Random spread of COVID now well underway
(CNS): Officials confirmed Friday evening that a passenger aboard a private charter boat had tested positive for COVID-19. This was the third case revealed yesterday of a community transmission without any connection to the previous outbreaks at the schools. Public Health said that 25 other passengers and two crew members on the boat have now been placed in isolation. Numerous other families connected to the latest cases of students in five different schools, including one pre-school, are now also isolating, as are the other two adults and their households whose positive test results are unconnected to any known cases, as the virus now spreads randomly throughout the community.
The person aboard the local cruise boat who tested positive was not symptomatic but was due to travel today (Saturday) and was therefore given a screening PCR test. Public Health officials tracked down the vessel, which was at Star Fish Point, North Side, and it was then brought to the dock at the Yacht Club to ensure that public health protocols were followed.
“I want to thank the crew and passengers for their cooperation with the screening procedures today at the West Bay Yacht Club,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez, asking the relevant households to remain in isolation until they are given advice about when they can be released from quarantine.
“In order to complete contact tracing, we will need to have the results of all of those aboard to understand the situation, and after that, we will advise everyone when they can be released,” he added.
With the 13 other cases of local transmission revealed Friday, there are now 70 active cases. Twenty-six people who are positive are showing some symptoms of the virus. Of these, the only patient in hospital is the North Side woman who was admitted on 8 September with an unrelated illness and tested as per protocol, becoming the first confirmed local transmission of COVID-19 since last summer.
Well over a thousand people are now isolating and Public Health staff are contact tracing the various clusters, as well as testing with the assistance of Doctors Hospital and Health City.
According to a release from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Education issued Friday, they and the Public Health Department have developed new protocols for handling confirmed cases of COVID-19 in schools, which are as follows:
- In the event of a confirmed case in a class/year group (student or teacher):
- That person will be isolated with their household and retested on Day 15;
- The classroom(s) and common areas will be sanitised in the evening/night.
- The entire class/year group will be tested, and lessons will continue in school.
- If additional cases are identified in the testing, the entire class/year group and members of their households will be required to isolate.
- People in isolated households will be retested on Day 15
- If the household retests negative, then they will be released from isolation.
- If a member(s) of the household retest positive, the entire household remains in isolation until they test negative.
All isolating students will switch to online learning.
See here for the latest MoE COVID-19 Guidelines for Educational Institutions
or find them in the CNS Library.See here for more on the CIG response to COVID-19.
Anyone with flu symptoms is urged to stay at home in the first instance and contact the 24 hour Flu Hotline or your general practitioner to speak to a health professional about those symptoms before visiting the flu or testing clinic.
Flu Hotline: 1-800-534-8600 or 345-947-3077 or 345-925- 6327 or email flu@hsa.ky
Callers will be screened for travel history and advised on what to do next.
See the vaccine schedule on the HSA website here.
For more information on vaccines contact the HSA Communications team at
communications@hsa.kySee here for more information on securely verifiable vaccination records.
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Category: Health, Medical Health
Covid is not racist – that is the exclusive domain of people. The CDC has written extensively on why people of colour are more likely to be severely affected by Covid when it is released into any community.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html
I read the comments with both interest and incredulity. I am double vaxxed and I subsequently caught Covid having travelled off island.
Fact – Vaccination doesn’t stop you catching COVID ……. BUT!!!! It reduces your chances of catching it by a third
Fact – having caught COVID, to me and my family the symptoms were no worse than that of a mild cold. God forbid what the effects would have been had I not been vaccinated!!
I genuinely believe that Cayman is suffering a fear of the unknown when the reality based on my experience and the rest of the world is that it’s not hat bad… Assuming you’re vaxxed!
Quarantine is a sound notion in principle however I showed symptoms outside the current government mandate in which case it would have been totally pointless!
The answer is get vaxxed and give yourself the best possible chance and let’s back back to living and not hiding or avoiding the inevitable.
You became symptomatic – and contagious – after more than 7 days which is not surprising given that the incubation period is 14 days. Your observation is not grounds for dropping quarantine. It is a strong argument for putting it back to 14 days.
The statistics on the deaths of fully vaccinated people in Bermuda, as published 30 September by the Ministry of Health in Bermuda, are as follows: this is the exact quote:
“In addition, this year, we have had 48 deaths, of which:
39 or 81% were persons who were not fully vaccinated, and,
·9 or 19% were fully vaccinated.”
I know that some are desperate to have that truth made known to the people of Cayman – too bad. Those that can read can see the information for themselves here.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
Shouldn’t we test everyone where the Covid positive person works and put them all in quarantine? Let’s make it fair if school classes are shutting down.
Covid does not only pass through students. Adults should be subject to the same mask and quarantine regulations imposed upon children. If adults don’t like this, then we need to change the rules for children.
No. We should not. Get vaccinated then you will be protected from serious disease…and not force responsible people to quarantine because you are a selfish loser.
Entitled much?? Vaccinated people who do not want the inconvenience of quarantine are the selfish ones – They are not at all concerned that vaccinated people can catch and transmit Covid and unfortunately in some cases that transmission will kill someone.
Annie – The point of the comment was that the current restrictions unfairly target children!!!
