New variants emerge as COVID cases increase
(CNS): The latest weekly analysis of COVID-19 in the Cayman Islands shows an increase in cases, even with a decline in testing, but also the emergence of Omicron BA.5 and the sub-lineage BE.1. Public Health Department officials have again urged people with symptoms of the virus to get a PCR test so that they can gather accurate data. With the arrival of BA.5, which is causing the spike in cases in the UK, the PHD wants to know more about its spread here, especially as little is known about the ability of this latest strain to dodge the vaccine.
“There is clear evidence of a reduction in testing since the recent change in COVID-19 regulations, however cases are increasing,” PHD said in the latest issue of Public Health Spotlight, covering data collected between 3 and 9 July. “It is really important that symptomatic individuals get a PCR test to understand the spread of COVID-19 in the community.”
Officials added that the genomic sequencing enables insight into what variants are circulating and the presence of new variants, and helps them understand the shift away from the dominant BA.2 Omicron variant. “In the UK BA.5 has been associated with an increase in COVID-19 incidence, however the impact on vaccine effectiveness is not yet known,” PHD stated.
Most metrics increased over the past week, with a 13% rise in new cases. But the notable drop in testing, which has decreased by 36%, has increased the test positivity rate to 48%.
More up-to-date figures indicate that the number of cases is still rising as the seven-day rolling average for 13 July was 65. As of yesterday morning, there were an estimated 853 active cases reported to Public Health. But given the massive decline in formal testing and reporting, it is evident that there are many more people infected.
Nine patients are currently in hospital, seven of whom are vaccinated. Last week six patients were treated at the hospital for COVID-19, which decreased from 14 patients in the previous week, one of the only statistics to decrease.
See the latest weekly report in the CNS Library.
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Category: Health, Medical Health
You people are so boring. Nobody is dying. What are you so on about?
@2:35:
Many people across the globe are suffering from the long-term effects that linger or recur well after the acute phase of a Covid infection. If death is your only only metric, you are benighted beyond redemption.
The panicked and fearful are still commenting, but it looks like the rest of the commenters are moving on with life.
You fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down
@11:26:
–extreme tiredness/fatigue
–shortness of breath
–various neurological issues
–cognitive issues such as diminished memory and concentration (“brain fog”)
–difficulty sleeping
–heart problems
–dizziness
–chronic neurodegeneration
–pins and needles
–chest pain or tightness
–joint pain
–depression and anxiety
–brain tissue damage
–tinnitus, ear problems
–feeling sick
–diarrhea
–stomach abdominal pain
–loss of appetite
–fever
–onset of diabetes
–cough
–headaches
–sore throat
–diminished sense of smell or taste
–rashes
Those are the effects of Long Covid that develop or continue to recur long after recovering from the acute phase of a Covid infection.
Yeah, nothing at all to fear.
No need to for concern, just live with it, eh?
Your benighted comment bring to mind the observation of English poet Alexander Pope: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
At this point I’m convinced if there was a limited nuclear exchange we’d still be expected to act as if nothing happened.
“Hair loss is your main symptom? You’ll be alright. Kevin’s family was in the direct path of the blast and he’s still here.”
Going forward, the best way to read these commenters telling everyone to get on with it or its just a cold or flu, is imagine them referring to things like the zombie apocalypse or extinction level events instead, because they would be saying the same things.
If covid doesn’t kill me, inflation will. What a terrible decade this is turning out to be.
Even worse, millions of people continue to downplay Covid, which is basically a new virus on Earth that we have no long term studies on how repeated infections affect the mind and body.
Hellworld
There is a jab you can take, with no long-term studies on how repeated boosters affect the mind and body.
@7:50:
Research is uncovering that the long-term effects can do damage to almost every organ system and the severity of ongoing or recurring effects does not necessarily correlate to how severe the acute phase was. Cayman reportedly has had at least one death attributed to post-Covid sequelae (Long Covid). Because our government is gaslighting the public about post-Covid illness, we have no idea how widespread or serious the problem is here. I know several people, including family members, suffering from the long term and recurring effects of having had Covid.
