More breaches as COVID isolation cases grow

| 13/09/2021 | 102 Comments
Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee

(CNS): The risk of more community transmission in Grand Cayman increased over the weekend as seven more breaches of isolation rules were reported, as well as another jump in positive cases of the virus among travellers that were due to be released from quarantine. While the Public Health team continues to investigate the contacts of the confirmed community acquired infections, 650 PCR tests were carried out Saturday with 14 positive results among travellers, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee.

Another unconfirmed breach report was made to police Monday morning at the same residence where people were breaking quarantine rules over the weekend, which may be tied to a case of domestic abuse.

Officials have given no details of the breaches that occurred over the last few days but have asked the public to refrain from sharing false reports as it hinders the work of Public Health, Travel Cayman and the police as they try to investigate the breaches. However, so far it appears that there have been no positive cases of the virus among those breaking the rules.

Dr Lee said at Friday’s press briefing that Public Health believes revealing where people are in quarantine is considered to be an unreasonable invasion of privacy, especially where people are not breaking the rules. But he said he supports people putting up notices if they choose to as a warning to the wider community and to prevent people visiting by mistake.

Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said in a release over the weekend that every report of a suspected breach is investigated. “It is clear that despite numerous warnings, a small percentage of travellers and members of the public are not taking the laws and regulations governing quarantine at residence seriously,” he said.

Two cases concerning home isolation breaches will be in court next week, he noted.

“It may be that further cases involving quarantine breaches may come before the court in short order. It would be unfortunate if criminal prosecution is required for travellers and the wider public to take these matters seriously and abide by the quarantine restrictions in place,” Manderson said.

Travel Cayman Director Casandra Morris said in the release about the breaches that the authority was reorganising key resources to mitigate the potential for future incidents. “We continue to fight against the spread of COVID-19 and to encourage persons in quarantine, as well as the public to adhere to our protocols and guidelines. We need everyone to do their part to keep our families, community, and the country safe.”

Morris thanked members of the public who have reported breaches to date as they play an important role in keeping the Cayman Islands community safe.

Government has yet to confirm the number of active cases of the virus among around 900 people in isolation and quarantine but it is understood to be more than 40 people.

Anyone who suspects an individual has breached quarantine can make an anonymous report to 943-SAFE (7233) or file an online report here.


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (102)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Cayman Airways belongs to us not some foreign country. Let them find out out how this happened because I am sure that this lady had help.

    Remember in Jamaica, Cayman Airways does not have it’s own people but instead are handled by an airport handler much like CDS or Air Agencies here in Cayman.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I’m confused. Why the fuss over isolation breaches and contact tracing? When we allow the virus in, the majority of us will be infected anyhow.

  3. Anonymous says:

    What happened to Dart saving the island with their bio button thing?

  4. Robert Mugabe IV says:

    Jon Jon Jackass’s household set the bar height when it came to taking the Covid protocols seriously. The bar was on the ground and people have walked over it ever since.
    Cayman Airways need fo be held responsible for allowing Positive Covid case on to their flight.
    WTF is going on.
    All this BS about opening dates and quarantining and the dangers of Covid/Delta and more planned reopening and then this Covid Positive is allowed on the National Air Carrier to land here.
    Can you imagine if we ever make the huge mistake of getting Independence……
    PACT want the entire island to get Vaxxed but don’t give two F’s about a known Poitive Case stepping foot on the island.
    PACT All talk and no action whene it comes to the crunch.

    • Anonymous says:

      I have to agree that, when it comes to portraying a positive imagine as opposed to actually doing a great job, Wayne’s vision for the PACT is to look like they are doing a good job instead of actually doing a good job.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Open the borders!

  6. Anonymous says:

    When will we hear about Cayman Airways being prosecuted? They broke the law.

    • Anonymous says:

      CAL broke the law but is investigating itself. What’s wrong here? When have we heard of a suspected criminal being allowed to investigate his or her case?

