Active virus cases increase to 182
(CNS): The Cayman Islands has recorded 300 positive cases of COVID-19 in just over a month since the re-emergence of the virus in the community on 8 September. There are currently 182 active cases of coronavirus among the estimated 1,500 people believed to be in isolation. The total number of positive results for COVID recorded to date since the virus arrived here in March 2020 is now 1,011. Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee reveled another 15 cases Wednesday. Just two were in travellers due to leave quarantine and the rest were community cases, including another eight children.
While 104 people among those active cases have symptoms, no one is in hospital except for the woman in her 70s who was admitted last month with other health problems.
The CMO also confirmed the arrival of the rapid test kits, which he said would be deployed first in the schools. The details of the regulations surrounding their use and accessibility are expected to be revealed at a press briefing on Thursday.
Health City has also sourced lateral flow tests and has said that when the regulations are rolled out it will be making them available to the public at “an affordable price”.
Meanwhile, according to the latest vaccination numbers, 687 vulnerable people as well as those aged over 70 have now had a booster shot. Over the last day 69 people came forward for their first shot, while another 143 people are now fully vaccinated.
See Dr Lee’s video update below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Health, Medical Health
Quarantine works well with mosquitoe borne diseases as he is watched for symptoms and is protected from mosquitoe bites during that period.
This principle doesnt work well with respiratory diseses as it is difficult to know the exact time of contact with known and unknown cases. So while it was ok in the beginning of pandemic now no use.
What would be the “affordable price”? Hope it is less tha $1.
At today’s Covid update breifing Dr. Lee indicated that boosters have only been distributed to 4% of over 50’s so far so there is a very long way to go before the risks associated with declining immunity is mitigated.
At today’s briefing, the border dater was not announced. No mention of the quarantine once it is. Only mentioned dropping the verifiable digital card for Caymanians living abroad and residents leaving out 80% of the tourism base. What about the tourists who are vaccinated? Is the border really opening or just more “repatriation” flights?
There is no 100% solution to ensure nobody dies ever, including seasonal flu which kills people every year. If the goal is zero chance of death for all Caymanians you better eliminate; cars, alcohol, nightclubs, watersports, knives. Each of these has been responsible for more deaths in Cayman than Covid in the last 18 months, but what is done about it? We could ban alcohol across the islands to eliminate deaths from drunk driving, but wouldn’t that just be punishing everyone for the actions of a few? Sort of like staying shut down for everyone because a few refuse the vaccine. If the adults were vaccinated the kids wouldn’t have Covid. Period. The unvaccinated adults picked up the virus either in another country or from a quarantine breach, and brought it home to their family, and now we all continue to be punished
Today’s Bermuda numbers were 66.5% fully-vaccinated as of Sep 25th, versus Cayman’s 75% today. Their population is 64,000, ours 71,000. Right now, 3 more dead overnight, bringing their deceased total to 95 (13 of whom were fully-vaccinated, that’s 16%). 37 are hospitalised, 8 in ICU, and 474 less serious active cases (down from 658 on Monday). >40% of total active cases are in fully-vaccinated individuals. Their schools are closed, maybe opening next week with testing.
The takeaway for all of us should be: vaxed or not, let’s not get too complacent with delta.
Thank you for the information. Totally agree with your conclusion. The Delta variant is not the flu and we would be foolish to treat it as if it is even if we are vaccinated (which as many as possible should be).
To come closer to a comparison of apples and apples, Bermuda has had an uptick in vaccinations as a result of all of the deaths. as of today, 68.5% of the population is fully vaccinated.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1202074/share-of-population-vaccinated-covid-19-by-county-worldwide/
According to the website you gave, Cayman has an 86% vaccination rate – the 4th highest in the world.
Panton hopes our eligible population will be at 78% fully-vaxed by next week. 90% of eligible have received a single first jab.
Love the fear mongering – it’s “less serious active cases” rather than mild.