There are some very good reasons to be very pro-active about preventing Covid transmission in the Cayman Islands. One thing is clear: a lot of us are are now very susceptible to reinfection from the extremely contagious new subvariants that escape past vaccines and evade natural immunity. “We can expect to be reinfected,” says Shishi Luo, associate director of bioinformatics and infectious diseases at Helix, “And every time we’re infected, it’s at best a hassle. And at worst, it can lead to debilitating symptoms,” she adds, pointing to the risk of Long Covid—which, recent studies suggest, is common even among people who have been vaccinated or who have had even a “mild” Covid infection. Recent studies indicate that among the many effects of Long Covid or repeated infections is negative impacts on brain cells, causing damage leading to cognitive dysfunction. Researchers found subtle changes in the brains of people with mild to moderate Covid after the initial 4 weeks or acute phase of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. They reveal that individuals who had SARS-CoV-2 showed greater brain tissue damage and shrinkage of brain regions at an average of 4.5 months after their Covid diagnosis. It is astonishing that the Cayman Islands government is choosing to ignore the issue, gaslight the public, and allow us to suffer.
The tail appears to be wagging the dog. CITA, chamber of commerce,business owners, etc, etc, calling the shots, which should give everyone pause as more pandemics will come.
@10:09:
More like the snake oil and miracle cure shills in the midway giving directions to the Clown Car under the Big Top.
Someone put out a missing persons report for our new infectious disease expert
Good grief, get off the internet and get on with your life. I am over 60, with a compromised respiratory system that has manifested itself as severe reactive asthma, amongst other issues.
I’ve had both jabs, a booster, and I’ve had Covid twice, infected by both Delta and Omicron. The first infection was similar to hay fever, with constant sneezing being the worst symptom. The second was just like a medium cold with a slight headache, cough, sore throat, and a runny nose.
The point if this post is to highlight that infection isn’t the problem, self protection most definitely is as the vaccines protect you and you alone. So if you choose not to get jabbed then the only one at risk is you. That fact alone should allow for all tourists with appropriate travel health insurance coverage to enter Cayman.
Of course, there are always those who will be vulnerable to any infection and it’s aftermath, but we can’t just hide and post doom mongering tales that the vast majority do not experience or recognise in reality.
Get your vaccine and get on with life.
Covid has fully convinced me that we would still be working during a zombie apocalypse.
“Lets hang out, full discourse I just got bit by someone zombified though I don’t have symptoms and I tested negative!”
It’s interesting to hear that Public Health is urging people with symptoms to get a PCR test so they can have more accurate data when I have a family member who tested positive with an at-home LFT who tried to go to the HSA testing clinic at Truman Bodden and was denied a PCR test. Looks like Public Health needs to communicate with the staff who are administering the tests and tell them to not turn away people.
This is unacceptable in the times of global pandemics.
“There’s a lot of misinformation circulating about Covid right now, including that, at this point, it only causes mild illness,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “Unfortunately, this isn’t true.” Ferrer was responding to figures indicating that the number of weekly Covid-19 deaths reported in Los Angeles County has doubled over the last month.
Adding to our peril in Cayman is the the fact that our government is gaslighting the public over Long Covid, which can be much worse than the acute phase of the infection. Long Covid can cause severe symptoms, hospitalisation, and even death in those who may have only had the fabled “sniffles” from the acute phase.
Dr. W. Michael Brode, medical director of the University of Texas Health Austin/Dell Medical School Post-Covid 19 Program Brode states that many patients being treated at UT’s post-Covid clinic are experiencing brain fog, fatigue and post-exertional malaise, or when an activity that typically isn’t strenuous tires someone.
Estimates vary on the number of people who are facing Long Covid symptoms. Research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found approximately 7% of patients studied suffered with post-viral symptoms six or more months after an initial diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s analysis found up to one out of every five adults who had Covid develop lingering symptoms that remained six or more months post-infection.
