194 COVID positive cases recorded in one day

| 05/11/2021 | 311 Comments
Cayman News Service
Lions Centre vaccination clinic

(CNS): The escalation in community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was starkly illustrated Friday when public health revealed that 194 positive tests for the virus were recorded between 8am Wednesday and 8am Thursday across all three islands, bringing the total number active cases as of yesterday morning to 1,600.

Cayman has now seen a total of  2,676 confirmed cases of the virus since March 2020, with 1,953 of those being recorded since the community re-emergence of the virus just two months ago. There are now 12 COVID-19 patients hospitalised in the Cayman Islands, all in stable condition, as the number of people infected climbs.

Of those patients, at least eight of them are unvaccinated and three of them have serious underlying medical conditions, according to a video recorded by Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee in a video recorded on Thursday morning but not released until Friday evening. He also said that these admissions were relatively low.

The government has not released the number of people who are managing symptoms of COVID-19 at home.

Over on the Sister Islands, where health officials are more up to date on collating numbers, another ten people tested positive on Thursday. In total there are now 84 active cases on Cayman Brac and 2 on Little Cayman. 66 of the cases from the Sister Islands are included in the total of active cases for all three islands as of Thursday morning.

Officials have said that by Monday all three islands will be reporting figures for the same day, reducing the current confusion over exactly how many daily positive cases the country is recording and the active case numbers on any given day.

The number of people in isolation has still not been revealed but it is estimated to be around 3,500, since, with the introduction of lateral flow testing, not all families are forced to isolated even when one member is positive. But even though the rapid home tests are seen as the key to manage the impact of isolation on the workforce and students, there remains a serious shortage of kits.

Officials told CNS Friday that 18,000 kits were sent out to schools this week. Dr Lee said in his video on Thursday that more tests are arriving on island daily for employers and members of the community. He said the idea was to enable people to keep their businesses going and to go to work, and for students to attend school if they are negative and vaccinated.

Meanwhile, over 5,000 people have now had a booster shot, while 54,711 people (77% of the population) have had two doses of the vaccine and 56,908 (80%) have had at least one shot.

See the vaccine schedule on the HSA website here.

For more information on vaccines contact the HSA Communications team at
communications@hsa.ky

See here for more information on securely verifiable vaccination records.



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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (311)

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  1. C'Mon Now! says:

    Not sure which article to post this under, but if Gov’t can’t keep a running count of positives and post it on weekday mornings then the people involved in this need to be replaced.

    Nothing has changed in the process, people are tested and the results reported. A very small number of people so far have been admitted to hospital and this also gets reported.

    So why the delays? It will come out at some point and is information the community needs so just put it out there and if an occasional adjustment needs to be made so be it.

    They have been doing this for the better part of two years before the recent failures to report.

    I used to think our Government and Civil Service couldn’t get any worse, but now they are proving me wrong day after day.

  2. Anonymous says:

    You can see from the dislikes that you are in the minority. In fact, YOU are a donkey-eared ignoramus. Hermit? You overstate the social inconvenience and if by living YOUR life “normally” (and of course it’s all about you, isn’t it?) you put other members of your community at risk then YOU are a social outcast; you A DONKEY-EARED HERMIT.

  3. Anonymous says:

    A person that used to live here and is now back with a new job with the big D was in quarantine in the unit below me. Once of her friends came around and they stood out by the side of the building chatting and having a cig. At the time, I was not aware that she was meant to be in Q or I’d have reported her!

    Landlords should be required to advise other tenants/owners that someone is in quarantine!!
    Travel Cayman should add this to the list of things to check And that will help report those douchecanoes that break the rules.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Its ridiculous that people are still holding large-ish gatherings inside. . . irresponsible, donkey-eared ignoramuses. Just cannot do without their G&Ts and cucumber sandwiches. P-A-N-D-E-M-I-C! Hello (knock on head) anyone home? Get your priorities straight and help to protect your community.

    • Anonymous says:

      From what? The flu? 12 hospitalizations from 1300 cases all out of abundance of caution. I’ll live my life normally, thanks very much. If you wanna be a hermit forever then that’s your choice just don’t expect everyone else to feel the same way.

  5. Anonymous says:

    It’s truly bizarre to an outsider to read all the hand-wringing comments under articles like this when every day seemingly someone in Cayman is killed or injured by being shot, stabbed or mown down by a drink/drug driver. Your priorities are incomprehensible, frankly.

    • Anonymous says:

      I wish you idiots would stop comparing infectious disease to acts of violence and crap drivers. It’s apples to elephants and you just sound ignorant.

    • Anonymous says:

      What island are you on?

    • Anonymous says:

      There are laws against murder, assault and drink driving. Police investigate assaults and murder. Police set up road checkpoints for speeding and drunks behind the wheel. Are you suggesting that a priority be placed on passing laws against knowingly engaging in Covid spread risk activities? Perhaps police armed with swabs could set up Covid check points. Would that set our priorities straight in you mind?

  6. Anonymous says:

    Reducing the quarantine time to 5 days has caused all this.

    • Anonymous says:

      No. Drug trade with Jamaica and a refusal to stamp the virus out to accommodate the tourism lobby and its “live with Covid” ambitions has caused this.

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s exactly what it is. Some people don’t get symptoms until day 7. Also not correctly monitoring people in insolation and ensuring no one from the outside is coming and going. There are so many make shift rentals with shared ventilation.

      • Anonymous says:

        Nobody checked our AC for quarantine – we were just asked over the phone and could have lied with impunity.

        • Anonymous says:

          They are not checking. They call and ask how many people stay at the location and you can easily say 2 when it’s actually 4 or more. They don’t check. They call you if your phone needs charging. My fifteen days could have easily been taken advantage of if I was unscrupulous. The enforcement may have been more thorough in the beginning but not now. Living spaces, especially kitchens are being shared. Covid-19 was allowed to walk about but I think that’s what those who broke quarantine and those that wanted us to join the world intended.