You forgot to mention how Bermuda let covid spread without any attempt to control it by not requiring unvaccinated travellers to quarantine, no proper contact tracing, people using bush medicine rather than going to the hospital etc etc
How about you hide in your house and obsess about Bermuda and let the rest of us get on with life?
All of the vaccinated people that died were already very sick and dying unfortunately. According to their chief medical officer – “Dr Oyinloye added: “People who are dying have serious organ compromise and were already teetering … because of their organ failure.”
https://www.royalgazette.com/health/news/article/20211014/covid-19-vaccinated-deaths-old-and-sick-cmo-says/
Is it true that people in GT Central have additional resistance to Covid and that none of them are likely to get sick or die from Covid? Seems that way from the way one MP is carrying on.
There is an article in Time magazine about some new oral drugs that will are expected to be approved in early November and are able to cut Covid deaths and hospitalizations in half for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. If those drugs work as expected should we not bring them in before quarantine is dropped and Covid spreads out of control?
https://time.com/6103345/merck-covid-19-drug/
Merck applied for an Emergency Use Authorization with the FDA last week. It is expected the FDA will take a couple months to review and emergency use is expected to be granted.
There will be very limited supply this year, and will initially be indicated for risk high patients.
For Cayman, this won’t help with any wave in 2021, but is a good tool come later this winter or early spring.
Pfizer has an oral anti-viral in Phase 3 studies that is expected to read out this year as well.
Thank you
Good to know
Hopefully somebody in government is aware of these advances
Lol…yes Pfizermectin at 20 times the cost of Ivermectin….
CNS: Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug, designed to kill parasites. The drugs being developed to treat the virus are anti-viral. The crazies will never get their heads around this.
Thank you CNS!
When will the boosters be available to those who need them?
I am a fully vaccinated person at increased risk. Is government putting my life at risk for the sake of a few T-shirt sales? That is exactly what is going to be the situation of a lot of people if government welcomes Covid to Cayman before the boosters are given and people’s immune systems have 2 weeks after the booster is given to get their immunity back up to where they have a chance against Covid.
This week is for over 70s and there is very high take up. I would expect HSA will update its schedule today or tomorrow for the next two weeks in October.
When I called: >70 and at-risk this week or with doctor’s note, >60 next week, >50 and rest in a fortnight.
As of today’s press confident, all >60s can step forward. Citizen Ralph going to get his.
I am horrified that the government is going to drop proof of vaccination as a requirement for tourists coming to Cayman. They say that they are only going to drop the verification requirement but allowing people to come in without verification is no different from allowing people to come in without vaccination.
We all have to die sometime and in the meantime, we can start having fun again and making money, money, money!
“We all have to die sometime and I don’t care when you, or anyone else dies, and in the mean time….. ”
Sadly that is the view of some loud voices pressuring government.
Oh for crying out loud, don’t be ridiculous.
First, covid is spreading in the community anyway, so there is a stable door/horse bolting situation already.
Second, plenty of us with overseas vaccinations don’t have QR codes but we have supporting documentation or other additional forms of evidence (appointment confirmations, vaccine records maintained by our primary care physicians, letters from those from whom we obtained our vaccines) that we can provide if required. I am sure someone suitably motivated can forge that sort of documentation, but seriously how many people can be bothered?
And on that point, stop thinking that Cayman is going to be deluged with anti vaxx fraudsters once the border opens. It isn’t. The anti vaxx fraudsters – and I seriously doubt there are as many of them as you fear there are – are heading to cheaper, easier destinations where the community is welcoming travelers with open arms, not having to be dragged to accept them like we appear to be.
Lastly, I have not seen the slightest suggestion that the negative PCR test required for entry is going to be scrapped, and it may be that there will be an additional testing requirement on eg day 5 introduced.
Government is to be encouraged to find a practical way to open the country up again, while mitigating risk. It seems to me that is what they are trying to do.
