COVID-19 spread plateaus, say health officials
(CNS): The community spread of COVID-19 has plateaued but is not yet in real decline from the most recent spike, Public Health said last week. As of Thursday, there were an estimated 841 active cases of the virus in the Cayman Islands, with seven of those infected in hospital. Around 450 people officially reported testing positive for COVID-19 since 22 June, though there are concerns that not everyone is reporting their status.
Officials revealed that another person who was COVED-19 positive died last week, bringing the total of lives lost to the virus in Cayman to 29.
Between 19-25 June, as reported in the latest edition of the Public Health Spotlight, there were ten new admissions to hospital, six of which were directly related to COVID-19, with the other four patients detected on screening. Twelve patients required inpatient treatment, up from 9 patients in the previous week.
All key indicators increased slightly last week, including an increase of over 2% in the test positivity rates.
“Epidemiological metrics have fluctuated the past few weeks and ongoing transmission appears to be plateauing rather than declining after the recent wave of infections,” officials said in the newsletter.
But officials still cleared the way for government to lift most of the day-to-day restrictions, including the mask mandate and the need for a pre-arrival negative test for air travellers.
As a result of the recent changes in travel and isolation testing requirements, the Health Services Authority will now only provide COVID-19 testing for Public Health purposes and pre-op patients (PCR tests to confirm a positive LFT result), effective Tuesday, 5 July. Voluntary Certified LFT and PCR tests for travel or employment purposes will no longer be provided.
Updated COVID-19 testing centres for PCR confirmation testing of positive LFTs
- Truman Bodden Sports Complex (Drive-Through): Daily 8am 10am. Effective Monday 18 July, Monday, Wednesday and Friday only 8am-10am.
- Bodden Town Civic Centre (1-2pm): closed as of Tuesday, 5 July
- Ed Bush Sports Complex (1-2pm): closed as of Tuesday, 5 July
- 131 Centre, MacLendon Drive: closed as of Tuesday, 5 July
- Aston Rutty Centre, Cayman Brac: Monday-Friday, 9am-10am (closed weekends and public holidays)
- Little Cayman Clinic: Monday-Friday, 1pm – 2pm by appointment only (closed weekends and public holidays)
See the latest Public Health Spotlight report in the CNS Library.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
Your face, your choice.
Let’s pretend it will all go away if we stop testing. It won’t. The cycle of reinfections will be vicious, particularly among the highly vaccinated adults.
Cases and infections don’t matter, deaths do, and these new variants are not killing the triple vaccinated.
They’re not killing the unvaccinated either.
Leeroy Jenkins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolute legends if you get this reference
I like wearing the mask. I can mouth eff off to my boss right in front of him.
Taking the masks off in time for the holiday weekend is brilliant! Superspreader events all weekend long kicked off with a murder and street brawl last night.
Those screaming “ignore the science” in relation to mask removal are like kids covering their faces with their shirts when someone farts so they can’t smell.
How did mandatory quarantining of all arriving persons to Cayman work out? See the islands Covid stats for proof the inevitable was only delayed.
A virus is going to do its thing, you can’t hide from it.
Unless the entire population wears N95 masks 24/7, masking has little to no positive benefit (except in the cases of persons sneezing or coughing) and most likely is more negative.
Masks do work, which is why surgeons have worn them to protect their patients from their germs since the Civil War. Fact is, a wild transmission encounter is just a calculated low odds risk…and that could change again. For now, we should each weigh the chances, relax, and enjoy living. Let’s also hope that everyone ill gets better soon.
Actually, surgeons started wearing masks to protect themselves from ill patients, not the other way around.
Only the paranoid and gullible care about this anymore.
Only the conspiracy nuts, Cayman MAGAs, CITA bots and science deniers dont care about this anymore.
We are on our own. We have been on our own for several months. Be well everybody.
Can we plateau the growth of the Civil Service?.
Growth or girth?
But let’s take the masks off….great idea
Mask were abandoned in many p,aces including the uk over 6 months ago and have had no impact on deaths from Covid amongst the vaccinated. Furthermore, in cayman it was only the supermarkets where we were still wearing masks. In offices, hotels etc no one had been wearing masks for months in cayman. No one I know is concerned about Covid anymore post vaccine and the masks were completely unnecessary,
Citations needed
Why do you need citations. I live in cayman and work for a large company in a big office here and have only worn a mask in fosters or kirks since March at the very latest. And I regularly eat and drink out at various hotels and other restaurants / bars. Most offices ended masks many months ago. My office of 300 people did in February,
Nobody is telling you to remove your mask. Keep it on if that makes you feel safer.
Ignore the science. Take those masks off and lets get to spreading the virus!