      • Anonymous says:

        Cayman Airways belongs to us not some foreign country. Let them find out out how this happened because I am sure that this lady had help.

        Remember in Jamaica, Cayman Airways does not have it’s own people but instead are handled by an airport handler much like CDS or Air Agencies here in Cayman.

    • Anonymous says:

      We paid for outbound PCR tests in Canada, from one of the few full-time “professional” approved labs, and having now submitted to a dozen of these in a variety of countries, we can reliably report they were a rubbish exercise. The truth is: Cayman shouldn’t blindly rely on the inbound negative PCRs anyway, vaxed or not, since the proficiency of the test administrator is highly variable, and that part matters.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Is is possible, probable or very likely that those breaching quarantine protocols, those charged with arresting them and those charged with prosecuting them are all of the same nationality? That being non-Caymanian?

    Just asking!

    Why were Skylar and Ramgeet rapidly jailed and no one else since?! What happened to the teenager whose mom is a big Government official?

    WTF is going on? Why the double standards??

  8. Anonymous says:

    Too funny. Too many calling for jail time and law enforcement when everyone knows only expats get jail time. Caymanians get away free. Over 50 breaches and how many in jail? Must not be any expats. Or maybe just another dysfunctional part of the island?

    • Anonymous says:

      You must be forgetting that out of the two people that have received jail time for quarantine breach, that one was a Caymanian.

      • Anonymous says:

        ……who was only arrested because his girlfriend was a US citizen and busted first. He never would have been questioned alone. Just be honest.

    • Anonymous says:

      1:51pm, Ramgee is Caymanian one of only two that was jailed. So what stupidnes you talking about. You got to be an expat. Keep your foolishnes and go back to your own country.

    • Anonymous says:

      Agree. Always the expat’s fault even though they pay for everything

    • Anonymous says:

      You all need to stop with the xenophobia and finger pointing. Unless your going to back it up with facts, there is no reason to open your mouth. I am an expat and I think you have no place telling the Caymanians that they are getting away with something illegal. Its not fair and it’s not justified. You need to sit it out and hear the truth first. The truth is still the truth even if everyone believes the lie.

  9. Concerned Citezen says:

    This is extremely concerning and it does not appear that the Government is taking the same position as they took with Ramgeet & Mack.

    • Anonymous says:

      What the fact that this virus is here on the planet to stay at least for 5 years if not forever?

      Seems like they are following science to me and realize we have to live with it and move on!

    • Pot says:

      That was a long time ago when COVID was a lot more deadly, taking into account therapeutic advances and the vaccine.

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s not up to the government. It’s up to the police to investigate and the DPP to choose to prosecute.

      People have to remember these are “reported breaches”. So somebody seeing someone on someone’s property that they either think or know is in quarantine.

      It doesn’t prove anything. It doesn’t prove that the people left quarantine or let people into their residences. It’s certainly unlikely to be people slipping off bracelets and attending public events.

      I am confident that where these cases can be made the perpetrators will be charged and will potentially receive similar sentences to Mack and Ramgeet.

      I am sure this comment will get lots of thumbs down and suggestions from Caymanians that expats are getting away with murder and vice versa.

      Let’s see what happens with the two cases that are before the courts this week. Then, if the results are markedly different you are justified in making these kind of statements.

    • Anonymous says:

      That was PPM , this is PACT…. who seem more worried about being popular, than enforcing the law.

  10. Frank says:

    These breaches were far more rare last year when arrivals to Cayman were mandated to quarantine for 14 days in government chosen and monitored quarantine facilities. This is what it should go back to, unfortunately we tried the the ‘honor system’ and thanks to a few bad apples, it did not work.

    • Anonymous says:

      Government knows in a couple weeks quarantine is going so really all this is not worth the court time or the aggravation.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Alleged breaches.

  12. Anonymous says:

    You got to wonder why this all matters when in a month, there will be Covid all over the island…

    Assuming we open, everyone will catch Covid at some point (vaccinated or not)…

  13. Kevin says:

    Is it me or is there a desire to not report, not by CNS but by the government on the community transmission side of things.