Unless those visitors plan to stay in Cayman quite a bit longer and get fully-vaccinated, they won’t be allowed back into the USA without one, starting next month, and none of us will either. There you go. Now the burden has shifted on to HSA to be credible in the eyes of CDC/CBP, not the other way around.
I think you will find that is only non-US people who must be vaccinated to enter the US so US anti-vaxxers can have an infectious holiday in Cayman and return to the US with no problems.
They need to test negative both before coming to Cayman and before they return to the US. If they develop covid while in Cayman, it is just as likely they acquired it from a Cayman resident as that they brought it with them in the first place.
“Living with Covid” is nothing more than a euphemistic cloak for the reality that some, vaccinated or not, will die from Covid and others will develop horrible long term illness due to Covid. In Cayman, we have lived without Covid quite happily. It is the government’s choice whether or not to allow some in Cayman to die and others to be incapacitated by Covid. Tell them what choice you want them to make on your behalf. Tell them you will remember their choice at the next election.
Just reading in the Bermuda media that as of yesterday, 3 more people failed the task of learning to live with Covid. They died from it bringing Bermuda’s total for those who did not live with Covid to 63 in the last 5 weeks alone.
Wake up Cayman! There are powerful forces pressuring our government to do things that are not in the interests of the Caymanian people.
94% of the hospitalizations and 84% of the deaths were in unvaccinated (data since Jan 11, 2021 when vaccines first available).
No one under 20 has died in Bermuda from COVID.
Please provide your source that 16% of those who died of Covid in Bermuda were fully vaccinated. The number published by Bermuda was that 19% of those who died were fully vaccinated. Both those are scary numbers but given that Bermuda has a vaccination rate only a bit less than ours at least they show that vaccination is doing some good.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
16% is the number in Royal Gazette, 13 people out of their 95 souls as of today.
Thank you. If the Gazette is correct, the numbers indicate that an additional 4 fully vaccinated people died of Covid in the few days since the Bermuda government published their death by vaccination status information on 30 Sept.
It is a sad and important stat that should be used in managing our own confidence and mindfulness levels.
Sadly all those that died in Bermuda even though they were vaccinated were already very sick and dying.
https://www.royalgazette.com/health/news/article/20211014/covid-19-vaccinated-deaths-old-and-sick-cmo-says/
Glad to know that no one under 20 has died in Bermuda from Covid. Too bad about the 63 who have died of Covid in Bermuda in the last 5 weeks or so but at least they were not under 20.
Said the twenty-something narcissist.
Premier Panton, I would ask that you note what your colleague the Premier of Bermuda told the people of his country yesterday. Weigh his words against the demands of those who value money over lives in Cayman. Weigh the value of the lives of your people against a few dollars for the loud voices of those who do not care about anything but money. We will remember how you and your colleagues choose.
“We have battled this virus for 18 months, but the pandemic is not over. We must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves, to protect our families, and to protect our fellow Bermudians as best we can. As it has been stated, we cannot let our guard down, and we must not become complacent even as we see the number of positive and active cases decline.”
https://www.gov.bm/articles/coronavirus-update-press-conference-remarks-premier-david-burt
So is Bermuda closing their borders? No because covid is not going away so we have to find a way to live with it. We can’t stay closed forever.
Bermuda made a number of mistakes, including not requiring unvaccinated people to quarantine, that Im sure CIG will consider in their plan.
You are correct that Bermuda made a number of serious miscalculations or very bad assumptions. One of them was not enforcing/dropping quarantine.
Remember just a few weeks ago when the re-open to pad my wallet cabal was demanding that Cayman should copy Bermuda?
It seems to be that they have now chosen to forget what that turned out to mean for ordinary Bermudians. The latest figures from last evening show 3 more deaths – 65 in the last 5 weeks alone. At last report from Bermuda 19% of those who died were fully vaccinated proving beyond any doubt that although everyone who can should get vaccinated, that is not enough to protect everyone from death by Covid when quarantine is dropped.