    • Anonymous says:

      Just imagine when quarantine is completely lifted. The PACT Christmas gift to the community! Dreaming of a Covid free Christmas and New Year.!

    • Anonymous says:

      Really pleased that you managed to trace the outbreak source when the government and police have not managed to. Perhaps you can share your workings and save everyone a lot of hassle.

    • Anonymous says:

      Yup, I agree to an extent but moving to an honesty system on an island which is rampant with greed, entitlement and selfishness was a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately you don’t need many of those types for this disease to spread.

  7. Covid Unvaxxed Survivor :) says:

    How come when you visit this site, those comments nearest to the truth, get the most thumbs down ratings? They are the only ones worth reading.

    • Anonymous says:

      Probably because your ‘truth’ is not the majority of other people who live n Cayman’s ‘truth’

  8. Anonymous says:

    Looking at the whole picture.
    When the world went into lockdown the planet was healing, until lock down was eased.
    This means change is required.
    Living with covid is not acceptable.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Big group of people who tested positive after Cocktail weekend and have been in 10 days isolation were tested yesterday. Apparently many are still positive with symptoms, despite being double vaxxed.
    Get vaxxed, get your booster, be careful!

    • Anonymous says:

      Even with booster, people are still getting covid, although symptoms are mostly mild.

      WATCH OUT for those who’ve just had covid and feel invincible now.
      Just spoke to someone who is making plans to go partying more than before they caught it!

    • Anonymous says:

      This is true. I know someone who was a contact of an attendee. They tested positive, isolated for the prescribed period and tested positive again.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Is it safe for travelers who test negative be let out into the community? So much for science. In places where they have the intelligence to create a vaccine, as long as one tests negative or is vaccinated, one is free to move about without restriction. Cayman is at least six months behind the times. Borders still closed. Covid rampant in community. The irony!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Okay everyone, not saying that this is the same for everyone but I’m on the Brac and my sister sent me up some Ivermectin that Dr. Tomlinson had given her a prescription for. I can tell you don’t waste your money on that crap. It does not work. I might as well had drank a bottle of Citrate of Magnesia, nothing but diarrhea and caused me to be even more nauseated than I had ever been since the last 5 days I have had covid.

    • Anonymous says:

      I have so many questions. Do you have WORMS? Are you vaccinated? Did your doctor advise you to take ivermectin? Did you even ask your doctor if you should?

      I just can’t wrap my head around why someone would take ivermectin at this point unless they have WORMS. Are you a scientist using your own body to experiment on drugs that have already tested? Are you dumb?

      What is your reasoning?

    • Anonymous says:

      Are you for real? If so, stupid is as stupid does I guess. Ivermectin is not authorised by the FDA for treating Covid – it is basically an animal medicine with only specific applications for people: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

    • Anonymous says:

      What did you expect? That medicine was made for horses and elephants. It is too strong and harsh for humans.

      CNS: Ivermectin formulated for livestock should not be taken by humans, but there is a human version that is a highly effective anti-parasitic drug. See here.

      Notably: “The FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19 infection in humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend not to use ivermectin in patients with COVID-19 to reduce viral replication, except in clinical trials.”

      • Anonymous says:

        Just imagine when quarantine is completely lifted. The PACT Christmas gift to the community! Dreaming of a Covid free Christmas and New Year.!

      • Anonymous says:

        Yup for worms but nowhere does it say “also good for covid”. People should not trust their horse sense for this!

  12. Anonymous says:

    It is not only the cost of doing exit testing for tourists going back to the US. At the moment our lab facilities are seriously over-stretched with doing PCR tests for our own who are ill. How are they supposed to do PCR tests for our own plus tests for tourists who need a test result to fly back to the US. Was that even considered in “the plan”.

    • Anonymous says:

      It demonstrates Caymans inability to handle what lies ahead, due to its small size & limited resources. This is not necessarily the fault of CIG or health services & my view is not directed at their perceived shortcomings.
      Our hospital/s & HSA was staffed & resourced to handle a population of ‘ x ‘ in the former world that did not have to exist in a pandemic. We are now trying to battle the virus with the same resources, while expecting those resources to comply with requirements of International air travel. It is this need for such air travel, which will further expose our inability to cope with the demands(pre travel PCR testing being just one), while at the same time trying to run thousands of community tests a day. Add requirements for quarantine in travelers of different categories , proving their vaccinations status / lack thereof , housing quarantine participants,transporting them , feeding them, testing them. You can see where this is going .

      • Testing says:

        We are clearly moving forward with the reopening date. Something CIG seems to be missing is that the US does not require a PCR test to return after a trip abroad. The US accepts rapid antigen tests, thus CIG should be prepared to offer such tests to US citizens prior to their exit from the island. Administering a rapid antigen test is simple and can be done by any number of individuals trained to administer the test. The results are processed on-site and returned within 15 -30 minutes. This would free up HSA from processing more PCR tests.

        The US accepts some at-home tests but they must be administered by a telehealth visit. Possibly some travelers from the US will purchase these tests and schedule a video appointment and do the test on their own. Maybe this information should be emphasized in the reopening plan information shared online.

        The most effective method of reducing the strain on HSA when it comes to PCR test results is to add the option for rapid antigen testing for outbound visitors.

        • Anonymous says:

          I have been in an airport where they offer this service for a modest fee. Took about 20 minutes

          • Anonymous says:

            They do it at Miami Airport..very simple and quick..why is everybody getting their panties in a wad. Get Dr. T to set up a station outside the airport. He would be happy to do this.. just don’t let him try to sell you any of that worm medicine.

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