One poor soul suffering from Long Covid is reportedly seeking medically assisted suicide to end her misery from Long Covid.
So much for any Covid infection being just a case of the “sniffles” or “sore throat”.
There are thousands people with neurological conditions, cancers, chronic vertigo etc who would choose medical assisted suicide, yet, it is reserved for animal only. Not everyone has money for the trip to Switzerland.
If only same amount of money and efforts to produce covid vaccine were spent on chronic diseases treatments research….
So I do believe you. it was THE crime against humanity to ban early treatments. Everyone in my family who got covid took the medicine on the Day 1. No one was hospitalized, all but one recovered very fast.
So no lockdowns or face masks would prevent long covid. Early treatments would.
You are a tad bit behind the news, dude. Keep up!
Physician-assisted suicide is legal, under certain circumstances, in: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland. And in some states of the United States: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Washington DC. Also in Australia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The Constitutional Courts of Colombia, Germany and Italy have legalized assisted suicide, but their governments have not legislated or regulated the practice yet.
In Uruguay, by law judges are authorized to forego punishment of a person whose previous life has been honorable where he commits a homicide motivated by compassion, induced by repeated requests of the victim, effectively giving official sanction to ethically assisted suicide.
In Scotland, unlike the other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom, suicide was not illegal in Scotland before 1961 and still is not.
It is being debated in the UK and is eventually going to be allowed there, in which case it will end up here, too.
Wrong. Long Covid can affect those who have been double vaccinated, double boosted and got Paxlovid within three days of the onset of symptoms. I know this because one of my best friends has had it. The symptoms are finally starting to subside. This person is healthy and fit. The doctors say you just never know.
There is no “ban on early treatments” as far as I am aware.
How about “orchestrated lack of systemic treatments”, if that suits you better.
THE crime against humanity? Rubbish!
Dont suppose youve heard of Hiroshima and Nagasaki being vaporized?
The Holocaust?
Slavery?
The biggest problem is going to be when the colder weather hits the US and they head indoors. The numbers will soar again. Then, they will travel not knowing they are infected and no testing anymore to stop it.
True. We thinking Covid gone but its only mutating and waiting. Eventually people will stop getting vaxxed and eventually the resistance from the immunity from vaxxed will wane and many will die from a new form of Covid.
I fear the winter season here starting late December to early January after we have had the first batches of the Pirates week and we start gathering with family for Christmas. Lord help us.
oh you mean like the flu???
Dont miss Tucker Carlson tonite! He feeds our brains!
Hooray for the superspreader music festival this weekend! Covid cases are rapidly rising in tbe US and up 30% in the UK
Hear me out. You could choose to not attend.
But we cant choose who attends and brings the virus to shops and workplaces
You can choose to continue to hide under your bed however.
said it before… no-one who is relatively healthy, under 70, who is vaxxed, will die from covid.
I like some people over 70. Not all but some and I hope they don’t die. Let’s keep Nana safe.
This Nana sez thank you.
Yeh we see your irritating posts that are both stupid and incorrect. Try go look at the factual data and not spout verbal garbage. You sound like one of those people that if you say it often enough you will believe it.
its a fact in cayman.
So. Numnuts. Are we saying those over 70 are EXPENDABLE? You seem to not care about them.
In the same way that we have little to no infrastructure for the elderly and our systems are not catered to them, on top of pensions paying 1k a month to pensioners… is it fair to say that NOONE cares about those over 70?
Your appeal to emotion is useless once we think about it.
Over 70s QALYs certainly don’t merit shutting down society.
Death Cult, Cayman style
We’re all vaccinated.
Nobody relatively healthy regardless of vaccination will die from this any more than they would have done from flu.
wake up
Citations needed, doc
@9:47:
You said it before and you are again repeating the lie? Say it 100 times and it will still be a lie.