The people who value money over everything won’t like this but I am going to go ahead and post a link to the Bermuda government website so that the truth can be known by anyone who wants to read it.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/coronavirus-update-%E2%80%93-13-october-2021
All of these posts are almost identical. It’s almost like one person is writing all this stuff about Bermuda! Enough with the fear mongering! Bermuda is not Cayman and is following a different profile. A lot more older people in Bermuda are unvaccinated. From Bermuda’s own statistics at least 15% of over 65’s are unvaccinated and 20% of those between 50 and 64 are unvaccinated. I believe that for Cayman our numbers of unvaccinated in people 40 and older is only 10%. A lower number with a much lower age range.
This is really really simple. If you are vaccinated the chances of you becoming seriously ill with Covid is low. This irrational fear needs to stop here. Get vaccinated or simply shut up about this kind of fear mongering. It is not helpful and doesn’t assist with us moving forward to a point where we can open up our islands to the rest of the world.
In the last 4 months I have been in both the USA and UK and have talked extensively with people in Europe and Canada. These countries are now returning to relative normality and have chosen to move on, opening up their borders to each other and to many other countries around the world. It is now time Cayman did the same thing.
Our vaccination levels would be a fantastic group shield against hospitalisations if not for the 6 months having passed since the first 50% having gotten their second jab. In that period the effectiveness of their Pfizer vaccination, against symptoms and hospitalisation, has gone from 88% to 44%.
The bottom line is, roll out the booster shot for any and all who want it, as soon as possible, and definitely before opening to non vaccinated travellers.
Sorry this is simply not true. The effectiveness you refer to is not related to people becoming seriously ill with Covid (i.e. requiring hospitalisation). It refers to its efficacy. Even after 6+ months the vaccines have been shown to be highly effective at stopping serious illness.
If you look at all the major countries they are opening up to fully vaccinated people only and I agree with this approach, especially to start with. It’s the sensible approach for a number of reasons.
The problem is that we are gripped with an irrational fear which is just that, irrational. If you go to anywhere in the US or UK right now everyone is just getting on with their lives. Are they careful? Yes. But they are not living in irrational fear of Covid like we are.
Bermuda has a population and demographics similar to Cayman including similar co-morbidity risks (diabetes, hypertension etc.) 63 dead from Covid in the last 5 weeks. 19% of those dying in Bermuda were fully vaccinated. What part of those statistics indicate that concern regarding Covid is irrational.
Again, sorry but this is not true. It is not 19%. As you have more and more people vaccinated you will see this number rise as a proportion of deaths. The last I saw the number was about 15% of deaths was in fully vaccinated people but that is the point. 85% of people dying are not vaccinated! It shows the importance of vaccination! And you don’t know the context of the 15% who died. Were they 95 years old with a history of underlying illness or where they 30, 40, 50 or 60?
The biggest lie Alden and the PPM told was that they could save everyone from dying. It was completely irresponsible and 100% false. Will we have Covid deaths at some point in the future? Yes, we will, like we have flu deaths, diabetes deaths, cancer deaths, people falling off boat deaths and car deaths. You don’t see the government telling people that they can stop all of these because they know they can’t. The fact Alden said he would save us all was just plain ego and it was one of the most irresponsible and stupid things I have heard any politician say.
The only way we can have zero deaths is by stopping to live. Seriously. Locked up in your home which would have to be on a locked away island – forever. That is the reality and it is not one we should consider taking.
The reference to 19% of those dying of Covid being fully vaccinated comes from the Bermuda government itself. Sorry if the actual numbers detract from your argument.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
I actually pity you because you live in a fantasy world where Covid doesn’t exist and you will grasp at every straw to try and make that happen here.
At the end of the day the numbers you refer to are meaningless without context. And you can spin the numbers anyway you wish to. Did you know that 81% of those who died in Bermuda were unvaccinated? Did you know that 39 unvaccinated people died in Bermuda this year? With over 65% of their population vaccinated how could there be so many unvaccinated people dying?