The focus of Cayman’s plan, whether it be to open or stay closed, should not be to simply shut schools and classrooms!
My entire family is fully vaccinate – myself included. We understand that being vaccinated does not mean that we cannot contract the Covid virus. We also understand that we can also spread the virus if we get infected. Unlike some we do not believe that being vaccinated gives us the right to spread the virus. We therefore want government to keep quarantine to protect everybody.
Are you willing to give up a large chunk of your salary to unemployed Caymanians in tourism?
There is no need for vaccinated people to quarantine except to destroy the economy. The chance of them being hospitalized or dying is extremely slim.
Tell that to the people in Bermuda. 20% of those dying are fully vaccinated.
That is no guarantee that they were young, healthy and without pre-existing conditions.
Right – it is perfectly acceptable for those outside those parameters to die a horrible death so that you are not inconvenienced.
I think you underestimate the percentage of the population that has a pre-existing condition.
45.4% of US adults were estimated to be at heightened risk of COVID-19 complications due to co-morbidities, increasing from 19.8% for ages 18-29 years to 80.7% for ages 80+ years, with state-to-state variation.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.30.20043919v1
I notice that government has been absolutely silent about recruiting staff who have experience with treating Covid. That compounds the dangers of their plans to allow the virus to spread in Cayman. Their plan appears to be nothing more than to let existing staff to learn on the job while people drown in their own secretions.
So where exactly are they supposed to get these staff from when every hospital around the world is dealing with the same situation. The staff at the HSA have had may instances of dealing with covid patients.
I think what we need to be more concerned about is the amount of cases that will occur once we are open. For those of us vaccinated likely we can handle it at home and for those unvaccinated we will simply have to open up the field hospital and deal with it.
Everyone has had the opportunity now to choose to be vaccinated or not, it’s time to move on and let the chips fall where they may.
How can it possibly be that there are no experienced medical, nursing or technical staff sitting around with nothing to do?? I read posts here that say that Covid has disappeared in the rest of the world and we should therefore open our borders as there is no risk any more?? Which is it?
I am totally onboard with everyone getting vaccinated. However, vaccination without quarantine will almost certainly result in the unnecessary deaths of Caymanians in order to secure convenience and profits for others.
Bermuda’s Premier made an important statement a couple of days ago in which he noted that following Bermuda’s removal of quarantine, the overwhelming majority of people dying of Covid are people of colour. Take that fact on board then look at those who are proposing that we drop quarantine and learn to “co-exist” with a killer virus in Cayman.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-premiers-remarks-30-september-2021
Just Caymanians? You don’t give a rats arse about the other HALF of the population then?
Undoubted many will die unnecessarily if quarantine is dropped.
and near zero if vaccinated……
Sorry – 20% of those dying now in Bermuda following Bermuda’s decision to drop quarantine are fully vaccinated.
Would that be because the majority of people in Bermuda are people of colour, by any chance 🙄?
3:23, it’s totally over said-posters head. Futile. Too hard to explain
people of colour? i don’t think covid is racist… maybe people who refused vaccination?
I think they all meant (not necessarily said) persons of a lower socio-economic status ie, poor people, vulnerable persons, persons that cannot afford proper nutrition, healthcare, and so on.
Which probably translates in real life to “persons of colour” in the main, at least in the context of Bermuda, as an example.
And based on Bermuda 2021 figures – 235 Hospital Admissions 91% unvaccinated
48 deaths – 81% unvaccinated
Work it out !
Bermuda has had about 75 covid deaths and Cayman 2 (both imported). Do you think that because Bermuda’s demographics are about 62% Black/Mixed and 31% white might have something to do with more people of color dying?
If only you had added ‘….unnecessary deaths of multiple-generation Caymanians…’ You could have hit the trifecta of racist, xenophobic and unintelligent commentary.
The Bermuda government says that 94% of Covid hospitalisations are people of colour.Far more than your statistics provide for.
I am not sure why you have included “following the removal of quarantine” here. Bermuda’s borders have been open for well over a year so they have not had any quarantine for a long time. In fact, until this past June, even unvaccinated travellers did not need to quarantine in Bermuda. That was changed as cases increased.
Also the removal of quarantine is not mentioned by Bermuda’s Premier in the article you linked. I don’t think he regrets removing quarantine over a year ago because they are still not requiring it today for vaccinated travellers. They are even allowing in cruise ships.
It seems like you keep bringing up Bermuda to scare people and are ignoring all the differences between there and Cayman.
The Big Lie – allowing entry to Cayman based on vaccination without quarantine will keep Covid under control and will prevent both vaccinated and unvaccinated Caymanians alive.
It is disgusting that people posting are doing their best to hide the fact that vaccinated people entering Cayman without quarantine can be infectious and can infect others. It is also how disgusting that they do not want Caymanians to understand that we are likely to end up with dozens of deaths with many of those dying being fully vaccinated. Just look at what is happening in Bermuda – some 40 dead in the last month, with approximately 20% being fully vaccinated. That is what ending quarantine means for the average person.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
Those who live in ivory towers care not for the locals. It’s all about them and their sense of normalcy, which is personal prosperity over anything else.
