Traveller to Cayman has Omicron variant
(CNS): Public Health officials have confirmed that a traveller currently in quarantine has the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was detected through genomic sequencing in a test sample but officials have not said which country the individual had travelled from, when they arrived, if they had been in isolation from the point of arrival or whether the positive test was picked up as part of the new testing regime for vaccinated travelers.
CNS has asked for further information and we are awaiting a response. Government is also promoting an Omicron update and live broadcast that is scheduled for Thursday at 2pm.
The Omicron variant was first detected by scientists in South Africa in November and the World Health Organization named it a variant of concern because of the high number of mutations and the unknown impact it was going to have on the spread and severity of the virus.
In less than a month it has become the dominant strain in several UK cities, including London and Manchester. It is also now present in the majority of US states, including Florida.
Chief Medical Officer (Interim) Dr Autilia Newton said that some early studies of the Omicron variant have been completed and more are underway to assess its transmissibility, the severity of illness and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine against the variant.
“There is still much to learn, but at the moment we can confirm that Omicron probably spreads more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. In addition vaccines still appear to offer the best protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death. This is especially true for individuals who have had a booster shot,” Dr Newton said.
COVID-19 vaccination clinics are open Tuesday to Saturday, and Health Minister Sabrina Turner urged individuals to also practice basic COVID-19 prevention measures, including hand hygiene, social distancing, limiting attendance at large gatherings and wearing masks in enclosed public spaces.
Premier Wayne Panton said the tightened testing and quarantine processes for travellers will minimise the risk posed by the Omicron variant.
“We reintroduced a 14-day quarantine for people who have recently travelled through or from countries at high risk for Omicron,” he said. “In addition we have narrowed the period of time within which visitors must confirm they are COVID-negative before their arrival, while also widening testing options. Measures like this will help to keep the Cayman Islands safe in the weeks to come.”
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Category: Health, Medical Health
I think we are ding pretty good. First wave down, second wave is on. I think we just have three more to go to catch up with the rest of the world. We should have gone through them all by September 2022. We sure are getting all of the variants here quickly. Wonder if they will blame a drug boat again? I notice how everyone is blaming the UK when the USA is where most of the cases came from as reported at one of the press conferences. Then the media asked about stopping flights from the UK. They don’t even listen. We will soon have our own variant. We can call it the PACT variant.
Omicron present in Cayman.
Bears adopt arboreal toilet solution.
Pope embraces Catholicism.
Cayman Islands government overreacts hysterically.
The island will be, the people will be fine, no need to fear that which will not hurt or harm.
France is taking a ‘people first’ approach to Omicron
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-british-tourists-to-be-banned-from-france-amid-rise-in-omicron-cases-12497105
I wonder how many unvaccinated frontline workers interacted with this passenger. Is one of them going to introduce it to the rest of us?
Omicron is infecting many people in the UK now that are double jabbed. The only protection appears to be a recent 3rd booster. Hopefully everyone on the front line is using proper techniques when dealing with travellers.
Protection means wearing a mask, washing hands, and the hardest one, staying 6 feet away from all non-household. All are the law. Clue in.
I would think it is probably one of you. Notice when it’s a tourist they use the word tourist and traveler is a local who returned from traveling.
And I wonder which VACINNATED Jackass who had to run off shopping brought it back to the CAYMAN ISLANDS because the UNVAX FOLKS are not traveling SMH
Hopefully during today’s press conference the government is going to explain why it is a good idea to allow thousands of potentially Omicron infected cruise tourists to land in Cayman without any testing in just 12 days.
Every sensible government on the planet is doing what it can to stop the importation of Omicron. Hopefully our government will do the same. No doubt they are coming under a lot of pressure from the profits before people crowd to give us all Omicron for Christmas.
It’s here.
We need public health orders to mean something, ie. hear about some of those fabled $10,000 tickets issued for distancing violations. If not now, when?