We will have Covid deaths in Cayman at some point, however let’s look at realities. In Bermuda 15% of over 65’s are unvaccinated and 20% of 50 to 64’s are unvaccinated. In Cayman our vaccination rates in these age groups are much higher which means our unvaccinated are probably between 5% and 10%. This will reduce serious injury and deaths very significantly. It’s not perfect but then neither is life. This weekend a man lost his life by falling off a boat but I don’t hear any calls for boating to be stopped.
So good luck with your fantasy that we can avoid Covid here in the future. The last few weeks has shown us that even with some of the tightest quarantine protocols in the world, it wasn’t going to last. Learn to live with it and please stop the selective fear mongering. It really isn’t helping.
Amen!
The Bermuda government also said that unfortunately those people were already very sick and dying.
Your data is wrong. The infection protection has dropped but the hospitalization (ie, severe disease) has maintained effectiveness.
What wanes is levels of antibodies (the line of defense in the first couple days of infection). But cell immunity (ie, T and B cells) from you lymphatic system maintains itself. It take a few days for T and B cells to kick in, which is why you are seeing higher initial infections (because of declining antibodies) but maintain protection from hospitalizations (because cell immunity is maintained, but need a few days to kick in).
Or even vaccinated travelers who may be infected with the virus and capable of spreading it in Cayman.
There are lots of people in Cayman that watch Bermuda, and for good reasons.
Fully vaccinated here remains at 75% not 90% (which is the figure for single jabs in eligible), and not too far ahead of Bermuda these days in high-60%s (and most of those are fresher than ours). They have total pop of 64k vs our 71k. Their experience now, is fairly close forecast of what our “freedom” will look like when we play it forward. Their schools closed. Restaurants open again, but 6ft apart. 12:30-5:30am curfew. Gatherings limited to 20 people.
Importantly, Royal Gazette states that 13 of Bermuda’s now 95 dead, that’s 16% of dead, were fully-vaccinated, and >40% of their 474 current positive cases today are breakthrough cases. Please read that again, and as many times as necessary for it to sink in. Those are significant numbers unique to the delta phase we are in.
Delta is a sneaky bastard and we should be learning from all the data available and recalibrating our expectations based upon their hard lessons: get vaccinated, with best available, and don’t get too complacent about how much protection that will afford in the wild. Yes, we can still reopen, but we have to also remain mindful of the needs of others, and afford people masking and distancing and other basic courtesies.
Happy reopening day everyone!
Thanks. Picking up an arrival tomorrow on American Airlines from Miami. 20 months since the last AA flight to Cayman so will be great to see that arrival tomorrow.
Air Canada flight arriving on Sunday as well. Finally!
I have cargo on those flights – 30 Covid carriers.
AA is coming in tomorrow????? Surely you jest.
how many in hospital, that is the only relevant stat.
why has cayman not brought it in restrictions for the unvaxxed, like the rest of the developed world?
You obviously failed even the Facebook course on Pandemic epidemiology 101
infections (cases) precede hospitalizations which precede deaths. So no hospitalizations in not the only relevant stat.
Some want to do away with everything so they can get back to their so called normal lives in Cayman! Covid 19 definitely and defiantly has other plans for them and they might get normal but not live to tell about it ??
Just like Covid is here to stay, “normal” life — pre-covid life– is gone for good. We are in a new reality.
And we have a choice as a country regarding how many of us have to die or suffer long term illness as we go forward.
Part of that choice is whether we wait 6 – 8 weeks longer to drop quarantine and welcome the virus to Cayman in order to allow the new oral anti-Covid meds to become available and to allow the people who need boosters to get them.
You’ll have concocted another excuse by then.
Eventually, a few fully-vaccinated people will succumb to severe and permanent health damaging symptoms. Probably then, and only then, will the community get back to taking seriously this potentially harmful viral illnesses.