Those who get government checks and not work for a living can pass such judgement.
Lies.
9% were fully vaccinated. Not 20%. Read your own link.
Almost certainly also a number of people with co-morbidity issues like the need to loose weight.
So what’s your long term plan then? Stay closed for years?
Should we live our lives so as to prevent all death no matter the cost?
It must be so hard to be both illiterate and incompetent.
I will make it easier for you:
This is the exact quote from the statement of the government of Bermuda that is set out in the link:
“In addition, this year, we have had 48 deaths, of which:
39 or 81% were persons who were not fully vaccinated, and,
·9 or 19% were fully vaccinated.”
Sorry, I think you’re mixing up the raw numbers with the percentages.
If you’re going to try to be a ‘smartass’ you’d best make sure you double-check your comments first lest you end looking like just an ‘ass’.
Time to move on, pandemics be damned. I need my tax free property investment to get back to generating obscene tax free profits. A few sick and dead are a small trade off for my prosperity. Bring on the tourists now, and open the borders so I can go the states and shop and vacay.
Stop being so selfish. My class status depends on it.
Civil Servants, who are paid from other peoples taxes, need to get vacinated. The Civil Service is the largest employer of Caymanians. 70% vaccination rate is unacceptable and preventing others Caymanians from making a living. The unvaccinated Civil Servants are selfish. Stop being selfish
Vaccinated people are still getting sick across the world. Vaccinations alone are THE BIG LIE.
Then get COVID and see how it goes! It’s a virus and you will eventually get it. I trust you didn’t get vaccinated as child otherwise you are the liar.
Lol. Sad you’re that ignorant.
Let’s also not forget a lot of the civil service are over weight and not healthy, diabetes,blood pressure issues etc, which will be a big burden on the health care system when we open up, statistics show this, the irony in it is look at the current panel of elected members giving the press conferences, all obese and unhealthy.
We should remain closed until there is no risk of any sort to any life in Cayman. I’m fact, we should close our borders every winter in case seasonal flu arrives and there are deaths.
Economy and government revenues be damned. Family relations and way of life be dames. We need to protect everyone, from everything… forever.
I guess it is fun to satirize otherwise sensible views with childish nonsense.
what’s stopping you? Need someone to tell you what to do and where to go? For some people, their inability to adapt and overcome actually appears life-threatening.
You don’t seem to realise how good you have it, and all you can do is whine about it. Sick of people like you.
We won’t be able to fully move on until natural selection is complete and the antivaccers have been dealt with.
Exactly. Population reduction is acceptable for profits!
Exactly. That is exactly the problem. Unfortunately, the wrong populations are being reduced.
Gentrification is the new pandemic! You heard it here first.
Instead of testing everyone and their grandmother, we would be better served if Public Health spent their energy re-setting up the field hospital for the unvaccinated when they get it. This way we can re-open our country and the unvaccinated won’t bog down our hospital and get in the way of our other patients that need non-Covid related care.
The government ought to keep on testing and quarantining as well as opening the field hospital if they plan to drop quarantine for the benefit of the few. If Bermuda is anything to go by 20% of the dozens that will die will be fully vaccinated.
Liar.
Stop spreading misinformation. 9% of the dead were vaccinated. Not 20%.
It also doesn’t mean very much with such a small sample.
In the UK, the fully vaccinated make up 1.2% of total COVID deaths this year.
Idiot
This is the exact quote from the statement of the government of Bermuda
“In addition, this year, we have had 48 deaths, of which:
39 or 81% were persons who were not fully vaccinated, and,
·9 or 19% were fully vaccinated.”
Read if you can
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
You’re looking at raw numbers vs percentages. 9 people making up 19% of the deaths. Sheesh.
Living with Covid at this stage means that some of us will needlessly die of Covid even if fully vaccinated.
Absolutely right. In Bermuda approximately 20% of those dying from Covid are fully vaccinated.
Again – lying through this thread.
NINE percent of their deaths are fully vaccinated and in the UK it has been 1.2%.
Do you really want people to die because of your misinformation?
Idiot cant tell the difference between absolute numbers and percentages:
This is the exact quote from the statement of the government of Bermuda:
“In addition, this year, we have had 48 deaths, of which:
39 or 81% were persons who were not fully vaccinated, and,
9 or 19% were fully vaccinated.”
Read if you can
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
What does it mean to not die needlessly? COVID is a virus that kills some people. How does the government tame that? Even closed there was COVID unless you want an absolute shut down of all transportation on/off island? Is that what you believe? People not even in quarantine visited those in quarantine so you can’t blame 5, 9 or 14 days.
Living with Covid is an option for the survivors of the end of quarantine. Not so much of an option for those who foolishly believed that vaccination without quarantine would keep them alive.
We won’t be sending our children to school in early December, not worth the risk of an overreactive Christmas lockdown by PACT.
If PACT drops quarantine in November and allows the virus to flood our country I am pretty sure that all schools will be shut down by Christmas. Just look at Bermuda – all schools are closed, the ICU is full and dozens are dead.