Never. Distancing “violations” are stupid.
Anyone with any sense, including the police, understand that you either have to enforce that entirely, or not at all, which is what they’ve chosen.
Otherwise what are they supposed to do, start pulling people over and asking whether they are related and giving them tickets for being too close? There would be mayhem in short order.
If the government was serious about public health orders they would do stuff that made sense, such as limiting or eliminating indoor capacity in restaurants, reintroduce quarantine for travelers, and not allow a cruise ship. But they aren’t serious, and people are sick of this.
Covid is not going away. There will be another Omicron in six months or a year. Giving someone a ticket for being within 6 feet (a distance that is arbitrary anyway) of someone is literally the dumbest idea of all time.
All those advocating that we should allow Omicron to simply swamp our islands seem to have forgotten about the effects of long Covid that affect many Covid survivors
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/16/many-covid-hospital-patients-do-not-feel-fully-recovered-year-later-study
STOP THE CRUISE SHIPS WAYNE. LISTEN TO ALDEN FOR ONCE.
Totally agree! He doesn’t need to listen to Alden though just apply a little common sense. Any idiot should understand that allowing thousands of people potentially infected with Omicron into our islands without any testing is very dangerous.
Whoa, hold on sec, not so fast…I think we’re forgetting there’s a $2.46 head tax that could bring in nearly four grand to public purse – that will fix everything! “Totally worth the political fallout”, dreams PACT. What is the motivator here?
How can a traveler be positive if proof of negative PCR is required upon arrival ?
Google: “Incubation Period”
Seriously – its mid-December 2021 – OK one more time – the incubation period for the virus can be 14 days or more so a person who has just been infected by the virus may test negative pre-travel and for a week or more after arrival and then only test positive after the virus has replicated enough to be transmissible – when leaving quarantine.
The time has come to lockdown the unvaccinated and those not practicing safety measures for endangering others ! They have no right to put others at risk because of their fool fool ideas !
My gosh chill on the entitlement juice. Vaccinated or not any person can spread covid. How about we all take the proper precautions practice social distancing and good hygiene. The vaccination is not a cure it just reduces potential hospitalization. Freedom of choice regardless of what you think is a principle embedded into our constitution. Let’s all be decent human beings and respect others.
Trice vaxed and totally agree… would only add that the standing Public Health Orders shouldn’t be subject to freedom of choice by anyone who feels contemptuous, artificially invincible, or divinely protected from transmitting their droplets to others. Long overdue for the RCIPS to open those wallets with some headline examples.
Considering the fact that being double jabbed only has like 10% effectiveness against Omicron (as of what we know right now), the distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated for the purposes of controlling transmission is essentially pointless.
We should encourage unvaccinated people to get the vaccine because they are endangering themselves and because they are more likely to use resources (aka a hospital bed).
But vaccine apartheid against Omicron is pointless.
I am all for vaccines but if someone doesn’t have it they’re not really endangering you. Sorry that doesn’t fit the narrative.
Did you obtain your degree from the university of ignorance?
They can’t even get their infographic on ExploreGov.ky correct.
Currently says 2 community cases and 27 in travelers in the pretty picture but the much more likely reverse in the written section.
They really should try harder…
In breaking news it has been learned that the Omicron virus is now infecting computers and is submitting posts to online media instructing people to believe that it is harmless and something people should ignore. Clever virus.
People really, really, really wish that Covid would go away. Too bad that merely wishing for something is not a rational public health policy.
How many of the cruise passengers scheduled to arrive in 10 days and who are not going to be tested like air arrivals will be infected with Omicron?
The standard 2 dose ‘fully vaccinated’ status means nothing for Omicron spread but then protecting the people had nothing to do with allowing that ship to come at this time and to allow people to land without testing.
