from seasoned experts within the government, Public Health England and the private sector to make reasonable judgements on reopening and restarting tourism, and to then let the country know what those decisions are. But time is running out.”
He said the PPM wanted to encourage the government to tell the country this week what their plans are, adding that it was time for PACT to start “making actual decisions and talking to the country”. He accused them of being silent about most things, but said that remaining silent on the “reopening creates genuine concern for people and businesses needing to plan and have real hope for tourism restarting this year”.
While tourism is continuing to suffer and stakeholders are still hearing nothing from the government about a path to re-opening, “we have heard extraordinarily little from the premier other than a brief recent appearance by him and the tourism minister on talk radio”, McTaggart said, as he hit back at Panton’s claim that there was no reopening plan in place when PACT took office. “Excuses for their inability to agree a way forward is not acceptable. Given where we are, there is no reason for further dithering.”
McTaggart took aim at Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, asking where his plans and ideas were for breathing life back into tourism, and Health Minister Sabrina Turner, who he said had also been notably silent on the position Cayman was now in to reopen safely.
He urged Panton rally his team, “pull them together, and make some decisions” about rebuilding stay-over tourism and starting a public conversation on the future of the cruise industry. McTaggart suggested that any further silence could jeopardise a successful reopening and tourism recovery.
The former premier, Alden McLaughlin, also criticised the government for taking too long to make a decision and accused them of being paralyzed with fear. “The decision ought be obvious and easy to make” as there would be “very little risk of the virus taking hold in the community” once Cayman has reached the level of 75% vaccine coverage, he said.
While the PPM had been criticised when they were in power for having no plan, which Panton has confirmed was the case, McLaughlin denied that claim, saying that he had set out the Unity government’s plan over and over again. He maintianed that it had always been based on a safe number of people being vaccinated and that when Cayman reached a level of around 75% of vaccine coverage of the population, they would reopen the borders.
See the full briefing on the Progressives’ Facebook page.
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Category: Politics
I am watching from afar the never ending Cayman tragicomedy.
Good. Stay there. You don’t sound like you’re of us, if you are relishing in our difficulty.
Covid is having a devastating impact on children. An entire generation of kids has taken a social, emotional and academic ordeal that is extreme.
🛑 STOP quilt-tripping attitude…In order to save grandma, little Johny must go mental in social isolation, quarantine, a lockdown…
THIS IS SICK! No loving grandparent would inflict such life-time lasting distress on children.
WTF are you talking about? Children in Cayman can attend school normally, play with their friends, and otherwise be normal children – and they can get hugged by grandparents any time. The children who are distressed are the ones living in countries where politicians are idiots and Covid is rampant.
I am a school teacher in the US. We have been in person since last July with only 3 days off for snow. We do wear masks indoors, but not outside.
If you are a school teacher in the US, why are screaming in the comments section of a Cayman online newspaper…
you guys screwed up your covid response badly and are now dealing with the consequences of your own actions.
We had to go to work so you can buy groceries. We didn’t hide under our beds.
You must be living in la la land. Our kids go to school, interact with their friends , go to birthday parties, visit their grandparents all freely and without a mask or social distancing and we have been doing that since last summer.
Stop trying to project the United States problems on us.short term lock down(pain) for long term gain (our freedom).We did the right thing while you guys were fighting over which political party was pro or anti Covid 19 and watched over 500K of your people die…
Wasn’t it Moses that was silent and hiding in The Brac during lockdown?? Kettle calling the pot black. Let’s see what Pact has to say at 2pm today people calm down. We do need to open up smartly or we will be locked down again……..
Weren’t we all told to stay in home? His home is the Brac! We appreciate that he didn’t abandon us and stay in Cayman. Thank you Moses K!
Moses lives at San Sebastian in South Sound and has for any years now..CYB on the weekends.
That’s where he lives, dodo. He obeyed the rules like everyone else.
Maybe a bigger desk next time? Or fewer idiots.
The government is right to be cautious. From today’s Guardian:
“Canada seems set for a boom in fake coronavirus vaccine documentation, as a survey shows one in five people in the country who do not want to be vaccinated would lie about their status to travel.
According to a survey reported by CTV News, about 14% of Canadians have no intention of getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Of those, 20% would lie about it if vaccines were a requirement for travel or entry into large events.
Will McAleer, spokesperson for the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA), which conducted the research, said that the finding was expected, given the numbers already caught faking documentation to travel during the pandemic. He told CTV News:
We saw a virtual cottage industry in the international travel space with fake COVID-19 tests, the PCR tests that are required in order to get back into the country. All around the globe, there were fake ones popping up just so people could travel.”
The Guardian have been gung-ho for draconian lock-down measures from the start. A collapsed capitalist free market economy is the very best outcome to fulfill their agenda.
The plan that is needed is how to help the people out of poverty, for a rich country there should be no one in need, unless this whole place is not what it seems. If the basic necessities are provided (housing, utilities, transport and food) hopefully the people will seek to better themselves by seeking higher education and entrepreneurship. We cannot continue with sectors that are promoting poverty by importing cheap labor and those that are clearly not viable. What is this new leadership bringing to the table?
Great photos. Alden looks like he’s going to start crying, Roy looks like a deer in the headlights, Joey can’t be bothered because whoever is texting him is more important that the stupid press conference, Moses looks like he’s studying for his A Levels and John John is obviously thinking about Mary riding a jackass.
If you don’t have anything nice to say and not being helpful to Caymankind…
Way to make childish comments rather than focus on the issues at hand.
They each have reasons to be disliked but they’re making valid points in this press conference.
Their points are nothing but petty vindictive attacks…no matter which side of government these guys are on they can’t work for the good of the people. 8 years of screwing Caymanians out of self interest….yeah I’d say they have reasons to be disliked, distrusted and disrespected.