Facts of covid
1. Everyone is going to get it
2. It’s spreads equally by vaccinated as unvaccinated
3. Cayman govt does not know want it’s doing
4 Cayman govt does not follow science
5 reporting each case is fear mongonering
6 vaccine does not last for ever
7 replace current cayman govt
CNS: The Atlantic – No, Vaccinated People Are Not ‘Just as Likely’ to Spread the Coronavirus as Unvaccinated People
Yes they are the CDC director confirmed that over the weekend.
I am amazed at how easy it has been to sell many people in Cayman the lie that vaccination alone will prevent Covid deaths once the borders open to travel without mandatory isolation. We really need to improve our science education.
I’ve not heard anyone say “vaccination alone will prevent Covid deaths”.
Amazing how anti-vaxers just make things up…
I am fully vaxxed and so is my extended family in Cayman. Dropping quarantine and relying on vaccination status will lead to many needless deaths. That is not made up. Just look at what happened in Bermuda when that approach was tried.
In the UK the fully vaccinated make up 1.2% of the total deaths this year.
If you thought that anyone was claiming that vaccination was a complete guarantee against getting sick then you’re beyond help. But I suspect that you don’t really think that and are just peddling lies to suit your agenda.
The vaccine makes a HUGE difference to your risk of dying from COVID and pretending otherwise in a public forum is quite likely to lead to more deaths than necessary.
Hopefully you’ll feel good about that.
Allow us other vaccines like sinopharm rather than Pfizer. Maybe wait until USA, UK Canada and Jamaica get their covid spread and act together or new technologies such as the Merck pill come along. Opening up and bringing societal mayhem with 10-15% unfair dismissals, sickness and death like Bermuda is madness. All to please a few travellers and hotel owners. We have seen what happened with the 5 days. For sure some vaccinated individuals were released with their higher viral load undetected and their delayed symptoms and that has been released out into the community. As if PACT couldn’t see that coming and likely some interests put us deliberately in danger to increase the vaccination rate to make more $. Now we are back to school closures and masks and likely a lockdown when the hospitals get inundated. We had it good for a while
All to get government revenues back up so the can continue to pay the civil service without Cayman having to borrow money, and cut down the shed loads of money being spent on stipend and NAU more like. Easy for those living off the government teat to think that a closed border has no consequences. If you don’t have a current economic consequence to the closed border, or if you actually prefer being given stipend then having to work, or course you want the border closed so you can live without masks and the inconvenience. But how about those that are not in that happy position? For you its “I’m alright jack”.
What’s the percentage of adverse vaccine injuries? What’s the long term effects? Who is responsible if you are unlucky and get injured? Coming up to those 3rd boosters. Wonder if they will cause any injuries ramping up your immune system with more foreign toxic spike proteins
Quarantine is an inconvenience for some. We should remove that inconvenience even if many Caymanians die. That appears to be the attitude of some posting on here.
Money, money, money, money. MONEY
Says the civil servant who thinks it grows on a tree.
Try buying food, medicine, clothes, mortgage or rent and anything else without money, money, money, MONEY.
I say Caymanians in the Civil Service should have their pay cut in half, with the money going to Caymanians in the tourism sector.
Better yet, give that money to the wealthy expats. Daddy needs a new Audi
The rewards and costs of dropping quarantine will go to different groups.
The main beneficiaries of government’s plan to drop quarantine are wealthy business owners a good number of whom do not even live here. Most of the people who are at risk of dying are ordinary Caymanians who will not benefit in any way from dropping quarantine.
BINGO
Is it mere coincidence that the cases are being detected in the public schools, Gorge Town and North Side? Would this not be ordinary Caymanians? Did they travel? Or is Covid inevitable?
19% of the dozens of people who have died of Covid in Bermuda after they ended quarantine were fully vaccinated.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
New oral medications that cut the death rate from Covid in half for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are likely to be released in the US and UK next month.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/01/covid-antiviral-pill-halves-hospitalisations-and-deaths-maker-says
How many Caymanians will suffer avoidable deaths if the government drops quarantine before those new anti-Covid drugs are available in Cayman?
How many PEOPLE you bigoted idiot.
Remember Dogs and Cats can get covid not just people you prejudiced clown
No one is sick. A few people have mild symptoms. What this proves is that cayman has reached herd immunity and it is now safe to reopen the borders and remove all Covid protocols for vaccinated people.
Thank you, doctor!
Now watch all the anti vaxers run to camana bay for a shot. KMT
For some this a life and death matter and for others who have turn up here it’s merely a minor inconvenience until it’s effect them. Unfortunately for many who are born and live here their lives or lifestyles are not disposable any minor inconveniences or disruption has the possibility of turning into a life changing event. So you know what we keep telling you if you don’t like how and what we do here please pick up and kindly take your @$$ somewhere else ! Thanx
To all people who wish not to be vaccinated. Fine. You go morons. But you must assume the risk. It must be your responsibility to pay for medical care not covered by your insurance cover. No way it is fair that my dollars pay for your ignorance.
Agreed. Same goes for those who are vaccinated that get Covid! Say no to empathy and humanity, and say yes to profits.