To give some perspective on how infectious Omicron is, 2 weeks ago Omicron caused less than half of one percent of Covid cases in the US. This week in New York it caused 13%.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-estimated-be-29-covid-19-variants-us-cdc-2021-12-14/
The CDC put out new information today on Omicron spread. The CDC says that the available evidence does not support a conclusion that Omicron is less severe than Delta.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html
The article says they don’t know yet. Your post is misleading, the available evidence does not support a conclusion that Omicron is more severe or equally severe as Delta either
I get that people are fed up with Covid. Unfortunately being fed up with a virus does not mean that we can just ignore it and hope for the best.
Best comment on here.
I’ve been fed up with selfish, stupid people for years. I decided I would just ignore them, but they keep replicating at an alarming rate.
COVID accelerated the spread of stupidity and all the worse examples of humans.
I can’t ignore them anymore because they are affecting my life – just like COVID.
There is a lot of the Omicron variant of Covid denial happening.
It goes something like “If we can just convince everyone that Omicron is nothing and that we do not have to take steps to counteract it then it will go away”…… fools.
I don’t know about that. I have had the delta variant and it wasn’t fun at all. I wish I could get the Omicron just so I could compare and report back. Like my old coach used to say, “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Great…..no area cvs or Walgreens are doing covid tests on the 23rd in my area when my family needs to do the test one day in advance. Not doing them the 24th either which wouldn’t help anyhow as we were supposed to be on an early plane out. Hospitals are not doing them in the area as they are only doing PCR tests if you are symptomatic and that has a 72 turnaround. Now, what do we do? Over 10,000 tied up in a trip and a last minute change in policy has screwed us out of our holiday.
Friends of ours are going to Mexico. No pre departure testing. No medical insurance. No testing until the end of the trip and their whole holiday costs as much as one person. WHY did we choose Cayman.
I hope John John is in the press conference.
It is a full moon on Saturday.
Do travelers need a diagnostic rapid antigen covid test (results takes 24 hours test sent off to a lab) or just the rapid antigen covid test ( test done at site takes 30 minutes tops). Can CNS please answer. Traveling soon and have no idea which one to book. Makes a huge difference in location on booking the test.
CNS: All the answers are supposed to be here.
It says antigen detecting rapid detecting test for the virus. Is this a rapid antigen test/ lateral flow? Yes, must be done at a certified facility. Just don’t understand if this is the LFT/ rapid antigen test?
There go the toilet rolls again i guess
What’s the point of delaying the inevitable? Death by 1000 cuts. Dragging out the inevitable, making everyone suffer and fret. I don’t like the way government iOS handling this.
Anyone who would rather catch Omicron sooner rather than later only has to go down to the port and kiss some of the people getting off that cruise ship that is coming on 28 December. That ought to grant your wish.
Or just kiss someone in the club or at the dominoes game.
“iOS Governor Siri, why are we delaying the inevitable”?
“Because in theory, slowing the spread will keep hospital capacity available to the (hopefully few) people who need care as a result of catching Omicron”
How are we still requiring people arriving from Southern Africa to quarantine but not those arriving from the UK or US which have as much (if not more) Omnicron cases.
Racism is alive and well in the Cayman Islands.
Wayne Panton is completely out of touch and lazy on this matter. Omicron is expected to be the dominant variant in London this week.
So the hundreds of South Africans returning to Cayman later in December has to be locked down for 2 weeks but those arriving from the UK can walk free from the airport.
“Measures like this will help to keep the Cayman Islands safe in the weeks to come.” So out of touch and inconsistent.
Racism isn’t always the culprit. Sometimes it’s just simple, plain idiocy.
For the idiots who say that Omicron cannot bring our health system crashing down.
“The Omicron variant has been found to multiply about 70 times quicker than the original and Delta versions of coronavirus in tissue samples taken from the bronchus, the main tubes from the windpipe to the lungs, a study found.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/12/15/1064597592/a-tantalizing-clue-to-why-omicron-is-spreading-so-quickly
But the same study indicates that replication is 10 times less than Delta in the lungs.