So you believe that the current government has a plan then?
You also seem to have to issues with their complete silence, despite running on a platform of transparency.
So far the ineptitude shown by the current government is preventing them from working for the good of the people.
its been two months…geez calm tf down and give them a chance.
Kenneth has zero competency in tourism and Sabrina has zero competency in Health. Have you counted how many times the Premier has had to re-direct or clarify her comments.
yeah we need Jon Jon back and so he can refer all of the questions to Dr. Lee while he reads his Bible verses and rude comments in broken languages..Come on people..doesn’t take much to get a step up from there..
NO MORE PPM!!
I agree at 10:16am…nothing she says make sense, not even the part about the 5 day quarantine. Sabrina needs to understand that this is not radio.
He is not at Country or Tonys
Lol good one!
John John is wondering where he is and why he’s there
Wayne and Heather campaigned on the basis of building community. Allowing in an unpredictable virus that will inevitably make sick and possibly kill members of that community is not a decision that they will or should take lightly.
True. What happened to the 70% prior comment? Was that a lie? Has there been a change of heart? There has been no plan with minimal communication. At this point everyone has had the chance to be vaccinated or will very soon. You don’t have to be vaccinated, but you live with your choice.
But the members of the community should already be vaccinated….
Hiding isn’t a decision.
Yea but they also campaigned on transparency, meaning they should be open about what their thinking and plan is!
There’s a few steps to navigate to normality, try these:
If we stopped calling the virus(es) Covid19 and simply turned off the news we wouldn’t be spending our entire days panicking, infact we wouldn’t even know there was a global pandemic any worse than normal respiratory seasons.
If we prepared all the hospitals across the Islands with massive stockpiles of all known existing treatments and cures
If we continued offering vaccines to anyone who wants one
If we went back to trusting ourselves not to lick lamposts and occasionally wash our hands
If we advised the elderly, the obese, the frail and the ill that we are aware of a virus that’s really attracted to you and we think you should take extreme care for the future timebeing (wear a mask if you’d like, please don’t go nightclubbing)
IF we just looked at the 18 months of data globally and saw for ourselves how this whole thing could be managed
Then, we could open our borders today with zero quarantine. There are a lot of vulnerable people vaccinated. Covid19 isn’t going to run rampant thru this community, it’s most likely already been here during the fall of 2019. Nationwide antibody tests would’ve shown this.
There’s effectively no risk to opening up w/o any quarantine for anyone at this stage. We’re at more risk from hurricanes and earthquakes here than we are from covid19. We live outdoors, we’re swamped in Vit D. We were never at risk from community catastrophe. We’ve overplayed our hands. Time to stop panicking.
Open up. Set a date so business can plan/staff/etc.
100% agree!
Absolutely – that approach works well for ostriches – they have been around for thousands of years
Having buried millions of people, most calibrated people view that as not a normal respiratory season. I don’t know how anyone could be so revisionist and cavalier about the last year plus we’ve all lived firsthand. Yes, we do agree there should be provision for a fast-lane for all those many that are now counted as fully vaccinated, and/or even those that can provide confirmation of strong antibodies via a previous exposure and recovery. For those that are not in either of those categories, they can come too, but will need to quarantine for 14 days, which is the incubation period for the virus. We can’t just swing open the door and disregard all of those that cannot get vaccinated for various reasons. We don’t have the hospital capacity. We didn’t last year, and don’t now. What that means, is that we “get back” to 70-75% normality asap and then adapt and re-evaluate every few weeks.
Most people won’t understand the long view of your post, but I do.
The CIG can simply look and see if there are issues with opening up – if there were it would be readily apparent. Heck, some of the sporting events have as many people in the stands as the entire population of the Cayman Islands. No mask, no social distancing, and remember – the vaccination rate of those people crammed in the stands is probably a lot lower than the current vaccination rate in CI right now.
I don’t know how anyone could need more “science”. It would seem that there is some other motivating factor for keeping the CI closed at this point because it certainly has nothing to do with safety at this point.
I voted for PACT but will give PPM props for at least tempting to come up with a plan. Not sure why Wayne and Kenneth are so silent, but it’s a shame that they do not realize that silence is the worse course of action to calm people down. The mental health on the island has soared through the roof and my fear right now is not even COVID but the future of people’s state of mind (anxiety, depression, the list goes on). The island has done its part to curve out COVID and people (most) did their part to get vaccinated so now we have to face reality and start opening the boarders. Let’s go Kenneth you are Minister of Tourism, get the ball rolling and stop listening to Dr. Lee as he is not the ultimate expert. Yes, he can guide but he is not who should be deciding whether we open or not!! Let’s stop making this political and like I said get the ball rolling you’ve had enough time to get a plan in place. The voters and remaining residence are waiting to hear from you. Maybe we should set a deadline (tomorrow or earlier like today) or we the people start marching and protesting, wouldn’t that look really nice on international news. “Cayman Government keeps their people as prisoners”. Let’s go open up August 1st!!
99% of Covid hospital patients in the states have not been vaccinated. The vaccine is keeping people out of hospitals and keeping them alive.
Our typical guests likely have been vaccinated, folks that refuse, Cayman is probably not on their radar for a vacation.
No one will be offended if we say we are open and having the Jab is a requirement for entry.
And yes, if a case or two does show up here, it’s doubtful as we continue to vaccinate that the fatality rate will exceed the murder rate or vehicle accidents, let alone complications from diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Correct.
I was, under observation in a FL hospital for 3 days. I am not COVID “vaccinated” and was only wearing a face mask when they wheeled me out of my room for scans. Doctors and nurses were coming in and out of my room as well as cleaners, nurses, assistants etc. I’ll repeat I had no COVID-Vax. Nobody cared about me not wearing face mask in my room. Some doctors weren’t wearing it either.