The bullshitter is back!
prove me wrong potty mouth.
Prove yourself right
Troll claims from you as usual with zero scientific proof.
That may have had a tiny grain of truth months ago when the efficacy of the vaccines was more robust. Even then, however, it was a lie, incompatible with vetted medical reports.
Now, however, we have fully vaccinated people reacquiring Covid and some of those are getting very sick. Some of them, sadly are dying and it is not restricted to the over 70s crowd.
I think you are a troll, who gets jollies over repeating a phrase which you know is irritating, solely for the purpose of triggering people. I am confident that if basements were a thing in Cayman, you’d occupy one wearing only your underwear. I won’t be talking to you again. I wanted to directly address your erroneous claims.
I hope karma doesn’t slap you upside the head. I hope it’s only a person.
☝🏼🤣🤣🤣
So why is the 7 vaxxed of the 9 currently in the hospital?
After our resident government realestate Broker/minister of KB Get Paid properties Ntd Not limited unwarranted attack against our acting CMO Dr Newton for extending the mask mandated motivated by the minister’s council of no mask nut jobs and Covid Con Spiracy oddballs at CITA who could not careless about anything or anyone who keeps patting him on the head like a good little doggie . What do we honestly expect it’s is called a pandemic Fools it ain’t over cause you say or wish it so .Protect yourself Cayman stop listening fool fool propaganda about this shit ain’t real.
Covid is absolutely real, but these Omicron variants are now similar to a cold as far as actual symptoms go. Yes, the vaccines won’t help much against infection, but they will help in reducing the symptoms.
Covid is no longer the threat to humanity it was 2 years ago. All my family and friends who were infected recently (in different countries) have all had minor symptoms and got over the infection in a couple days.
We need to move on from this hysteria that if you get infected you are killing yourself and others. This just isn’t the case anymore.
Broken records. Millions dismissed it as a “cold or flu” when the pandemic began and millions are now pushing up daisies.
@10:12:
The dangerous flaw and total failure in your comment is that you utterly ignored the very real and present issue of Covid’s post-acute sequelae, or “Long Covid”.
The severity of Long Covid does not depend on the severity of the acute infection phase. People who were hospitalised in the acute phase might have a bout of sniffles later. The danger is that people who had the “sniffles”–as you call it–are getting severely ill, even after apparent recovery from the acute phase. Worse, Long Covid can cause severe impacts in people who were asymptomatic and did not even have the “sniffles” initially.
Next time you give an assessment of the perils of Covid “Sniffles”, do not fail again and neglect to relate the whole picture, including Covid’s post-acute sequelae.
Dont care, time to move on.
The real trouble with ignorance as it goes on it picks up confidence 7:37am you clearly ain’t suffering from a lack of both .
Im guessing you had the same thoughts in 2019. You were wrong then and youre wrong now.
In my office we worked from home. Now everyone is back, it just keeps circulating so at any given time some, staff are off with covid. The sensible thing would be for people to work from home to break the cycle. All the benefits that work from home brought during the height of the pandemic seem to have been forgotten. Not everyone can or wants to work from home, but for goodness sake use it to every advantage.
Stop with the common sense.
The sensible thing..to work from home?
2years at home and human beings have lost their mind in every corner of the globe.
@8:54:
Seriously ??
Hmmm…? Kinda gives us a new appreciation for stay-at-home moms, huh?
Bottom line:
Mothers are super human.
8:54 you just got owned!
you sound like you need a man who appreciates you. You don’t seem to be getting much attention or praise by your projecting comment.
You ASSume that I am a woman?
50-50 chance and you blew it.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Perhaps you need a lesson in English comprehension. If you read the post it clearly says not everyone wants to work from home.
The sensible thing to reduce the spread of Covid, save workers money on fuel, reduce traffic congestion, accidents, and emissions?!
How dare anyone suggest this!!
Sensible thing is just to stop testing and get on with life.