  14. Anonymous says:

    If the violator is a WP holder, thump them with the fine and cancel their permit. If it is a Caymanian or PR holder, jail them. The only way people will learn.

    • Anonymous says:

      Sure! That sounds very balance, doesn’t it?

    • Kevin says:

      Wp holder. Jail them for a minimum of 2 weeks, fine them, expel them and ban them.

    • Anonymous says:

      Caymanian on paper and PR holder strip their status and start again with work permits.

      • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

        I bet you’d be first in line to vote for a firing squad.

        • Anonymous says:

          Firing squad is too good for them – crucifixion is better, especially if you hang them upside down. Nail them up I say! Nail some sense into them!

    • Anonymous says:

      Lets see if that woman that tested positive for the c-virus and her companion before they boarded the plane. What will happen to them ? Probably just a small tiny slap on the wrist, then more will do it again. What’s wrong with Cayman ? They need to be fined 10,000 and sent to prison for 2 years. She knew that she was positive before getting on the plane for Cayman.That case should be treated as terrorism because it could have shut down cayman economy and caused a lot of deaths

      • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

        Agree.

      • Anonymous says:

        How many from Kingston arrived with a positive test before this incident? Many countries around the world have travel bans from countries with a high infection rate. I believe the UK may still use this policy. Why can’t Cayman do the same thing. Government says it looks at covid situations around the world to help make policy. They must not of noticed other countries using travel bans. Possibly have to hire more people to determine which countries should be banned. Start with Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Jamaica, Cuba etc.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Time to Name, Shame, Fine and Deport! Simple!!!

  16. Anonymous says:

    all homes that are bing used or quarantine shloud be clearly makrked on the front door. problem solved.

    • Anonymous says:

      Move to Texas.

    • Anonymous says:

      And if you have HIV you should have a tattoo on you forehead……idiot!
      Or if you have a STD you should where a dunce hat!

      Medical info is private for this reason especially on this island.

      • Anonymous says:

        1:58 pm, idiot, dont tell me you are so stupid that you don’t know that Hiv and Std is a different ball game, no one can catch Hiv /Std by just talking or even hugging them

        • Anonymous says:

          Idiot…… Like I said medical information is personal and private it is none of your business that I have covid here are isolating at my house.

          You have no right on this planet to know if someone has covid IF they are home isolating!

    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      I wholly agree with this. There is no shame — now, that we’re down the road — in being in quarantine. Service providers, such as CUC, FLOW, Digicel, Water Authority, plumbers, electricians, etc. have no idea what they are wading into when responding to a call. I agree that it should be clearly marked on ALL residences, hotel rooms, condos, etc. which are being used to quarantine people.

      • Anonymous says:

        One sign could say “Caymanian” and the other “WP/PR/Expat”. That seems to be the deep issue I keep seeing comments about……. #NotSoKind

    • Anonymous says:

      Not really. The fact is: vaccinated-approved inbound quarantined travellers must wear their identifying wrist bands until cleared after 5th day with PCR, and 14 day unvaccinated must wear an untampered electronic tag for duration. If these folks are illegally hosting domino tournaments, to guests that don’t care, then it doesn’t really matter what’s marking their front door, does it? Visitors must face the same consequences as those quarantining.

  17. PACT supporter says:

    I am all for giving Premier Panton a chance to manage this with PACT, however, I admit that chances are that if Alden was still Premier, he would have informed us that Cabinet had taken a FIRM decision by now. No more playing. “This is what government has decided and whoever does not follow the directions, will be prosecuted.” Simple. No trying to please everyone. Premier Panton needs to face the reality that he will not be able to please all of us all of the time; do what is needed and move on. Our entire population can fit into Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas). Get it together, please.

  18. Say it like it is says:

    In my humble opinion where people are recklessly breaking the law and the quarantine regulations and thereby endangering the public at large, they have foregone their rights to privacy.With the large increase in breaches, it’s time to require residences in quarantine to post a notice evidencing their quarantine status.Interestingly Dr Lee who is in home quarantine has done this.