NO freaking COVID paranoia-phobia in the US.
yeah right..stop with the foolishness. there is not a hospital in the United States that you can go into without wearing a mask..why don’t you name the hospital? I’ll bet you can’t do that..
Sadly, the problem in the USA is that the CDC, US State level governments, US Federal government, and vacation carrier policies in regards to proof of vaccination, are all disparate and don’t currently agree on the obligation/burden to be honest or even make a report. That is how Royal Caribbean, which was required to have all guests and crew vaccinated per CDC, wound up having positive hosts circulating on their ships last week. Port of embarkation in Florida does not require this proof. There is no cure for red state stupid, and that’s how it will get back to Cayman. We DO need to understand the differences in policy that will allow virus through the holes in the USA fence line. Cayman does not have the margin of error to get re-opening wrong.
The UK government has stated that they are not going to green-light vaccinations for under 18s at this stage, so it’s unlikely that they will be sending supplies beyond what’s required for the adult populations of the overseas territories. More obfuscation from CIG.
You do know that the UK approved vaccinations for 12-15 year olds already right??
Karen, Cayman has been vaccinating 16+ since January. Sit down.
Didn’t they greenlight vax for 12 year olds in June!?
Nope – the MHRA has approved it, UK government says it’s not going ahead as it’s unethical to vaccinate children who are not vulnerable to the virus. Keep up.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57496074
Sorry Alden & Roy – just because they are not out making deals with developers and smiling for the news cameras – does not mean there is no leadership. Maybe you should take a few notes on their leadership style and Maybe you could actually do something to help the Cayman people rather than enrich yourselves
Pm had their chance, now, as they would say “support your government” Why wont politicians stay a has been?
Caymanians once again have the Government they deserve. Expats and island businesses have no representation here. None. Wait until the money is all gone and all the loans are due then expats and business will once again be needed more than Caymanian pride.
It’s about time the wishes and desires of expats take a back seat to those of Caymanians. For far too long we have been suffering with no relief.
Cayman is one of the most corrupt developed countries on earth. It’s full of backroom deals that keep in place a binary society where a large portion of the local population is kept living near the poverty level, while a small group of locals grab every new dollar that flows into the island. The crooked politicians who get their phony power from this system system love people to focus on us vs them. In truth, the average Caymanian and work permit holder have far more in common than they realize. Meanwhile, wealthy foreigners buy their way into the community and local oligarchs squeeze every penny out of their countrymen. Runaway inflation is a rounding error to them and a substandard education system doesn’t impact their children educated abroad.
I am a Caymanian and I have no representation, nor do I have an equitable construct of governance and/or valid/tenable/sustainable system govermental administration,nor do I have anything other than a farcical illusion of free speech, nor do I have a valid system of democracy/democratic process/decision making processes upon which to have or should have one iota of faith and/or hope in nor should I or anyone else who is purposefully blind and/or willfully ignorant, who does not have their head firmly inserted into the waning proverbial sand or their own metaphorical rectum.
I speak not to you personally because I do not know you, nor do I know who you are. How could I? I speak to the wider expatriate community collectively; You may speak, with what many and/or may not be, a black hearted temerity comingled with what is a conceited arrogance, an unjustifiable sense of superiority and/or entitlement, or from the dysphoria of a perspective clouded by the delusion of a supplanted naked emperor’s perspective. You may do that. This forum is rife with such vitriol along with the cowardice of anonymity, the absence of objectivity and the woeful lack of true sincerity and the heinously destructive lack of integrity which is very common across all sectors of Cayman’s collective population now, inclusive of far too many Caymanians. That is to say nothing of abject idiocy. It is just another sign of the sociological degradation and/or cannibalization of that which once was yet now has been buried beneath the now solidified carcass of an institutionalized corruption, a complete lack of any accountability, and the decrepit deceit and malfeasance which was/is/continues to destroy Cayman from the inside out and the outside in.
You speak of expats. You say you have no representation. You have far more than I do, as a member of the electorate or as a Caymanian, because what is called democracy here is akin to a den of thieves in a whorehouse thinly veiled behind a veneer of opacity, disingenuity, self interest, bribery and the systemic collusion of special interest charlatans who would and will continue to deny/disregard/diminish, seek to destroy and defecate upon any given truth when said truth does not fit within the parameters of their own myopic agendas.
There was, there is, and there shall remain, a diabolical collusion between those self interested and insular blackguards of the expatriate communities who have, are, and will continue to undermine, dispossess, deceive, use and abuse and will ultimately destroy Cayman for their own gain and their own ends at the continued ultimate expense of the greater good and to the detriment of all and sundry. This has nothing to do with the pandemic or the resultant collapse of the economy. The financial industry itself is a golden millstone around the neck of Cayman, yet few to none will recognize this. This is done by working hand in hand and collusion with the worst of the worst of Cayman and beyond, and it is they who hold the true power in the Cayman of today. Not me. Not Caymanians. Not the electorate. Not even those who hold elected office, for they are just the pimps and the whores in a system of profligate injustice whose tentacles are spread across the globe in it’s entirety.
These things cannot and will not continue into perpetuity. Neither karma, the golden rule, nor burgeoning realities will allow this to continue unhindered forever. You, and those like you, have somewhere else that is truly your home. This is my home, and you have betrayed us. I have nowhere else. One cannot ever become a part of a place and/or a people in any real sense if one is willing to consort and to plot and to collude with those in and of this place for whom greed and a lust for power and influence is their real guiding force. That maketh not a family. That maketh not a community. That maketh not a sustainable equation. The same is true of Caymanians themselves/ourselves.