At least we’re starting to get an idea of how CIG will be treating detected cases. I assume regardless of if its a school or a workplace. Multiple weeks of lockdown for the family. But business as usual for everyone else. (With perhaps increased testing.) At least that’s something people can now plan for. Households need to keep at least a few days of ’emergency rations’ on hand (it is hurricane season after all) in case you get locked down and have to make alternate supply arrangements. Employers and employees need to plan for staff to unexpectedly be out for up to 6 weeks, though will vary per household. (1st person sick, 2 weeks quarantine for everyone, 2nd person gets sick in week two, add an extra two weeks, third person then gets sick in week four, add an extra two weeks, etc. Your household maths may vary.) Government (society) needs to plan to support people in these household lockdowns who cannot support themselves, e.g., weekly paid staff or day workers.
But Government need to be clearer in communicating the above (if I am correct) to the public. And society needs to be clear about how long we expect employers to pay people who are in quarantine, i.e., not working, or even just keep their job open for them, and where/when we accept that burden switching to the individual or Government (as CIG has established precedent with tourism workers, farmers, etc.).
Employers with big offices need to be made to allow employees to work from home if it is reasonable. Making everyone work in an office will just lead to the entire office shutting down once a few cases hit. Should be staggered days. They might have thought opening up and pushing for it with mandates was a good idea but their offices are likely to close by government mandate. This is the new reality employers in a 5 day quarantine cayman
It is totally unrealistic to expect whole chunks of the economy to shut down because one or two students test positive. Has anyone in government tried to keep a mask on five year old? Might as well try and hold back the ocean.
I wonder how many of you “open the borders NOW” people are Dart minions, or other-than-Caymanians. My concern is for our people here. I don’t care about hotel rooms or cruise ships. The world has changed. You angry angry people who want to scream at others that don’t agree with you…… I hope you come up in my yard someday with your aggressive attitude. I really do.
We used to hold together and work things out. If you mad people represent even a fraction of Caymanians, then I am so disappointed in us.
We are tired of foreigners cancelling their reservations for our condos and businesses. Our bottom lines have suffered immensely, so much so, that we may have to put off the purchase of another Audi SUV, luxurious travel plans, and investment in more rental income properties.
Your attempts at “othering” are facile and frankly pathetic. Caymanians are not a monolith, nor are non-Caymanians. The throw away line about coming to your yard speaks volumes about your perspective and upbringing…
I thought Dart wanted to stay closed though so they can buy up all the distressed businesses? Make up your mind.
You underestimate your own people. Many Caymanians including myself are capable of making an informed decision on this matter. You may not care about the effects of border closure on tourism but I am sure you will care when the indirect economic consequences start affecting you. Perhaps you should open your mind and stop assuming all who disagree with your narrow minded views are foreign.
Government surplus, financial sector doing well
15 days house arrest because 2 kids in your child’s class or year test positive?! Even when your whole household tests negative? What the actual fuck?
If this is allowed to happen the whole island is going to be in lockdown before Christmas 🤬🤬
This is why we will not be sending our children to school in the early part of December.
Or the 25 Vaccinated who sat outside on a breezy boat deck with an asymptomatic person.
There go the schools, there gos water-sports, next up will be restaurants and fitness centres.
Throw in the towel, if Covid-Zero is what this government is aiming for, and this is their plan, there will be no opening.
We are open. We just want those crossing the border to quarantine in order to limit needless deaths.
Your alternative, that moderates the spread and avoids an overwhelming of the healthcare system and tens of unnecessary deaths right in time for Christmas is what exactly?
Don’t do it. It’s lunacy
Seriously, you are going to be back in the Stone Age by the time this is all over …
“According to a release from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Education issued Friday, they and the Public Health Department have developed new protocols for handling confirmed cases of COVID-19 in schools, which are as follows:
XXX
This is NOT a learning to live with Covid.
CNS: I just deleted a chunk that was cut and paste from the article.
Who wants to ‘live with Covid’ – “Living with Covid” is code for allowing Caymanains to die of Covid.
Limiting the spread of Covid is about making sure Caymanians are not dying of Covid.
This is not, nor should it be, headline news.
We all know this ffs, this was always expected!!!!
Again, more fear mongering by a govt who refused to follow the science and open up on Oct 14th.
Open the borders
The headlines are entirely appropriate and what the public wants to know about. Sorry if keeping the public informed interferes with keeping the public in the dark as a key component of deluding them into accepting the end of quarantine.
the rate of infection must be flattened to avoid an overwhelming and collapse of healthcare systems.
Agree that was the pre-vaccine era plan. But this is a post-vaccine world, what is the current actual burden on the healthcare system in Cayman right now ? I think it’s quite small right now and so we should be allowed some basic human freedoms for a bit, no ?
It’s a post pandemic world
There is literally one person in hospital with Covid, and that’s not actually why she’s there 🙄
We should have a referendum to determine what the people want rather than just a minority with nothing better to do than demand dropping of quarantine and opening to the virus.
Exactly right.
100% agree. The vast majority of the public does not want the ‘let the virus in’ approach that is being pushed by certain business elements.
Disagree, everyone I talk to can’t wait to be able to travel without dealing with quarantine.
Then lets have a referendum and settle it.
Its worth repeating – Covid spread is still person to person not random. What has become random (for a number of reasons) is detection and suppression.