  19. Anonymous says:

    The vast majority of positive cases in Cayman are nothing of the sort IF you’re thinking they mean that Covid can be spread from them – it cannot and will not be. The CT’s of the PCR’s here are being ran at insanely high counts and that means they are finding completely non-infectious particles of dead virus (and also flu, etc).

    There is very likley no risk whatsoever to you from these positive cases and that is the story the journalists and government should be emphasizing.

    The panic that the govt/hsa/news media are creating among a community that frankly isn’t educated enough to work it out for themselves OR has been terrified to such an extent they are scared witless and unable to think rationally is utterly shameful.

    Start telling us what CT’s you are running the PCR’s at. Start telling the masses exactly how NON-INFECTIOUS these ‘positives’ are.

    You are causing mental health mayhem, anxiety out the ying yang, people are losing their minds and you are causing massive community divisions for no reason.

    There is far more likely to be no risk from these positives that warrants the community panic. I wish some journalist would step up and ram that point home – there has to be some sanity brought back to this entire situation.

    • Harley says:

      Please quote your sources. Thank you.

    • Kevin says:

      Listen. Take what he is saying with a cup of salt.

      There is truth and misleading comments in what he is saying. OBVIOUSLY he wants the doors to fly open and I am of the belief he has some financial reasons why.

      The truths…

      PCR test results can vary depending on human error and sensitivity of machines. There is now even at home testing equipment. PCR test your viral load. That’s the short answer.

      A standard PCR test can produce false positives and false negatives as well as accurate readings. PCR test strictly targeting Covid is however much more accurate as it is looking for the specific building blocks of the Sars Covid-2 virus. It is considered the Gold Standard and is accurate and reliable.

      What we do here in Cayman when testing is a standard PCR test and is the reason why the test are sent off to be confirmed under machines that are Sars Covid-2 PCR testers.

      The results coming is aligned with global %’s so there is no reason to believe OVERALL the accuracy of the numbers.

      I never suggest to people to fear things but I tell people to respect it enough to arm yourself with knowledge.

      The Delta variant needs no. Demands your respect. With 1,000 times the viral load a significantly higher catch, hospitalization and death rate. Hospitalizations and deaths in young children up 2.5-3 times normal covid is no joke.

      The MU variant is being watched now as a “variant of interest” as there is a fear that it has a higher catch, hospitalization and deaths rate than Delta. MU is from Colombia while Delta was first seen in India.

      Why Unvaccinated people are such a problem?

      Not only do unvaccinated people, catch, get hospitalized and die more than unvaccinated (99.8% of all deaths are from unvaccinated) but the most crazy thing to understand is that unvaccinated people are Covid’s petrie dish. For a virus like covid to mutate it much change host and in supplanting itself it forms itself and this is where the mutation will happen.

      My advice.

      1. Get everyone vaccinated that you possibly can.
      2. Aggressively protect our borders with enhanced policies and procedures that remove the fact of human error.
      3. Encourage masking with high quality mask.
      4. Limit mass indoor events.
      5. When in doubt test test test.
      6. Become your own expert. Do not rely on others.

  20. Anonymous says:

    Can’t even put them in Northward, because they will infect the prisoners. Yes, we need to learn to live with the “wirus” but, I think Cabinet needs to sit down urgently and brainstorm how to expeditiously get all the unemployed working so that we are no longer in dire need of the borders opening. Nuff people holding work permits for roles that Caymanians can do, i.e. landscaping, restaurant service staff, cashiers, etc.

    • Anonymous says:

      So when do we learn to live with this virus……do we stay closed for 2 more years?
      Remember all other Caribbean islands are open. Our tourism is gone. Our local businesses will need to travel and will move offices to other jurisdictions if we can not operate with travel.
      We need to learn to live with it now as the rest of the world is doing.

      Even Australian has conceded to living with it!