History is not taught here in any real way because if it was the correlations, the similarities and the parallels of what has happened all around us is being mirrored and repeated here now, purposefully,and it has been for far too long without debilitating consequences becoming a foregone conclusion.
Far less than the pandemic’s negative consequential effects, these things have been in play for a long time. Forget me, a Caymanian. Forget how my personal existence has been devastated to a point which the majority of the damage is now beyond repair. Forget that.
Ask your own damn self. What part have I had to play? I have had to for my own self. Hubris is the mark of a fool before the fall. That is Cayman in it’s collective entirety in a nutshell. Those who may not be of this place and it’s people are no less culpable nor are they innocent, nor are they without power to do something about it. Reality is they have far more power and/or opportunity than I.
There is a thin veil here which hides a giant iceberg of rot. It is a cancerous tumour, purposefully promulgated in order to make way for those for whom any true love or loyalty to Cayman is nonexistent except for hollow rhetoric, disingenuity,propagandized tripe,greed, the philanthropy of charlatans and the delusions of liars who have come to believe their own lies because the reality of their own existence and the consequences of their own actions and/or the woefully bereft lack thereof are far too horrific for them to even begin to contemplate, let alone recognize, let alone address and let alone begin to seek to rectify.
Go ahead, kill the messenger. Complain about verbosity or vocabulary or style of literary exercise. The message remains. You can run from the truth, but you cannot hide from yourselves forever, no matter where you go.
7:02 Nor should you.. this is NOT your island. Get over it.
You like Caymanians to be poor and destitute. Colonialist ass.
Stupid question, why do you come here or live here then? If you hate your parents why stay in their house?
too little too late from ppm….. but its a start.
the chamber of commerce and cita should be hammering away at pact everyday regarding their lame no-plan performance.
they have science and stats on their side and should be lobbying for immediate non-quarntine travel for vaccinated individuals
actually the PPM did a stellar job of managing the crisis and keeping the public informed
cayman has nothing to worry about….we have achieved ‘herd immunity’ generally….all risk groups are at least 90% vaccinated.
cannot wait for pact to come up with more nonsense and non-scientific excuses on why we can’t re-open….
Indian variant
Vaccine
A problem in the UK, one of our gateways, but that seems to be because a large percentage (especially of younger adults) have only had one dose of AZ which seems not to be very effective against this variant cf 2 doses which IS effective. In Cayman, the vast majority of the population have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer which offers a much higher level of protection.
If Cayman waits until there is zero risk, it will be waiting many many years. This is not a viable option.
Like the Cayman flag in the backdrop.unfortunately a few months ago it was not there and some had little or no regard for it or Caymanians ! Patriotism has returned eh Alden ? Sadly if some in West Bay and Crewe Road would only stop conspiring against there own people. We might just be able to Try and get this pandemic mess straightened out and get back to work and get the island up and running, but alas some power hungry maggots still plotting and planning to grab power .Aint that right Bababushka?
“Insist that everyone who comes here is vaccinated,” McLaughlin said.
How about children under the age of 12, are they no longer welcome to the Cayman Islands? All this focus on vaccination completely misses the point that children cannot be vaccinated. A lot of young families live on Cayman. Also a lot of stay over tourists are families with young kids
I’m assuming the idea would be to waive quarantine for the vaccinated first, see how it goes, and then if/when there is no or limited entry of the virus into the community, work out a more relaxed arrangement for families with younger kids – involving testing – ahead of high season. If they were to start the reopening on Sept 1, that gives nearly 3 months before US Thanksgiving by which point I would think a decision on kids would need to be taken or all those families would go elsewhere (if they have not already decided to do that, because of Cayman’s dithering).
Having said that, in the US, they are talking about the vaccine being approved for the U12s in September. Whether the UK vaccinates the U16s, never mind U12s if/when the vaccine is approved for that age group, is another story.
Unfortunately what the UD decides about under 16s is not the issue. The UK dictates who we vaccinate because they gave us the vaccine. Perhaps instead of paying hospitality workers $5 million a month to stay home we should buy some Pfizer and apply our own vaccination policy. Because is MF you do the math, you cannot get to Wayne’s target of 70-80% without vaccinating under 16s so de facto we will never get there unless either we break with UK vaccination policy, the the UK changes that policy, or he changes the target. That simple.
I agree but dropping the quarantine for vaccinated people is at least a start. And better than the situation that we are currently in.
My son (15) is in school I’m the UK, he has to take a test twice a week and has been negative in everyone,, when he returns home he will have to quarantine for 14 days, even though he’s always had negative tests.
He has to use the UK NHS app and it keeps a record of all his tests.
My question is, should he have to quarantine?
I hate to agree with the PPM, the boarders need to open but they can’t blame the PACT government.
Unfortunately this virus isn’t going anywhere, we are going to have to live with it for years to come are we all going to have to quarantine for a period everytime we travel?
For those of you that have refused to get the gab, you are vety selfish, and yes I know a few people and have told them this. In fact our health carrier has said that persons who don’t have the gab, they will have to pay more for their coverage or COVID-19 will be excluded from their policy on our annual renewal.
You understand you are saying you are appearing prepared to risk a grandparent’s life so that little Johnny can come on vacation without quarantine?
The grandparent will have been offered the vaccine. The grandparent may also – like my own parents who are in their 70s – take the view that they want their kids and grandkids’ lives to be as normal as possible and if the price for that is that the older population take precautions (or be vaccinated) to limit their risk, then so be it.
Sorry for being blunt- you are an utter idiot.
Covid is having a devastating impact on children. An entire generation of kids has taken a social, emotional and academic ordeal that is extreme.
Is the Grandparent vaccinated? If so, they are ok. If not, why not? Why are so many people still stuck in April 2020 with respect to Covid?
