COVID spreads but not fuelling respiratory illness

| 08/09/2023 | 29 Comments

(CNS): Seeking to allay concerns in the community that an increase in the spread of COVID-19 in the Cayman Islands has caused a correlating increase in respiratory illnesses, Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Gent has said that current hospitalisations due to respiratory problems are in line with previous years.

While there was a small increase in hospital admissions testing positive for COVID-19 in August as well as an increase in respiratory illnesses overall, which is expected to grow in the coming weeks, the CMO noted that not all respiratory illnesses are caused by COVID.

Dr Gent said that the increase in this type of illness is not only normal but expected during this time of the year, especially in light of the upcoming flu season. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is watching the emerging trends and will issue a public advisory if and when it becomes necessary, he said.

According to social media posts, there has been a spike in COVID-19 infections in schools among teachers and students at several schools.

Dr Gent advised anyone suffering from any respiratory infection, whether it is COVID-19, influenza or the common cold, to remain at home and not to return to work or school until they have been symptom-free for a minimum of 24 hours. Symptoms include having or showing signs of fever, coughing, running nose, muscle aches and chills.

He also reminded residents to practice respiratory hygiene. This includes covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, using masks when appropriate, using tissues and disposing of them properly, and washing hands after touching the mouth or nose.

For more information, call the FLU Hotline at 1-800-534-8600 or 947-3077
or email flu@hsa.ky.


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (29)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Just wear masks indoors…
    …..anyone? Yes, me!

    Haven’t caught covid, RSV, flu or cold!

    Common Sense – 1 / Pride – 0

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Ask CIG if they still offer special COVID Leave to their employees….

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  3. 50 ish and healthy says:

    I have just recovered from being very ill with COVID (never been so sick) on Island – I was not even going to test but eventually had to as I could not function, got the antivirals and was better in a few days but still coughing almost 2 weeks later. So if you get sick please get the antivirals. I did everything I was told with the jabs including boosters so its still here and its no joke.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    said it before… no-one in cayman who is relatively healthy, under 70, who is vaxxed, will die from covid.
    this has been proven 100% correct.
    if at risk get vaxxed

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    • Anonymous says:

      The copy and paste lie returns!

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    • Anonymous says:

      However, it has been proved that not only is verbal diarrhea contagious, but it kills. Don’t be a victim.

      At least the ‘fix the dump’ guy is telling a truth.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    this should be the final public advice on covid:
    get vaxxed if over 60.
    if old/sick/at risk….protect yourself as much as possible.
    if you have cold/flu ..isolate at home until asymptomatic.

    there is nothing more to be done or said.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Turns out the vaccine was a big scam after all. My employer has revised the personnel manual to state you MUST still attend work if positive with no symptoms.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I don’t know why anyone would test in the first place, much less someone without symptoms. Just stay home if you are sick. Simple.

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      • Anonymous says:

        We went from testing twice a week at my place of employment because the narrative was that you could have no symptoms and be a carrier. Now we have gone complete opposite but covid has not gone away. And yes if someone in your family has it, or a close contact you would test but not anymore. Interestingly the surgeon general of Florida is advising AGAINST boosters!

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        • Anonymous says:

          Considering those with the most injections have the most infections and repeat infections are causing long term illness, I’d say the surgeon general in Florida is showing some much needed sanity. Not to mention boosters are out evolved by the virus before they have a chance to be deployed. How many mice was the latest booster tested on before deployment? I believe the last one was 8. Best of luck.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Unhinged first sentence 10:23 but you’re in good company as a member of the tinfoil hat fraternity. Have you checked up on QAnon recently?

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            • Anonymous says:

              I don’t rely on information from Stephen Colbert or Jake Tapper so to you it probably seems unhinged.

              Of course many scientists have been saying this for a long time, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s a paper from last week.

              https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37680261/

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              • Anonymous says:

                I am not the poster you replied to but did you actually carefully read the paper whose link you helpfully supplied? Apart from the “evolving virus” part of your original post which is of course a reasonable observation, the paper does not seem to support or even have relevance to the rest of that post.

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        • Anonymous says:

          I came down on holiday and had to test 4x. That wasn’t cheap for sure!

  7. Anonymous says:

    The problem is still that people either don’t know:
    that Covid infections damage your short and long term health
    or
    that repeat infections increase that risk
    or
    that infections are preventable.

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  8. Gaslighted says:

    Gaslighting.

    Everyone knows Covid is spreading and we all know people who have or have had it recently and also we know people are not testing and spreading it at work.

    World governments are gaslighting us for the economies and stonks.
    Christmas soon come, after all.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    I have a reminder for Dr. Gent. Remember it was your compromised and corrupt profession that panicked, told sick people to stay home and not seek care when they got sick with covid. Told people to wear useless masks that did next to nothing if not nothing, endorsed covid injections for kids and healthy people who didn’t need them and in many cases had natural immunity knowing full well it was impossible to know the long term affects of this experimental injection and worst of all downplayed or denied adverse and likely in some cases deadly reactions to the injections. Here’s some advice to you doc, conduct a national survey asking questions about the many harms your profession has inflicted on the population as a direct result of covid policy and covid injections. We don’t need a PSA directed to the intellect of a 5 year old telling us to cover our mouths when we cough or not to piss into the wind. Take your reminders and advice and shove it.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Really? these are the recommendations?

    Do the LFTs still work for the new variants? Research indicates the CDC suspects “a high likelihood of LFT efficacy.” Well, swell. That’s like saying “probably, hell, we don’t know.”

    Thanks, btw HSA and CIG for keeping us informed of nothing. Guess we’re on our own again.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Yes, LFTs work, so long as they are not expired, stored improperly, or mishandled. Staying home when sick works too.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Just the flu, folks.

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