    • Anonymous says:

      Caymanians, by and large do not do that sort of work…

      They do however work in large numbers in the Civil Service as that has become in effect a social welfare system for many.

      • Anonymous says:

        To 11:38am: This goes beyond nationalities. Most people who have little mouths to feed will rather work than be solely dependent on welfare.

    • Anonymous says:

      How do you intend to make people do the jobs they clearly don’t want? Besides, just because one has certain citizenship doesn’t make them qualified or even skilled for a position. This is not a game of hide and seek. Businesses need to operate with staff who wants and needs the job. People don’t often bother to as much as register online. And you expect them to fill every available position. There are jobs out there. Go get them. Something is better than nothing.

      • Anonymous says:

        @2:30pm: There is something called transferable skills. Do you think all diner waitresses in big cities were “trained”; people who need to work set their minds to it and learn the work. Many employers have to get that into their heads: willingness to learn is the starting point and many Caymanians are willing to learn.

  21. Anonymous says:

    UK will soon remove us from the Green List, and put us on the Amber List or Red List.

    Good bye flights from British Airways…..

  22. Anonymous says:

    there is a very big difference between a reported isolation breach and an actual breach. the fear mongering has lead to the toy cop mentality where everyone is hunting and calling to report breaches. this is a strain on the team and just adding to the fear.

  23. Anonymous says:

    people are not afraid to commit the offense, because there has been lack of meaningful prosecution and consequences.

  24. Anonymous says:

    Not surprising. The ‘honour’ system of quarantine does not work in relation to many people. Today the BBC is reporting:

    “Nearly a third of people arriving in England and Northern Ireland as the coronavirus Delta variant took off may have broken quarantine rules.

    More than 300,000 cases were passed to investigators between March and May, according to figures seen by the BBC.”

  25. Anonymous says:

    Whilst Dr Lee is in the footlights, could we maybe ask him what Govt’s stance on medical coverage will be if someone contracts the virus and is hospitalised ? Will Ins coverage be 100% across the board or will those put out of work, minimum wage etc. having to pay deductibles still apply ?

    Apologies if this has been addressed before, I don’t recall seeing it mentioned.

  26. Anonymous says:

    Dr Lee answering the Govts on questions as the Delta variant sets in. If you cant manage the limited arrival numbers with the measures currently in place, isn’t it pretty obvious not to load it up even more especially with the unknown of kids becoming involved ?

  27. Anonymous says:

    What a mess. Violators should be removed from home quarantine and placed in Government facility at their own expense.

    • Anonymous says:

      …but we know they will never ever pay and its the rest of us tax payers who will be left picking up their tabs….

      • Anonymous says:

        what tax do you pay unless you are an expat…even then, your company paid your tax, I mean permit

        • Anonymous says:

          12:02 pm, food tax, vehicle’s tax, one time land/ house/building tax,etc etc,etc they call it duties, but its the same as tax, are you a new Comer or just plain knows nothing about these beautiful. Wonderful islands that are the best place in the world to be.

        • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

          What he/she means is that we ALL pay a tariff with our duties. That is the most of what funds the government.

          …….and I agree with them. If you are Caymanian, you go into a government-paid hotel to undergo quarantine. That is as it should be.

          Agree with the OP in that people who break quarantine should be placed into lockdown quarantine and be forced to pay for it themselves.

          Was that so hard?

      • Anonymous says:

        If they can afford to travel that implies they are working which are wages that can be garnished to repay the cost.

        Not saying I’m in agreement, or that there might not be a % who cannot pay, e.g., medical indigents travelling for medical purposes, just saying that there are ways to make them pay.

      • Anon says:

        True, true. Can’t get blood from a stone. Would only be viable is violators were making serious money, and IMO, those folks are less likely to violate. I have many friends that have quarantined after getting there kids from uni, all of them rigorously followed the protocols. How can someone earning minimum wage possibly pay for government quarantine? They cannot even pay for basic living expenses.

  28. Anonymous says:

    Time to name and shame

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