Why wasn’t the grandparent vaccinated?
That is a lie! If it were true, health insurance would also exclude the obese, smokers and alcohol consumers. Health insurance cannot force you to take an experimental treatment (because it isn’t a vaccine) where you or them cannot cannot sue for side effects.
You are quick to call out people for not having “the jab” why has your son not had his?? It is approved for 12-16 to have it… pot calling the kettle black much.
Do you know what will happen when the borders are opened?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. A year and a half of abject panic, and nothing will happen.
So if we reopen, nothing will change? so you think no tourists will arrive, no visitors? ok then!
then why bother reopening, as nothing will happen
PPM had a plan laid out based on numbers vaccinated. For some reason Panton doesn’t want to follow it. He lied when he said there was no plan.
Lol Roy, is that you?
Cayman not ever opening. More excuses . Goalpost moves again. Ridiculous!
Roy is now just a bitter old man who’s salty that daddy Aldens promise to hand over the country didn’t come true
‘
God we are going to have to listen to these ancient farts bloviate for the next 8 years aren’t we?
Never forget that PPM were happy to kick the can of major issues like the the dump and public transportation down the road for all eternity but when it came to enriching themselves and their cronies with projects like the cruise births they were willing to ram half baked plans down our gullets.
Same old PPM tactics. They had the information that the PACT group was having their press briefing tomorrow and wanted to get a jump on them so they could get their digs in..
Did anyone here those whispering conversations between Alden and Jon Jon? Despicable!!
Their disingenuous statement that they would be willing to offer their “expertise” to the PACT group was nothing more than that..When Reshma asked Roy if he had reached out to the PACT group based on his statement, his answer was no…then of course the real leader Alden jumped in and said why should we call them. let them call us…Empty words to try to make them look good.
Then Jon Jon praying for the government..Do they know that God doesn’t like ugly? They should be ashamed of themselves but nothing changes with that bunch.
The only one of them there today that I would even put any faith in would be Moses..the rest of them are all about political power and trying their best to undermine the government.
People need to be vaccinated in order to open
and Congrats go to the Govt for finishing up with
unused vaccines -we need more to get to the downgraded original high target to an opening point. Thank you both PPM UK PACT and the wealthy philanthropist we hate on so much for sending the test. We need better health care -stop punishing local doctors who have served us well for years whilst bringing in new clinics that don’t see you as a human but a dollar. BUT for god sakes look around you – you are alive. Take care of your own and don’t spit on those who are trying to take care of you! NonProfits have worked like crazy to feed people, be proud. Hoteliers /restaurant’ need to take care of their employees we the people who pay them hear. if Dart sues for his rights and Britannia has to pay to get clarification of rights, rejoice the laws are being made and so have fait because because Dart cares. Opposition bench’s are good for us, let them spur MLA’s forward but we people are not blind, we listened about dead customers and percentages. Cayman people are good, someone very generously bought you tests to make it easier to recognize Covid. Let it happen but if you don’t pay attention to the worlds new variant and still don’t take precautions YOU are the ones holding us up!
Past time for re-opening! Everybody in Cayman has had endless opportunities to get a vaccine and the vast majority of our vulnerable population is vaccinated! Also, vaccination rates in other countries are SOARING while infections rates have drastically decreased. We can’t stay locked down forever!
Vaccinated US citizens no longer need to come to Cayman, really, people come on. Summer plans, winter plans already planned elsewhere. We just dragging our feet for what? Cayman doesn’t have a niche market right now.
Unless people have family in Cayman, US citizens have booked all holiday plans. The pandemic is basically considered over and everything is open, masks are off, people are vaccinated and numbers remain low. No one is going to travel to a place where they have to quarantine and they are looking for places that are welcoming with good value. If the island opens, it needs to have competitive prices ( special welcome back deals) or people will go where they can get them. Hot weather and a beach is hot weather is a beach- Covid free doesn’t float when numbers are low worldwide.
Our borders are only closed to proper tourists who spend money. We are certainly still open to economuc refugees from near and far. W/P’s, P/R & status still being handed out. Moratorium needed on all three. Also when will Govt enforce the law and give P/R recipients notice of revocation if fees not paid.
And to the fboy film crew.
Yeah it is indeed a bad hair day Roy, open ya hands wider cause you with all of your experience really need prayer. There you are a man with so much possibilities sitting with a sad bunch of losers who you think have got your back, but just waiting for the right time to throw you under the bus. You, and them wanted some of those supposedly inexperienced people to make up the Government with you huh, rumors are that you all agreed to “help them” tell us how much help you gave them mr. Opposition loser the leader.
Listen old fella be glad you had your chance at doing good as the Finance Minister, repent your nefarious associations and go back to the Industry where you shined, this political ting is not good for you, it will take away your soul Roy, it will take warning my brother take warning.
What a sight, Mose not really there he reading some love letter, Joey he down in he phone playing tick tok, Alden looking pious and a bit bewildered ( should be me doing the talking) and J Seymour thinking about speaking in tongues and waking everybody up, while Roy he is throwing up his hands in despair what the hell am I doing here.
No sah sad sad looking bunch of Xs.
Dead on..lol..my sentiments exactly..what a bunch of sore losers..
first step has to be letting vaccinated residents travel….
what are the plans for digital vaccine passport??
the silence is defeaning from pact…..but what would you expect from a bunch of small minded, small town independents who never had any common agenda or manifesto…..?
Just like PPM. Why so similar?
why doesn’t our media remember what alden said in march….
he stupidly claimed we could re-open with 90% of over 60’s vaccinated?
he was actuallly right and had stats on his side….but as usual, spineless alden flip-flopped….
For as much as Alden’s faults should be highlighted, it’s inaccurate to say that he flip-flopped as he was not in a position to take action when the above levels were reached.