Brilliant! Lets all forget the millions that have died from this mutating virus!
Nobel prize inbound!
Nonsensible thing is to follow your stupid advice
The current Cayman Covid situation– when considered in light of the new variant’s ability to evade natural immunity and vaccines, and reading of the helpless experiences of an ever-increasing number of countries–immediately brought to mind 1Thessalonians 5:3: “While people are saying, Peace and Safety, destruction will come on them suddenly…”
Have fun playing dodge ball with Covid!
Thanks CITA!
This is absolutely nothing to worry about. Cases don’t matter, vaccinated deaths do. The uk and other countries have had these variants for months with no covid restrictions or masks in place and it’s clear that as long as you age triple jabbed, and I can’t imagine anyone didn’t have their booster many months ago, then these variants won’t kill you. Plus pretty much everyone on island has had covid now so has some natural immunity (although it is obviously the vaccines that provide the best protection). If you are really worried get a 4th jab now to add some fresher immunity boost. But likely you won’t even know if you catch it again.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. CDC reporting that the new varaiants are largely vaccine resistant and despite your disregard for those who have underlying health issues, the virus should be taken seriously.
Survival/Death is not the only yardstick. My spouse has extreme pain from genes that were switched on by the disease. We don’t have any handle on the lifetime medical costs this has set in motion.
Yes, that’s awful, but people are always going to be vulnerable to common viruses. Many people die of heart failure after having a common cold or flu, measles can kill and certainly blind young children. But we cannot close society down in the off chance that someone maybe worse affected than others.
Life can seem like a lottery sometimes, but we must continue to live our best life, otherwise what’s the point of life in the first place?
Living your best life should not include placing others at risk otherwise, youre a selfish ass
@12:34:
Where your thinking, or lack thereof, fails is that, with the flu, the extent of damage from the acute and the long term effects of the infection are very well studied for a very long time. Not so with Covid, research is continually uncovering facts about the immediate, and the continuing longer-term damage, a Covid infection imposes. A person would have to be brain dead to buy into the lottery that gambles on Covid.
I haven’t had Covid. A lot of people haven’t had it yet. My son was vaccinated and got it. He’s pretty sick but glad not sick enough to end up in the hospital.
You probably have had it but weren’t aware.with omicron and these new variants, if you are vaccinated, it’s very unlikely you get any symptoms.
Omicron especially the latest one is making people very sick and it is easily transmissible.
Citations?
@7:59:
Unless you have a refutation, it stands.
And? You may well have been asymptomatic, have you had a test to discover if you have or haven’t?
Yep, 2x a week every week.
Had covid twice, no vaccination, no symptoms and I am still breathing. Even though immunity tests are available the government narratives have only focused on the mass ‘vaccination’.
I too want horse tranquilizers! Fox News is my master!
Making stupid comments like that I would say you may benefit from therapy. Firstly you have jumped on the bandwagon of ‘someone who is not vaccinated must be taking something else’. Secondly the ‘horse medicine’ is a reference to drug (ivermectin) which is used on humans and even dosages prescribed by the US NIH. It was not recommended to treat covid 19. But hey keep ignoring the facts and call it horse medicine and contribute to fake news.
Who is going to pay $150 for a voluntary PCR test? If government expects compliance then restore free testing.
I thought it was free if you tested positive on an antigen test.
FFS…HSA confirmation PCR has always been free and there is no exit PCR anymore.
Went today, to confirm LFT. No charge. Stop the FUD.
Though CIG having clearer information could help with that.
Formal case numbers are largely irrelevant with the presence of home antigen testing. (I currently have COVID confirmed with a home test, but I am not included in totals).
I guess when the hospitals start filling up the PACT government will know they messed up
Except that they haven’t and they won’t. It’s a sore throat.
Its a REALLY bad sore throat!
A really bad sore throat will not fill the hospitals up
Not bad at all
I’ve had worse on a Sunday morning after a bottle of rum and a Cuban the night before.