The Bermuda Government reported that 19% of their Covid deaths have been in fully vaccinated people so it is not just severe symptoms that we need to consider if their situation is anything to go by.
https://www.gov.bm/articles/covid-19-briefing-minister-health%E2%80%99s-remarks-30-september-2021
And deaths zero. Why? Because the vaccines work – and work against delta they work too – something we always knew. Cases don’t matter. Illness does. If you are unvaccinated you should stay home and not keep the rest of us hostage. No valid excuse to not take the Pfizer vaccine.
Community spread can’t be stopped by quarantine because of those who have broken the rules.
They most certainly have been spreaders, but absolutely NO consequences or penalties.
Why not..? Because one at least is well connected . .?
CNS please find out how many of those who breached quarantine have been brought to justice, like Skylar.
Actually Community spread can be prevented by quarantine when it is 14 days and adequately enforced. We proved that for over a year until quarantine was shortened in September.
Actually, there are valid medical reasons why people cannot be vaccinated.
Very, very few can’t. That has been such an overused false argument. Pfizer has said that the vaccine is contra-indicated for those with a history of severe allergic reactions to vaccines. And this side effect has been very, very rare.
So stop with this nonsense argument.
Stop watching Fox News!
When recently vaccinated, I asked for the 5G version of vaccine — the one with the microchip in it. The nurse told me that prescription was only available to those holding political office. 😉
That sounds like a coherent narrative, but it’s not entirely. Vaccination against Covid-19 helps a great deal, but it does not confer invincibility against delta, which might as well be renamed Covid-21. Until we get boosters and next round of pipeline VOC mRNA vaccines, we should all retain some mindfulness and precaution.
We should all oppose dropping quarantine and allowing Covid to flood the country as the moneyed interests are now demanding.
We should also ban driving and boating because people can die from those activities. Also close Popeyes because diabetes kills.
You do not get to decide what a valid reason is when it comes to what I inject inside my body.
Happy to see Cayman is progressing in terms of the legalization of abortion and assisted suicide. #mybodymychoice
or maybe, as the science points out, 98% (being generous here) of people infected with covid survive – with or without the vaccine.
If we are going to live with this, rather than contain and restore bubble, shouldn’t the CIG re-amend public health orders and put back mandatory masks indoors, real hand sanitiser (not the fake aloe goo), and courtesy 6 feet please? I’d rather not put my vaccinations to the test, thanks. It seems a lot of people need a refresher course on how to conduct themselves in public to reduce transmission risk to themselves and others. Lots of businesses not wearing masks.
I agree. People are letting their guard down. We must all act to slow down transmission. If our ICU beds fill up fast, your grandma with a treatable common chronic illness may die because an ICU bed in unavailable.
And there it is… perfectly summed up. “I’d rather not put my vaccination to the test”.
I am of the opinion alot of persons have this mentality and it drives their aggression and divisiveness during these times. Its them compensating for their fear. They promote mandatory vaccinations as if it will make them feel safer.
Well son, hate to break it to you but there isn’t a delta vaccine available yet. Current Pfizer is pretty good, and the best we’ve got for now, but with 30% breakthrough against this variant of concern. Some kids are all-too eager to learn life lessons the hard way. Go ahead, but leave other people out of your learning curve.
CNS: Pfizer says Israel data shows third Covid shot restores protection from infection to 95% as it makes case to FDA for boosters
Yes, I know this is a Pfizer claim and we don’t yet have the FDA response, but this is in line with the data emerging. So yes, with a booster shot this is a “delta vaccine”.
Get yourself a set of KN95 or N95 masks (widely available now and very inexpensive) which offer maximum protection (this is what front-line doctors and nurses wear). Then you can also do your best to personally try to distance etc.
But don’t try to impose your personal desires on everyone.
Said the idiot.
Part of living with active community transmission includes wearing masks, washing hands, yielding space, and being mindful of the needs of others.
Even for some who are vaccinated it also means serious illness and potentially death.