Some idiots just really don’t get it,., there will always be a higher proportion of cases amongst vaccinated than unvaccinated because 80 per cent of the population are vaccinated! Cases don’t matter when they are vaccinated and not going to hospital.
Spouting statistics of proportion of positives in vaccinated exceeding unvaccinated is entirely irrelevant to any discussion.
The only vaccinated vs unvaccinated argument should be that vaccinated should have no quarantine and unvaccinated should not be allowed to travel.
Unfortunately some vaccinated people arriving at our borders are infected and infectious. Each infected vaccinated person that is allowed to spread Covid in our community risks the lives of others so that they can avoid a minor inconvenience. Drunk drivers complaining about being allowed to drive drunk comes to mind.
Agree. Being unvaccinated now is like being a drink driver. They should be kept off the “roads” until they “sober up” so we can all be safer. PROVEN medical exceptions can be allowed, it would be such a small number we’d be at herd immunity so would not matter.
Yes we demand 14 day quarantine for all. This kept us mask and lockdown free. Now I have to wear a mask again due to the unscientific lunacy of doing 5 day quarantine for vaccinated persons whose symptoms are delayed and who carry higher viral loads.
It’s quite clear now Covid-19 in our community. The more we test the greater the hysteria.
It’s time to accept it, respect it and live with it. Get vaccinated and be sensible in your personal hygiene, social distancing and start moving forward.
Keeping ourselves locked away from the rest of the world is now a pointless and futile exercise.
We are not locked away. Vaccinated people can travel with the minor inconvenience of a short quarantine period. Is that too much of a price to keep dozens of Caymanians alive, including many that are fully vaccinated?
Agreed with your comments. However, what I’m encountering is the vaccinated people have the sense of entitlement that since they are vaccinated they have the right not to wear masks in closed spaces, the right to touch me, the right to cough and the list goes on. I trust the government would add to their vaccinated adverts that vaccinated people can catch and transfer the virus as well as the unvaccinated. Please educate them and protect my rights as well.
No right minded person would subject themselves or their children to voluntary testing.
Keep the Caymanian people in the dark. It is good for them, because they are incapable of making rational decisions – translation.
Ah, yes, the “Covid will go away if we stop testing argument.” Obviously a FoxNews junkie.
The handling of this situation shows that some level of government feels that covid zero is still a maintainable goal.
We can’t open up until we have a realistic closing up plan.
Putting 25 vaccinated people into isolation who were in an outdoor environment with an asymptomatic individual who has tested positive is way over any line of a sensible measure of “living with Covid”.
But it is completely in line with not wanting our people to die of Covid.
No, it isn’t. There are no recorded cases of Covid from outdoor contact.
I would love to see the evidence for that specious statement.
I think a bunch of people vaccinated, including the detestable Piers Morgan got it at a footballl game a few months back
Covid-19 is here to stay – get vaccinated and live with it.
The positives are rising because we are testing more. Nobody is being hospitalised. Nobody is dying or displaying worrying symptoms. Enough of the hysteria!
And when people start dying, as they will, will you feel any remorse or regret at the callousness of your comment? The decisions being made now will lead directly to those deaths.
Idiot – we are testing more because positives are rising. Testing and tracing are the rational choice to limit spread.
Covid is definitely here to stay-get vaccinated and get infected just like the unvaccinated. Live with it! Our class status depends on it!
Yawn yawn yawn. Why are we still reporting every case.
Agree, just not big news anymore. End quarantine for the vaccinated and mandate vaccines for all caymanians
Translation – the only infected people we should allow to enter our country are those that are vaccinated. Those infected vaccinated people will infect and kill people in our community but those who die should feel better about their deaths knowing that it was an infected vaccinated person who killed them.
Right. Let’s force everyone regardless of age to take a vaccine so we can get back to brunch and rent our investment properties for back to normal outrageous profits with no tax implications. Learn to live with it! Our class status depends on it!
Golly, I will check into that for you. What number of cases would you like?
2:51pm and all the supporters…. because public health information should be freely available in whatever format the Press chooses once factual, no matter if you like it or not.
That’s one of the hallmarks of a democracy.
Now run along, won’t you….
Back to 14 days please.
Why? If you are vaccinated you have very little chance of using hospital space and if you spread it to another vaccinated person they equally are likely to be fine. No one should be made to quarantine just to save the 20 per cent who are too lazy and selfish to drive 5 mins to the airport or camana bay and get a free jab they are lucky to have access to. Comments like this make me so angry. Grow up.
Why are we only allowed to take Pfizer that has a small chance of serious adverse reaction? Plenty of videos with people with neurological damage. Is this place a branch office for Pfizer? Why should people die or get sick because you can’t tough it out for an extra 9 days at home with your experimental jab? You are happy to have restrictions and mandates on unvaccinated people who don’t want the still under human trials Pfizer jab, but whine that you have to stay at home after you shop in Miami. Once it was lowered to 5 days we now have the community transmission that a lot of you wished for so you could walk around super spreading with your higher viral loads and delayed symptoms. Well we will see if ADE is a real thing in the coming months.