So this means infections will go up, but the infection hospital and death rate will be less (as less damage to the lungs).
Experts in the UK are not saying Omicron is nothing to worry about according to the BBC.
“The UK has recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 reported on Wednesday.
The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January – when the UK was in lockdown.Speaking at a news conference, England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warned that records will be broken a lot in the next few weeks.
He added people should prioritise what matters with regards to social mixing in the run-up to Christmas.
Speaking alongside Prof Whitty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was “absolutely vital” that everyone gets a booster jab.
He warned that in some areas the doubling rate for cases was now under two days, adding: “I’m afraid we’re also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations up by 10% nationally, week-on-week, and up by almost a third in London.”
Prof Whitty said the country was experiencing two separate epidemics, one driven by the “very rapidly-growing” Omicron variant and the other by the Delta variant.”
The only country saying that Omicron causes less severe infections is South Africa which is trying to get the flight restrictions lifted. Experts in the rest of the world are advocating restrictions to try and stop Omicron before too much damage is done.
Are people dying in SA, what are the facts.
Lies
Please provide a link to any credible source that says that any government apart from SA is saying that Omicron is not something to be concerned about.
The incidence of Omicron is rapidly increasing in Florida and many other states. There will be dozens of Omicron infected tourists getting off that cruise ship with no testing of any kind. Then we will see just how fast Omicron can overwhelm our little islands.
omicron is a mild form of covid.
how can it overwhelm cayman with cayman’s huge levels of vaccination and now huge amount of aquired natural immunity??
Sorry to be so blunt, but the reason for more testing and 14 days quarantine is widespread obesity among Cayman leaders. It is not the elderly they are “protecting”, but themselves. It is a shame that obesity is accepted in Cayman.
Who still thinks our covid community is a greater risk to travellers than they are to us?
Critical thinkers.
I do. Omicron is less dangerous. More transmissible, but less severe. It infects the lungs 10x less than Delta.
Anyone still think that the post arrival tests for travellers is a bad idea?
Cayman has the safest reopening plan in the world
AMEN!
It’s a bad idea because we simply can’t obtain them in 24 hours. If it was possible, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’ve been searching for a test for two days and there is literally nothing within 1 1/2 hours of my home that I can locate w/ a 24 hr return. All my friends are searching – there is nothing yet
Really looking forward to Dr Newton expertise.
So which countries require arrivals to undergo 14 day quarantine – we need to know now.
None
14 days quarantine for travellers from Belgium, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia
Only 14 days? Maybe 14 months? 14 years? Shut the borders for ever and everyone take up fishing again! Yes that’s it! That a wonderful sustainable plan. Mr Panton let’s become a sea faring nation again and go back centuries. That’s the ticket!
Was published a couple of weeks ago and is on exploregov.ky – 14 days quarantine for travellers from Belgium, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
France has a better idea – as of yesterday it is simply prohibiting any type of holiday or other non-essential travel from places that have a high incidence of Omicron.
Governor will never let them shut down the UK “air bridge”
There are many countries with smart governments and therefore 14 day quarantine requirements. CNN has published a list:
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/coronavirus-omicron-variant-travel-restrictions/index.html
New Zealand for one but there are many others.
Hardly newsworthy. Even though it is highly transmissible, Omicron is proving to be much milder than Delta in terms of symptoms, so nothing to worry about.
You clearly have no understanding of how Omicron can overwhelm a health system.
cayman had one of the highest rate of delta infection in the world and our health service was nowhere near overwhelmed.
what are you talking about?
I don’t think anyone definitively has that understanding yet. We’ll see over the next month whether public health systems are overwhelmed or not.
Certainly public health officials are speculating that it will be disastrous.
