The Cayman Islands has no new cases of the coronavirus, Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee said Friday at the COVID-19 briefing.
An additional 12 test results were announced, with all coming back negative. There have now been a total of 702 people tested, with 61 positive cases overall.
Lee also announced that the new CTMH Doctors Hospital testing lab had been inspected by the Pan American Health Organization and will be ready to open its doors shortly.
The lab will be able to increase Cayman’s capacity to test more widely, with the hospital hoping to process up to 400 patients every day.
Lee also gave a presentation on some of the analysis his team has been doing on the threat posed by the coronavirus.
Without the suppression measures that have been implemented, he said as many as 52,000 people could have been affected.
The majority of those would have suffered only mild symptoms, but more than 4,000 would have been hospitalised, and as many as 910 could have died, he said.
That rate of infection could have taken place within 60 days, if restrictions had not been in place, he added.
Lee also warned that health experts fear a bounce-back of the virus in November and cautioned it would continue to be a challenge for governments and public health experts for a long time to come.
He added that “drive through” testing could be part of Cayman’s strategy in the near future. He said this method, being utilised elsewhere, could help reduce contact between the tester and the patients.
He said the details of the mass testing programme were still being drawn up. It is expected to begin with key workers.
Experimental COVID treatment being deployed with caution
Health Minister Dwayne Seymour confirmed that doctors were using hydroxychloroquine, among a range of options, for treating COVID-19 patients.
The efficacy of the drug, typically used as an anti-malarial or to treat lupus and arthritis, is not proven for coronavirus. However, it has shown promise in limited trials and is considered safe when administered under the guidance of medical professionals.
Seymour said, “The Cayman Pharmacy Association has supported the decision of the National COVID-19 Committee on clinical guidance for the use of this drug on a case-by-case basis after the treating physician’s comprehensive risk versus benefit assessment and informed discussion with patients and relatives.”
Premier says testing will help reopen economy
Premier Alden McLaughlin said he was encouraged by the progress Cayman was making in suppressing the virus.
But, he said, the reopening of the domestic economy was still at least several weeks away and would go hand-in-hand with mass testing.
“We have to ramp up the testing even when we reopen,” he said.
He added the hope was that the construction industry, which employs thousands of people, would be able to get up and running first.
“We would like to get that moving as quickly as possible,” he said.
NAU clients surge
The premier also provided an update on the support the Needs Assessment Unit has been providing to those impacted by the crisis. Since 14 March, he said, 7,368 people have been assisted by the NAU. A total of 3,828 are receiving food vouchers, while thousands are receiving other forms of assistance.
McLaughlin said the unit had been reinforced and was better equipped to help a wider number of people.
Requirements to get help from the government have been relaxed and food vouchers are being released as soon as applications are received from Caymanians.
McLaughlin said tents were now being set up outside the Aqua Mall, with separate lines for getting food vouchers, for the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled; and for existing clients seeking expanded services. Volunteers will help enforce social distancing.
Some help has also been provided to work-permit holders without income, with 143 people approved for food vouchers so far.
Nicaragua flights cancelled, London flight pencilled in
Governor Martyn Roper confirmed that two flights to Nicaragua scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled, after that country’s government informed Cayman Islands authorities that it was closing its borders Friday, leaving 160 ticket holders stuck in Grand Cayman.
There was better news about the ‘air bridge’ between London and Cayman. Roper said a flight would be organised for the week beginning 27 April. It will bring medical supplies here, as well as evacuate Cayman Islands residents that need to get back to the UK or to connect through London to return to home countries elsewhere.
A flight arrived in Cayman Friday from Miami to repatriate Caymanian citizens stranded in the US, while a separate Cayman Airways plane evacuated work-permit holders who needed to go in the opposite direction.
McLaughlin added that more flights could be organised from the US if the need was there.
“Anyone who comes back will be required to be mandatorily quarantined for at least 14 days,” he added.
“If there are more of our people that want to come home as this crisis drags on, we will do what we can within our means and within our ability [to bring them back],” Roper said.
Concerns over South Sound boardwalk
Commissioner of Police Derek Byrne, in his update Friday on the security and curfew situation in Cayman, said 10 people had been caught in breach of curfew Friday, including three people found on the beach and one person operating a landscaping business without authorisation.
One individual was caught breaking curfew twice in the space of two hours overnight and has been arrested.
Byrne added that police were keeping a close eye on the South Sound boardwalk amid reports of large numbers of people exercising at that spot.
Crowds at the boardwalk have increased since the beaches closed and Byrne said there had been reports of people gathering in larger numbers and failing to maintain social-distancing measures. He said he didn’t believe closing the beaches had made the matter worse, adding that the boardwalk was big enough for people to “be responsible” and exercise at that location without breaking social-distancing guidelines.
Byrne emphasised that public beaches were off limits but could not clarify whether that meant the entire coastline was out of bounds. He said they were still working on details in terms of access to the water via canals or ironshore coastline.
Addressing a question at the press briefing about whether people who are issued tickets by police for breaching the soft curfew would then hold a criminal record, the police commissioner said police and the Director of Public Prosecutions office were in discussions about that.
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