Dude remember the elderly, the sick, the children which are called “the vulnerable” that cannot be vaccinated. So technically you and others think that the elderly people who built this country so that you can have a better life are lazy?
Treat us like garbage now, well thank you! You will get old one day. So today mine is COVID, tomorrow your will be something different.
19% of the people dying from Covid in Bermuda are vaccinated and odds are some of those were infected by vaccinated people who were spreading the virus after their quarantine was dropped.
Why? Unless the government is willing to send the whole country back into lockdown, Covid is going to spread like wildfire though the community. It’s here and we’re just going to have to deal with it. Get vaxxed if you aren’t already and follow the various guidelines like wearing a mask, social distancing etc and most people will be ok
The spread could be moderated. There is no need to allow it to spread like wildfire. The resulting spikes could overwhelm healthcare and result in unnecessary deaths. The curve can and should be flattened through reasonable steps including masking, and where possible, working from home.
Upvote to open the border
Is there a double dislike button?
Welcome to 2021, lets all just get over this and move on with our lives.
Still March 2020 in cayman … stuck in the past
The islands that common sense forgot.
And those that die? Will they have just simply “moved on?”
Technically speaking, yes.
Those that die die. Did you believe otherwise? It’s OK. We all will have to face it some day. Half will be happy knowing what is in store and the other half not so much.
Moved on to eternal life, yes. Isn’t that what Christians aspire to?
Apparently to a much better place.
Allegedly
YES! Let’s vax every human being to get back to brunch and tax free profits from our condos! To hell with Covid! We must maintain our class status!
…or deaths.
Bermuda announced today that the number of people in hospital with Covid dropped from 71 to 68 in the last day. 3 people died in the same time frame.
Over 40 people died in Bermuda in the last month.
A good start.
I suppose you think that is funny, but in reality, it just shows you are a complete ass. Grow up little boy.
If you don’t stop worrying you might be next.
Yeah, but think of the condo owners here who don’t pay taxes on their rentals! We want to get back to brunch and maintain our class status!
It would be interesting to know know how many people died during the same month in 2020 and 2019.
Therein will lie your answer.
Since both political parties have taken a zero Covid death stance, why not be consistent and ban all vehicles and water activities? Would do much of us good to ride bicycles and with no trucks building would cease. What I despise about you stating 40 deaths in Bermuda is the lack of perspective! Were all 40 young vibrant persons with no underlying medical conditions?
Sounds a positive improvement but not sure why we are comparing Bermuda to cayman so often here?
Roughly the same population and similar percentage of fully vaccinated – Cayman 71-ish, Bermuda 67-ish. Bermuda is an example of what can happen when quarantine is dropped.
Let’s compare to Turks…..open for 15 months now and has all our business.
Seems they had a plan!
Half the population of Cayman and 1 dying per week – seems that their plan was to let people die so that some could get richer.
Yes 3 dead in one day in Bermuda is better than 10 dead in one day from a few days earlier. Overall 2 dead so far in Cayman with quarantine is better than 75 dead in Bermuda without quarantine.
3:04pm… because the nutters from CITA used Bermuda from the get-go as an example for Cayman to follow.
Dying is one way to leave the hospital. Prob not very popular with those checking out that way.
Seek help for your disturbing obsession. Stress will kill you long before the ‘rona, assuming of course that you’re vaccinated.
I suspect that in the context of Covid, denial will kill more than paying attention to what is happening.
Right! My untaxed rental is not making me tax free profits! Outrageous!
Tourist- 3 shots taken- all Phizer- only the CDC vaccination paper record- no digital possible. What can we do to get it verified for your standards?
Standards? In Cayman? Let us not get your hopes up but the standard is not to let you in at all. We will send a message when we are out of money and you won’t want to come anymore.
Well it would help if you can spell Pfizer
Travel Cayman refuses to answer e-mail questions about this. So once again: Why hasn’t CIG answered this question about vaccination card verification? A very small percentave of US cards have digital QR codes available. Not even CVS, which is on the list of verified source for entry. This is going to kill the slim possibility of any visitors from US if they don’t act soon. It is ridiculous that they have not addressed this issue
Seems like the Biden administration while relentlessly pushing vaccines can’t get its act together on their vaccine social credit system implementation. Just like they can’t get their act together on allowing other vaccines into the country.
Send your documents to your health care provider and have them entered into your EMR. After that, they can issue you a SMART-Health card (QR code) at their discretion if they belong to that organization. Good luck, YMMV.
Phizer? I’m afraid you’ve been given a knock-off brand of vaccination. Get a refund, you’ve probably just been given saline.
Look for Pfizer on the packaging next time.
Thank God! Soon we can move on with our lives.
When??? Note: God isn’t interested in covid.
He created it didn’t he? Ask yourself why.
Bring it in. The smart people who went and got their free vaccines are not concerned.
Vaccination doesn’t make you superhuman. The advice always given is to continue as if you are not vaccinated, social distance hygiene etc. But no, go ahead and spread it why don’t you.
No, smart people who got their vaccines realize that it was a very good thing to do, and will help save them and others in the community, but is not an absolute, gets weaker with time (boosters are needed) and even some vaccinated persons will die.