To be fair, I would have said the number of cases of Delta we have had here in the last month would have resulted in many more people hospitalised and dead than actually happened. While it is obviously a tragedy that people died and some people will no doubt have long covid, I think it’s fair to say that it’s a “good result” in the circumstances.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Omicron. I’m sure we can all agree that we hope that the poster above is right and it’s much milder. That said we are certainly going to have hospitalisations and deaths as a result of this. To say nothing to worry about is definitely not correct.
South Africa has reported that Omicron has resulted in a third less hospitalizations than Delta .
early days – the first batch to be diagnosed with Omicron were all young people.
Yep. The female doctor who discovered Omicron in South Africa listen to what she says …. then compare what she says with what western / european news agencies are saying, and right away you will see something fishy about their panic alarm stories. 🤔
Opps … here’s the link – https://youtu.be/KgMrO9i4sy0
Lies. There is no such proof according to the CDC as of today.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html
What you need to worry about is governments knee jerk reaction to this.
LOL someone calling Omicron mild after 2 and half weeks since discovery.
The virus takes 3-4 weeks to case serious medical issues.
Even if it turns out to be twice as mild, but 10 times more infectious, it still means that hospital numbers will be 5 times higher then otherwise at that time.
It will lead to far higher waves of infections and higher waves of hospitalization.
CIG messaging should be to reconsider any type of non-essential gathering right now, bars and nightclubs should be closed, and we should move back to name days for grocery shopping. LFT negative QR to get inside confined public areas like supermarkets. Dress rehearsals are over!
What in the world is wrong with you? Do you think you can stop Omicron? It will soon be as prevalent as the seawater that surrounds these islands, thankfully those that are vaccinated and boosted will emerge unscathed.
There is no stopping the spread!.
This has been a paid post sponsored by the profits before people cabal.
Feel free line up outside and pay for my LFT every time we gp supermarket. We had dress rehearsals last year, move on.
This is the sickest Govt ever unleashed on the population.
Clueless. Mass panic, mass fear mongering and now back to 14 Day quarantine for certain travelers for a variant that is less dangerous than anything during the pandemic.
I believe the tide has changed and people will not be taking anymore tyrannical measures from this Govt.
Anyone who believes Omicron wasn’t all over the globe months before being ‘discovered’ in South Africa really hasn’t a clue. The variant is more infectious but less dangerous than Delta.
This is another non event that was met by another knee jerk reaction from the jerks running the country.
The madness has to STOP
Why?
Why stop there? How about have public announcements for travelers testing positive for a cold and the flu considering the omicron (mix the words and it spells moronic) has only very mild symptoms.
The cure can’t be worse than the problem. Get back to normal life and eff off to these fear mongers
Yawn. Seriously. It’s LESS deadly than the already BARELY deadly Delta variant. The prevention measures are considerably worse than getting infected.
Ask the families of the people who died. Yawn
Should have gotten vaccinated.
what is the need for the press conference?..it just heightens the sense of nonsensical hysteria…..
To sell the booster obviously. Take it so we can return to normal. Oh, wait…
The press conferences inform and serve the community whilst providing everyone with a laugh.
inevitable….nothing to worry about with our huge level of vaccination.
but people must get their booster.
bring in vax passport system to protect unvaxxed and to protect our health service.
its happening everywhere else in the world, why not here?
How are they protecting the unvaxxed.
Let the panic begin.
“We reintroduced a 14-day quarantine for people who have recently travelled through or from countries at high risk for Omicron,”
This conveniently excluded the USA and UK where most of the tourists come from.
Government Christmas parties continue to happen with no regard for any of their own advice.
Personally I think we should never leave our houses again! No visitors, never go over the threshold of the door – for the rest of a very miserable life.
I would care not to give the CIG and the Coronaphobics any more ideas.
Quick, everyone run for the hills!
Running for the hills might not be the best choice since the only hill on this island is Garbage Hill and isn’t it still on fire? Maybe we should run for the ocean and start swimming. [insert eye roll]
What hills?????
We cant – its on fire
I’d suggest you run away from the dump