Where did you get your doctorate??
University of Life
Ask for a refund
Fox News School Of Propaganda
Only human hosts dodge vaccines. Cayman had low uptake of booster and even fewer second boostered. Only more evasive versions of COVID are breaking through immunity preparedness conferred by earlier vaccine dose(s), recovery or combo. These are facts not opinions.
Who cares ? Really…
Those with family and friends, including children who have at risk health issues
It’s fine. Let it now rip through the islands. Shield if needed, but otherwise let it do its thing.
Low season, schools are out, most people are vaccinated. This is easy to cope with now.
And there it is. The scientifically unproven herd mentality.
This still isn’t a cold or flu. There is no herd immunity, only more illness cycles. Each variant breakout is more evasive than the previous. The impact of each uncontrolled evading adaptation isn’t necessarily weaker. Humanity has chosen to learn science the hard way, as usual.
Thank the heavens world health leaders didnt follow this absurd thinking during the pandemic, otherwise millions more would be dead, possibly including yourself or loved ones.
Nothing to worry about since most are triple jabbed. 😉
Makes little difference, unless you should be so lucky as to have taken one of the two viral vector two-shot vaccines — J&J and AZ.
Bo Bo 7 of the 9 in the hospital are vaccinated. So what’s your point?
Greedy business bots
More people are going to be vaccinated and in hospital, because most people are now vaccinated. The fact that they have other issues working in tandem is why they’re in need of hospitalization.
Try finding older folk who aren’t vaccinated, they’re rare birds.
The OP is being sarcastic
There you go. Removal of mandates prior to Caymas rump shaking amd CITA greed chickens coming home to roost.
Coming home to roost apparently means a reduction in the number of people treated in hospital – wow, some consequences those.
7 of tbe 9 in the hospital are vaccinated, so whats your point?
Vaccinated in early 2021, YMMV.
This is great news. The virus weakens with every new variant! It’s over. Let’s move on now.
You get that science degree from Hurleys?
Go to Foster’s, it’s a couple of dollars cheaper.
I said give it two weeks and our cases will increase. Masks were taken away to quickly. What is the big deal keeping a mask on?
Actually 5.20pm, it’s best to bury your head in the sand, that way you will never catch Covid.
No one is stopping you from wearing one.
Oh for heavens sake look at the world outside of Cayman. The world, (apart from China) is moving on and living with COVID. If you want to wear a muzzle, go ahead, but be assured it won’t stop an infection many times smaller than masks can possibly filter. They didn’t stop infections before, it certainly won’t now.
Infection doesn’t mean serious illness if you’ve been vaxxed, and vaccination doesn’t stop transmissibility. Get on with living.
And there it is. Time for dentists and surgeons to take those useless muzzles off!
shut down immediately with mandatory full pay for all workers. Make the rich people pay us all. Shilling & Dart on top of the list.
Schilling ain’t got shit. He needs to sell all the fill he’s planning to rape Cayman Brac of to pay for his little harbor.
Not everyone is working for rich people. If businesses aren’t making money, they can’t pay their workers. Think before speaking.
Let Dart/Decco hire us all and let go all their foreigners!
I hope you are being sarcastic.
That is one of the most absurd and ridiculous comments I have ever read on cns. Assume it’s tongue in cheek and a joke comment?
We must get the Covid out of Cayman. If Sir Alden was in charge none of this would have ever happened. Please come take control Sir Alden. Need to isolate and shut down the country. We have plenty of money so just pay people and give grocery vouchers. If we run short than all the rich people will have to help and pay us poor people. Government can seize CUC and the Water companies and just give us electric and water.
Dont threaten us with a good time!
We rich people don’t keep our money in Cayman banks, so good luck.
Right. Everyone knows the tax haven is why the wealthy are here.
But not the actual money, just the LLC’s. And the wealthy are only “here” in theory. It’s a poor tax haven if you actually have to live there (Monaco excepted.)
Lol.