Health
DoA on alert as bird flu moves into Caribbean region
(CNS): The Department of Agriculture is actively monitoring the status of avian influenza after the US authorities confirmed the presence of the HPAI virus in a backyard poultry flock in Puerto Rico. This marks the first case in domestic birds in the region during this outbreak, which began in February 2022. Officials from the DoA […]
HSA holds vaccination clinics as measles reaches Miami
(CNS): The worrying spread of measles throughout the United States has now reached Miami, and doctors fear it is only a matter of time before it arrives here. The outbreak has been confirmed in Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia, and as a result, Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Gent is urging parents to ensure […]
Soaring healthcare costs pose major risk to public purse
(CNS): Whichever group of candidates forms the next government, they will be faced with significant pressure from the public to reduce the cost of living, tackle the immigration conundrum, improve education standards and address the housing and over-development crises. But the biggest headache of all might prove to be the government’s growing healthcare tab for […]
Power washer contaminates a/c at office complex
(CNS): The head inspector of the Department of Labour and Pensions (DLP) attended an office in the Cayman Business Park on Huldah Avenue, George Town, around 5pm on Friday following a report that office staff had been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide. The inspector found that the source of the noxious gas was […]
Officials urge vaccination after measles outbreak in US
(CNS): The Public Health Department is urging the public to remain vigilant following a recent measles outbreak in several US states, including Texas, New York and North Carolina. Given the increased risk of measles exposure due to travel and community interactions, the PHD stressed the importance of measles awareness and vaccination for all eligible individuals.
Glass recycling restarts as Flowers using it in blocks
(CNS): Members of the public can go back to dropping off their glass at the various Department of Environmental Health (DEH) depots when they take their aluminium and type 1 and 2 plastics for recycling. The Flowers Group has partnered with the DEH after securing a crusher so they can use the glass in their […]
HSA appoints new chair after Ozzie’s departure
(CNS): The Health Services Authority (HSA) has appointed Yvette Dilbert as the new board chair after Osbourne “Ozzie” Bodden stepped down after more than three years in the role to hit the campaign trail. Dilbert has a list of relevant health and public policy qualifications and experience, having served as Faith Hospital administrator for 20 […]
Poinciana could be adapted to house criminally insane
(CNS): The government is considering how it can adapt the recently opened Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre to house the criminally insane. The centre was not designed to detain individuals who are a danger to society because of their illness. But with nowhere else to house people found not guilty of violent crimes by reason of insanity […]
Supermarket drops plastic bags but no sign of wider ban
(CNS): More than seven months after the government’s last indication that it was still working on a single-use plastic ban, first raised by the then PPM coalition some seven years ago, Foster’s Supermarket has made a decision to get rid of plastic bags from all its stores and is selling reusable bags at 25¢ instead. […]
OAG releases redacted version of leaked ReGen report
(CNS): Auditor General Sue Winspear has released a redacted version of a report conducted in 2021 examining the Cayman Islands Government’s failed ReGen deal with a Dart Consortium to tackle the country’s rubbish. However, an unredacted version of the report was leaked last summer, soon after the CIG announced it was pulling out of the […]
ReGen exit talks to drag on as Cabinet grants extension
(CNS): The minority UPM government has extended the deadline to end the failed deal that the PPM administration entered into ahead of the 2021 elections with a Dart-led consortium to develop a waste-to-energy facility and manage the Cayman Islands’ rubbish. Last summer, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, the sustainability minister at the time, announced that the government was […]
