The Cayman Islands under-20 women’s national football team returned home Tuesday from the Dominican Republic, after being knocked out of the CONCACAF championships, and amid concerns of coronavirus. The competition’s host country recently detected its first case of the COVID-19 virus.
Cayman’s Public Health Department in a press release stated that officials had consulted with the football team regarding its itinerary during the visit to the Dominican Republic and decided the risk of exposure to the virus was “very low”.
Cayman Islands Football Association president Alfredo Whittaker said Cayman should not be worried about any of the team members being infected. “I contacted the health authority in the Dominican Republic regarding the case of the coronavirus, and I can assure you that it is an isolated case,” he told the Cayman Compass.
“This happened in the location of Punta Cana; a 62-year-old tourist from a cruise ship disembarked [after falling ill]. Our players were on the opposite side of where this isolated case was detected. There’s absolutely no risk of any members of our delegation to have any contamination of this coronavirus, and I’ll repeat that again: There’s absolutely no risk, everyone is good, and our girls are safe.”
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez noted in a press release, “The concerns are understandable given the report of a single confirmed case in the Dominican Republic … [on] Sunday, March 1, 2020, that involves one individual with a travel history to an affected region.”
Williams-Rodriguez added that while the football team may not have been infected, the risk of travellers encountering the virus is growing higher.
More than 88,000 people across 58 countries have now been diagnosed with coronavirus including three Caribbean countries – St. Martin, St. Barts and now the Dominican Republic. “As more cases are confirmed within the region and the US, in this regard, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has upgraded the risk of coronavirus disease transmission from low to ‘moderate to high’ within the region,” said Williams-Rodriguez.
“The Public Health Department seeks to assure all Caymanians and residents that we continue to monitor the global and regional COVID-19 situation carefully. We continue to review our plans and make adjustments where necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents of the Cayman Islands … We remain steadfast and vigilant, and continue to work with all local and regional stakeholders to ensure our borders are protected, reduce the chance for any imported case and to implement our plans with the highest efficiency to mitigate the impact of any virus spreading.”
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