To the contrary, he is now pointing out that action needs to be taken due to vaccination milestones being reached and here he is reminding the current government what was said.
will keep asking the same questions:
what happens if we reach the impossible ever changing target?…cig has never said what would happen.
what happens when we don’t reach the target?
why are we denying vaccinated people freedom of travel?
is cayman trying to stay covid and virus free forever?
we have protected our at risk groups and health service and have one of the highest vaccinations rates in the world….what is cayman afraid of?
will wait for answers.
Fear. Fear of Gods retribution because they know what they are and what they have done. Hiding is the only option for them. Everyone else is just along for the ride. Plan on being stuck here until They have all died of natural causes.
Cayman waiting for people like yourself and your 32 arses to pick up ya bundle and leave and go. Restrain yaselves before we send you packing ya hear.
Large percentage of the civil service remain un-vaccinated, as they are being paid regardless of an opening & also don’t care. Many of the opinion Cayman can just continue as-is.
The realtors are selling multi million dollar homes sight unseen over an I-phone video walk thru , then getting the commission .A few of these individuals I have spoken to have said they don’t care if the border ever opens to allow semi un-restricted travel. Bible Bashers have told their congregation that they wont be able to breed after being vaccinated, adding to the non-vaccinated totals. A quantum shift in some of these attitudes will be needed for Cayman to recover & get out of the current situation.
so no-plan-ppm suddenly has a plan???…complete jokers.
the borders should be open already to vacinated people without quarantine.
this is the only question to be asked:
if cayman has protected its most at risk groups and in turn protected its health service….what are they afraid of?
the fact is(and ppm know this), cayman has not got the guts to burst the bubble and live with covid……even though stats prove our health service is not in danger.
Who’s inexperienced, Roy? Jay Ebanks? Isaac Rankine? The same people that Alden endorsed at the end of his narcissistic speech on the night before the election?
I think he is referring to Wayne Chris Kenneth and Sabrina mostly but your point is pointless because neither Isaac or Jay were earmarked for cabinet seats by the PPM with zero experience. That is the worry you seem to be ignoring! Kenneth and and Chris are second term members and they don’t even have the experience needed (obviously)
Are you kidding? I don’t know about Jay but it was clear from Isaac’s first meeting with the PPM that he would be bought and paid for with a Ministerial Position..If you remember , it was even higher stakes with PACT as he committee wanted him to be Premier.
If you can’t see through Alden’s political politricks by now, something tells me you never will.
Ever heard of a thing called “hot mic?” These guys need to research what that is before the next press conference…and yes a little bit of decorum instead of whispering over the person speaking or making jokes and handing others notes disrupting the speaker is just so PPM.
Yes, to have them join his experienced team and learn alongside those who had already experienced the weight of making heavy decisions.
Instead the newbies have been shoved into decision making roles and their paralysis is frightening.
I was hoping that they would be able to draw from the experienced civil servants in their ministries but so far they seem scared to step up and express any thoughts at all.
I’d personally prefer inexperience over a track record of corruption (and incompetence), but that’s just me.
Btw, people with narcissistic personality disorder should not be allowed govern others.
If you’re so eager for the border to reopen in September, then why not join PACT and try to make that happen? Oh wait, you’re power-hungry and egotistical too.
Why would Roy .. leader of the PPM join PACT ? Have you even been paying attention ? Omg
Oh yes, the leader of the PPM who got elected as an independent back in 2013 and said he would never join them.
Nothing wrong with it, Suckoo switched 3 times..Roy is washed up now. The only reason Alden annointed him as his Premier for the PPm was because he was the “safe” one, just like he did with Marco..and Alden will spit him out just like he did Marco and Alden will re-annoint himself Savior, Premier and Narcisstic leader of the PPM come next election. Roy will be a figment of his and everyone’s imagination..He wasted a good opportunity to jump out of the PPM corrupted party..
You seem more focused on personalities than the message being communicated.
I fully endorse this particular message. We should be hearing some semblance of a plan to open from our government.
They get paid to make decisions and the silence is is becoming intolerable. It’s not too late to address this issue so I hope that we hear something soon.
What message? All I heard was excuses on why the border reopening goalpost was being moved again.
Keep moving it and when you finally open there will be no restaurants and no hotels left. People are traveling. People are not going to wait until cayman decides to open up. If smart, a June or July opening would have caught the summer travelers. Now, no one wants to tie up their money with ….maybe September, maybe October, maybe we need to train locals, maybe we need to vaccinate more……all these maybes mean a big fat we are not opening anytime soon and if people are smart, people should book elsewhere.
Makes a nice change from Alden and the Font of No Knowledge Seymour hogging the stage and talking about nothing in particular. I’d rather Panton and Pact spoke when required and not to boost their own egos and hear the sound of their own voices like the last lot did during the Covid briefings.
So glad these morons got voted out.
We need to send out the RCIP chopper to find PACT they’re MIA.
KEEP THE BORDER CLOSED
Why? The rest of the world is open!
6:11 … do you understand the meaning of Racist?
I agree with Alden and have said this numerous times, Wayne Panton is paralyzed with fear. Panton’s complete silence is incomprehensible. Total lack of leadership (you wanted this job).
Can we at least start with allowing fully vaccinated Cayman residents to avoid quarantine, or, at as an interim step, reduce to 3 to 5 days?
If you think Panton is paralyzed by fear, then surely his silence is NOT incomprehensible to you?
Incomprehensible because the one of the main planks of his campaign was transparency. No one, no one at all, knows what he and a few government ministers have as a plan.
His decisions will affect almost all 65K of people here in some manner, so produce your voice, Mr. Panton.
armchair critics….
