Tag: COVID-19
COVID spreads but not fuelling respiratory illness
(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.
COVID vaccine becomes a seasonal shot
(CNS): Local cases of COVID-19 are on the decline and the last batch of Moderna vaccines on-island has expired. Therefore, the Public Health Department will no longer offer the shots on a monthly basis but will instead administer them seasonally, as is the case with the flu vaccines. Officials told CNS that since April, when […]
Vaccine mandate for permit holders lifted
(CNS): The legal requirement for non-Caymanian residents and their dependents to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has been lifted. From Friday, applicants for work permits (new and renewals), permanent residency, specialist caregiver certificates, student visas or Cabinet entry permits, as well as dependents no longer need to prove they are vaccinated, according to government officials.
HSA drops mask mandate and ban on COVID patients’ visitors
(CNS): It is no longer mandatory to wear masks in Health Services Authority facilities except for specific areas where patients are particularly vulnerable. The HSA has also finally lifted the ban on visitors of COVID-positive patients. However, anyone with COVID-19 or flu symptoms or those around patients at risk of COVID-19 infection must still wear […]
COVID numbers increase among hospital patients
(CNS): There was a slight uptick in the number of individuals admitted to hospital who tested positive for COVID-19 in March over February, and there was one “COVID-19 death”, according to the latest issue of Public Health Spotlight. Twenty people admitted to hospital tested positive, up from 17 in February, an increase of 18%.
Moderna COVID booster available to all over 12
(CNS): The Public Health Department is now offering the Moderna booster vaccine against COVID-19 to everyone aged 12 and over to protect against the Omicron strain of the virus and the numerous variant strains currently circulating in the Cayman Islands. While officials have stopped reporting on the official levels of virus in the community, COVID-19 […]
COVID centres to close as test requirement dropped
(CNS): Three years after Cayman confirmed its first case of COVID-19, which resulted in the first death here as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the government-run testing centres across all three islands will close on Wednesday as the mandatory requirement for people to take confirmation PCR tests has been dropped. The Public Health Department […]
Officials switch to monthly reports for COVID-19 deaths
(CNS): Officials will no longer be reporting deaths in the Cayman Islands connected to COVID-19 in real time but on a monthly basis in the Public Health Spotlight. According to this month’s edition, released on Friday, there were no deaths related to the virus in January after two in December. Seventeen people admitted to the […]
XBB found in local COVID tests but BA.5 dominates
(CNS): As 2023 gets underway and three years after the COVID-19 virus arrived in the Cayman Islands, variants of the original strain are still infecting dozens of people here. According to the latest edition of the Public Health Department’s Spotlight report, the highly contagious XBB variant has been detected in local samples here but the […]
New COVID variant does not present increased threat, says CMO
(CNS): The Ministry of Health and Wellness is not the source of information circulating widely on social media about the COVID-19 XBB variant, according to a release from the ministry. Contrary to misinformation, the ministry stressed that this latest variant of the coronavirus, which is still infecting dozens of residents here in Cayman, has not […]
Patient dies amid speculation of local COVID spike
(CNS): On Saturday, 3 December, the Health Services Authority reported one COVID-related death in a patient with severe comorbidity, bringing the local death toll in relation to the virus to 37. The news of the latest loss of life comes against significant anecdotal evidence that COVID-19 is spiking in the community, with many people at […]
