Since the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the virus has infected more than 80 million people worldwide, resulting in almost 1.8 million deaths.
In Cayman, two people who had the virus have died – one a cruise ship tourist and the other a resident returning from overseas. Anyone arriving on island is tested at the airport and then required to spend 14 days in quarantine before being tested again.
While a handful of quarantine breaches has caused concern among the public, there have been no reports of community transmission on island since October.
People in Cayman, and worldwide, are pinning their hopes of border reopenings and life returning to some form of normalcy on new vaccines. The first batch of vaccines is expected to arrive in the Cayman Islands on 5 Jan.
Here’s a timeline of how the year of coronavirus unfolded in Cayman.
30 Jan: Government officials meet to discuss Cayman’s readiness for COVID-19.
3 Feb: First live, televised COVID press briefing is held.
10 Feb: Government places COVID on Schedule of Notifiable Diseases and issues travel ban on travellers coming from mainland China.
25 Feb: More countries added to travel ban.
26 Feb: Cruise ship MSC Meraviglia denied entry after crew member isolated with flu-like symptoms.
9 March: First COVID samples sent for testing overseas.
12 March: First case of COVID-19, an Italian tourist from the Costa Luminosa cruise ship, is reported in Cayman. He was taken from the ship to Health City Cayman Islands for emergency care after suffering two cardiac arrests.
13 March: Health City temporarily closes while staff are tested and results awaited. Public meetings, processions or festive ceremonies banned, and fines put in place for non-compliance.
14 March: First COVID patient dies; flu clinic opens.
16 March: Schools closed, distance learning starts. Arrivals on island must isolate for 14 days.
19 March: On-island testing for COVID-19 begins; inbound flights for returning residents only.
20 March: Closure of public places and certain businesses.
22 March: Airport closed to all but repatriation flights.
24 March: Lockdown in effect for 58 hours.
25 March: All non-essential workers must stay home.
27 March: Public gatherings limited to two or the same household; closure of public places.
28 March: Curfew from 7pm until 5am, essential tasks during the day; masks required for supermarkets; essential travel to public places restricted by name day.
31 March: First case of community transfer of virus confirmed.
2 April: 32 ventilators available as four new ventilators arrive on island.
5 April: Sunday all-day hard curfew in effect, except for essential workers.
6 April: Curfew from 7pm until 7am, Monday to Saturday, essential tasks during the day; first repatriation flight arrives.
7 April: 165,000 test kits arrive on island.
13 April: Beaches closed to the public.
16 April: Exercise between 5:15am and 6:45pm allowed, driving to access exercise prohibited.
30 April: 30,000 full PPE kits arrive on island.
8 May: Field hospital established.
15 May: Boating permitted for purposes of fishing.
16 May: Wearing masks becomes legal requirement; beaches open for exercise.
18 May: Sunday 24-hour hard curfew lifted.
19 May: Beaches reopen; construction sector allowed to go back to work; curfew shortened to 8pm until 5am.
7 June: Public gatherings limited to 10; bars and restaurants reopen; public transport resumes; visits to beaches and leisure boating allowed without restrictions.
19 June: Antibody testing begins on island.
21 June: All curfews lifted, emphasis shifts from ‘Stay Home Cayman’ to ‘Stay Safe Cayman’.
26 June: COVID-19 screening available to anyone.
4 July: Government announces gyms and schools can reopen.
5 July: Minimal restrictions on Little Cayman.
19 July: Nightclubs reopen; public gatherings limited to 50 people.
21 July: Announcement made that borders will reopen on 1 Sept. with restrictions.
24 July: No active COVID-19 cases.
1 Aug: Border closure extended to 1 Oct.
12 Aug: 30 days without positives; PAHO changes Cayman’s COVID level from ‘sporadic’ to ‘no cases’.
19 Aug: First new positive cases in 37 days, among two travallers.
25 Aug: Size of public gatherings extended to 250.
31 Aug: All schools reopened, with sanitisation and social-distancing measures in place.
16 Sept: Cayman Airways announces additional repatriation flights to Miami, Kingston.
17 Sept: British Airways passengers first to test geofencing wristbands and app in trial run before phased border reopening.
21 Sept: Suspected community transmission case detected.
1 Oct: Five flights, including three private planes, arrive on first day of phased border reopening. Travel Cayman replaces TravelTime.
3 Oct: Public gatherings extended to 500.
9 Oct: Red Bay Primary School student tests positive for COVID-19.
10 Oct: 500 people avail of free drive-through COVID testing following Red Bay report. All are negative.
21 Oct: Perseus Cayman Limited given approval for clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine.
28 Oct: Government approves $10,000 and two-year jail sentence as penalties for breaching quarantine. The amendment is not signed into law until 27 Nov.
31 Oct: Overstayer amnesty ends.
7 Nov: Government approves home-quarantine for Sister Islands residents.
15 Nov: Cayman’s second COVID-19-related death reported.
23 Nov: Pascal Terjanian, 52, and Cristina Gurunian, 34, fined $1,000 each for breaching quarantine.
26 Nov: Health officials say the number of flu cases dropped by more than half due to local adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
27 Nov: Fast COVID tests available on Cayman Brac.
2 Dec: UK becomes first country in the world to approve Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for mass vaccination.
7 Dec: US visitor Skylar Mack, 18, and her Caymanian boyfriend Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, were both ordered to pay $2,600 and complete 40 hours of community service for breaching quarantine regulations. Their sentences were later increased to four months in prison, and then subsequently changed on appeal to a two-month jail term.
11 Dec: $1,000 monthly stipend for displaced tourism workers extended until June 2021.
23 Dec: Cabinet approves six-month extension of pension holiday.
31 Dec: Total number of COVID cases recorded in Cayman was 338. Of those, 294 had recovered, and there were 42 active cases.
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