#CaymanSlaveTraders back at it again…..zzzzzzz
Paralyzed with fear might be a bit over the top, but he must feel like the captain of the Titanic, knowing that none of his crew members can do anything to save him; that is even if they were so inclined. At least he gets to wash up on the beach after it’s all over instead of drowning.
Working with his “team” is more difficult than herding cats. First there’s former PPM/UDP/any-party-in-power JuJu with no thoughts on anything other than placing her constituents over on the Brac in a state of helpless indigence if they don’t elect her.
Then there’s Sabrina who is a like for like replacement for JonJon. Folks, your health is in your own hands.
Next we have the deputy premier and financial whiz Chris Saunders. We all know that the Cayman football team was in Miami a few weeks ago trying to qualify for the World Cup. I predict that same team could win the World Cup long before Chris Saunders begins to understand anything about financial matters.
Then we have Bernie, Jay, and Kenneth. Wayne must be rolling his eyes back in head to see if there is something at the back of his brain that might give him hope.
How can we expect Wayne to be transparent and hold press conferences when he has to scrip answers for at least five other people than himself, and then pray to God that they can stay on script for a few minutes.
It is said that democracy gives people the government that they deserve, but somehow Oscar Wilde comes to mind when he said “When the Gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers”.
All of that and he not so bright himself. What a hot mess.
I this all of the 132 members left in the PPM?
Doesn’t look like where is the premier but more like “where are my meds?” which Aldart has obviously stolen. Hey where’s Babs…trying to find people who support women beaters more than her?
The PPM trying to goad the new government into doing the thing they would be doing if they won the election might just be the most pathetic thing I have seen in months, more pathetic than Roy’s “leadership” if you can even call it that
Alden must be tired from all these months with his hands up Roy’s ass moving his mouth like the puppet he is
The PPM only has one deck to draw from: Vindictiveness
Roy is the leader on paper, yet Isaac was at Alden’s house shortly before he flipped to PPM and the PPM still meets at Alden’s house.
10:22 we all know Roy is just the mouth piece puppet…
We residents of Red Bay have a more pressing question, where is our representative Alden at?
Nothing is happening in our district and the park he started is overgrown with weeds, left rough and unfinished, road paving started before the election has been left without road markings and unfinished.
Wish that man would care something about his constituents instead of running around trying to stir up more trouble with these other pathetic burned out jokers.
Oh maybe he is helping Seymour find money to pay his employees?
Summer is over in the US by September 1st. For tourists who are vaccinated looking to travel a July or August opening would get us down there ( w/ out a quarantine period of course). Let’s go Cayman!
Any Caymanians who wanted to work in tourism has had 1 1/2 years to apply. You think now, all of a sudden, they are going to? Don’t think they want to work those positions…. Which is to bad.
Roy & Alden sit in their chairs piping up nonsense oblivious to what’s going on globally. Quit the grandstanding, read the news and side with common sense before making fools of yourselves with providing trumpism opposition
If you believe that this message is nonsense then it’s you who is oblivious to what is going on in the rest of the world.
The PPM’s points actually made sense, no matter the motivation. The current government’s inability to communicate a cohesive message (or any message) is frightfully obvious to the country.
The advocacy for a science based approach to reopening isn’t populism, it’s what we’ve been hoping to achieve all along.
Government handouts can’t last forever and there needs to be a thought process applied and expressed for our reopening, even if it doesn’t match the PPM version.
Well done at the polls Cayman. You elected a bunch of independents who will never make a decision or get anything done.
Open the darn border already. We have given everyone ample opportunity to get vaccinated.
We looked so smart at the beginning of this by closing the border and now look like idiots for forgetting to reopen it.
We elected people with sense who are careful in their decision making and not just playing politricks. Make no mistake, if PPM was still in they would have NO plan. They are just doing this in order for people to look at them favorably again. It is as clear as day. Pathetic really
You’re just plain wrong. You were tricked into thinking the PACT government will be effective.
Wait until the infighting starts within the PACT. These people were all independents that in itself says it all. They have independent views and nothing will move forward.
The big Queston is how long is the Vaccine good for ? I got my second Vaccine shot on 1 march, is it ok for me to travel in November ? That’s the BIG QUESTION. If its only effective for 6 months, then after 6 months it would be like i never had the Vaccine. ?
For Pfizer, they have completed their 6 month antibody testing across their trial participants, so will have a decent idea by now of the extent to which – if any – protection has dropped over that period. They will start their 12 month antibody testing in August-September time and likely have completed that by December. There appears to be an expectation that a booster will be offered – Pfizer are planning to test a booster on a smaller subset of trial participants this summer.
Say what you like about the PPM, one thing is clear: they need a bigger table.
they didn’t expect jon-jon to get re-elcted…
Fantastic 😂😂
The good life lol 😂
Fair point – I never voted for the any PPM candidate but on this issue they are right – no sound except crickets chirping coming from government on any issue of any significance from re-opening to the dump to the continued destruction of the environment.
You are as dumb and the 66 people who liked your post are as dumb as they come if you think this isn’t politricks at its finest. PPM is playing you lot as fools and all of you are buying into it. Poor sods. If you think they would have actually been doing any of what they wrote in that sad little piece….you are a moron. Alden got ya’ll by the balls
Even if it is “politricks” they are right and Wayne should be embarrassed by his performance so far.
The lack of communication from the PAC is terrible.
9:54 what is there to be embarrassed about? He is cleaning up the mess PPM left
behind and being careful/measured in his approach to reopening. Better then what Aldart the fart and his band of losers did.
As I recall at the last press conference Wayne said that they would have press conferences regularly on a monthly basis. That would be great. Have Jay explain who is going to be on the new CPA and PAT – after his mentor from West Bay tells him of course.