What’s the point in trying to prevent outbreaks? Everyone will get covid at some point. The hospitalization rate is very low with the vaccines and hospitals should be able to handle an outbreak just fine.
There’s really no other end game.
Everyone will get covid? wow you must have some superior medical knowledge we missed out on.
What percentage of the world do you think has gotten the flu or a common cold? This isn’t any different. It’s not going to disappear completely one day.
Right! We all need to get back to brunch and renting our properties to tourists now!
Well it could have stayed eradicated if we had kept 14 days quarantine with fines for breakers and other selfish people. Now I have to wear a mask everywhere due to the lowering to 5 days and people who cannot obey rules.
Government has a last chance to close Pandora’s Box. It will be good to know that they are confident of their decisions even if it requires around 25 dead over the next year (and I do not think that is an exaggeration). Is that a price we willing to pay? – because pay it we will.
What price has everyone paid thus far? How many have been putting off medical treatments in the US because of all the insane quarantines and restrictive flight schedules?
Rational people don’t put off critical medical care because of an inconvenience like quarantine. Some who like to shop in Miami may be reduced to buying on line however.
Relatively few. Almost anyone who has needed treatment has been able to access it. I was one who had to fly to the US for treatment unavailable here. I quarantined on return. The whole experience was professionally handled and proportionate.
If you think any government can stop or control a virus like COVID, your faith in government is misplaced. Instead, get vaccinated and go live a free life. While free, it is also priceless.
Like to open the border.
Of course Government can stop Covid. It already did. Last year.
Agreed. Bermuda ended quarantine and has had 40 dead in the past month with a similar vaccination rate.
The majority of the snide remarks on here send a strong message – they DON’T CARE! Only when their friends and family members (vaxx or not) start dying will they start to give an iota.
Considering that the initial predictions were 900 dead, I would venture to say 25 dead is something that we could live with. And it would probably be less than 10 if you consider the size of the population.
It may seem cold but societies collectively make these decisions about lives all the time. We have to balance living normal lives with danger. We allow a burning mountain of garbage close to homes and schools.
We could lower the speed limits to something impractical to eliminate road deaths. We could mandate social distancing and mask wearing forever to reduce the effects of covid and other contagious illnesses. But we collectively don’t want to do that.
How many ppl will die of the flu next year? Or driving? Or drinking? Or driving? Should we ban all those activities?
No. We as a society understand the risks involved in those activities and participate anyways. The risk of dying of covid while vaccinated is very low.
Correct it needs to be done and open up or you never will
This was inevitable. Hopefully all are doing ok. Covid is already here, so let’s open up the borders.
Even if it results in our healthcare systems being overwhelmed and people dying who would otherwise have been fine had the pace of transmission been moderated? And our borders are open, subject to vaccination and quarantine.
AMEN!
7 days, which is actually close to 8.5 days’ is not quite “open”. No one is going on vacation if you have to be locked in a hotel room in complete boredom for your first 9 days. Get real.
What a complete overreaction to a locking students and families up for 14 days IF 2 children in you child’s year group test positive.
At this rate we will have 10,000 people in isolation.
What if the child’s parents are Heath care workers and where around covid anyway?
How crazy.
We had 70,000 people in isolation and it worked perfectly.
65000
I’m pretty sure these outbreaks are all related to unvaccinated travellers returning to cayman with the virus and breaking isolation rules, so no, it didn’t work perfectly. here is the solution: everybody get vaccinated, only vaccinated people can enter the country – regardless of your residency. in other words if you are an unvaccinated citizen or resident you must be vaccinated to leave the island.
No. 14 days is the solution. This recent outbreak was from vaccinated persons.
You really think the couriers from down south are vaccinated?
Great.. So, will we be opening the border now? The benefits of staying closed continue to wane as community transmission takes hold.
All I have to say is: I hope you can continue to muster your tune when the next COVID casualty happens to be a loved one.
Everybody can act tough until the pain hits too close to home. Just because it is not your problem does not mean it isn’t someone else’s. Please understand that everybody is important to somebody. Humble yourself to ask anyone who has suffered loss to this disease.
Sorry, but it needs to be said.
No let’s keep 14 days quarantine as we had a normal life back then and I didn’t have to wear a mask and only had to isolate from home when I traveled to plague infected parts of the world.
Why are so many people in isolation when the vaccination rate is almost 80%?
Because this is going to kill tens of people!
Maybe even ones!
At a time. Will that make it hurt less?
The procedures set for schools in this release are logical and meaningful rather than placing whole school in isolation as in GTPS case.
Great job public health.
GTPS had a a bigger outbreak. Almost all of the classes was affected.
Definitely a big improvement over GTPS. Still needs a bit more work but headed in right direction!
How is good? There are still positives coming out of GTPS. One reason there weren’t many more cases was because the closed the whole school. Keeping the schools open when contact tracing is just a recipe for disaster. Give it 14 more days and watch. We have been lucky so far that no one has been seriously hospitalized but we are pushing our luck especially with our vulnerable children.
No luck. It’s science. The vaccine is working in those who received it. This isn’t March 2020. We have a vaccine and it’s time to integrate this rock back into the planet.
Back into covid!