Don’t forget, Jay was bigged up by Alden himself.
Alden thought he could use him as his pawn too… can we say backfire politrickssss. Sad all around
Yeah where is the premier that focuses on questionable and unnecessary contracts at the expense of the people…..oh yeah that guy…why his team loss but he needs to use a critical and emotional crisis to to detract from the nefarious dealings of the last administration…take your meds Roy.
Thank you PPM and the leader of the opposition for giving voice to the concerns that many share.
The science suggests that it is safe to allow Vaccinated persons in with little or no quarantine.
It is time for daily flights to Miami and the easement of which persons may enter the country. Travel Time and CBC operate with little oversight and put Caymanians under stress. Time for freedom!
It’s time for jet blue, American, , delta United, etc.
Well said 8:23- this whole thing is a farce. Alden, Roy and their merry band of cronies are not being genuine in the slightest. They are only saying any of this stuff to have people riled up at the Government, turn agains PACT, try to pressure those members and make themselves look like the “saving grace of Cayman”. It is totally disingenuous. Of course, simple minded people like you, would snap that up and run with it. Playing into PPM’s plan. Our current government are trying to be smart in their decision making to protect all residents against this virus and all of its mutations. Let us not forget, while Corona will come back to our shores, we HAVE to try our best to limit how much of it does. Many are screaming open the borders…however, we could not handle a complete outbreak here. We do not have the facilities here to handle such an occurrence. Furthermore, people who are sick with other illnesses, strokes, heart attacks, cancer etc would not be able to receive the care that they need, inevitably dying as well. We need to think beyond just our shopping trips, ski trips, etc and look at the big picture.
Plus, I would love to know if our vaccine percentage is including those who flew in to take the vaccine as many did during that time. Second homeowners brought their families in to receive the vaccine for free. They cannot be counted in our percentage… they are not here to contribute to any form of “immunity” for our population. Stick your head in the sand and believe that was not happening if you want…but it was and many know it.
I agree that better communication from elected officials and government in general would be welcome, not only with respect to Covid but with respect to any progress in relation to the things that they promised to get our votes.
However, I suspect that the PPM is being disingenuous in suggesting that government should publish a fixed date or even a fixed percentage of the population when things can change so rapidly with this virus and its mutations. They know that simple statements would appeal to the simple minded and would also be a trap for government if circumstances change for the worse over the next few weeks.
8:20, finally…someone with sense who sees through the bs. So many have their blinders on believing Rot and PPM are saying any of this from a place of warmth and care.
At present, there are no sequenced mutations in the community, nor in controlled lab settings, that have out-manoeuvred fully-vaccinated persons with the vaccines approved by WHO. The anti-body protection lasts, and boosters may not be necessary as had been hypothecated months ago. That means that the growing number of fully-vaccinated are over the finish line in terms of being a community host vector. The journey does continue for everyone else, including the bulk of the planet still months away from first doses.
Nobody wants to make this decision, because it will ultimately cost lives. That’s the truth of it.
So, now the former PPM are racking on the new government for not making the decisions that they were unwilling to make. I find that to be seriously disingenuous.
Look. We’re going to have to have a measured reopening. I imagine that the CIG will try five days quarantine for the vaxed with PCR testing before and during with the hope that no community spread occurs.
I think (don’t know, but think) there is likely a large British contingent that want to go home and back more than they want to protect the citizens here. I think the same is likely true for U.S. expats. I don’t blame them, and yet I have to think that if you’ve come here to work and prosper, then you are either with us or not, as the landscape changes.
I have relatives in the U.S. that want to come here on vacation. I know dozens of other folk that have relatives in other countries that want to come here.
Whoever opens the borders knows that they will likely be opening the floodgates to the variant coronaviruses. Myself, I think we should just go for it, and let the chips fall where they may, however I feel for two groups: I feel for the health care professionals who have to look at this all as a daily triage, and who know they don’t have the beds for a community spread coronavirus. I also feel for the government, which knows it cannot continue to afford not allowing the Cayman Island to open up.
I think that everyone who wanted the jab has been given enough opportunity to get it. I think that those who have chosen not to get it, and those who have medical issues precluding it, know where they stand. I hope -most of all — that everyone has done a ton of research with vetted medical reports and made an informed choices.
This government will have to make the choice to open up, and it will cost lives, and it isn’t their fault.
But the point being, they need to make, and more importantly communicate, a decision. Businesses dependent on tourists (not just the hotels, trinket stores, and water sports) are trying to make decisions about timing for hiring, potential closures, etc.
Setting a 5-day interim quarantine for vaccinated persons to dip our toes in the water and see how it feels is fine, but announce it. Then set some goals for what we’re hoping to see during the interim for exit PCR testing and report on it periodically to provide assurances that we are either successfully moving toward open borders for vaccinated persons, or the results don’t support doing so as yet.
I get that they don’t want to make hard decisions here. But that’s exactly what they were elected to do. So they need to step up, and actually govern.
No quarantine for vaccinated travelers.
I have just finished a 3 week trip throughout the southwest and mountain states. The US is back in business Resturants are full- sports events are back-Las Vegas is busy as I have ever seen it. Arizona resorts are packed. Very few people wearing masks -planes running at capacity COVID infection rates basically non existent. Highly vaccinated population. Meanwhile Cayman continues to suffer from decision paralysis
You posted that on the day the US death toll reached 600,000, and active concern as to the spread of the Delta variant is growing.
8.06pm You forgot Jamaicans who outnumber everyone else on island. They want to go home but not stay too.
Great post Beaumont, beautifully said and articulated. I fully agree with what you have said.
Calm down man.
Difficult to tell who you are talking to, Mr. Elvis. If it’s me, everyt’ing is always kriss an curry.