2020 Year in review
• January – February
• March – April
As the final minutes of 2019 began to tick down, people across the Cayman Islands gathered in churches, yards, public beaches and elsewhere to ring in the new year. For most, 2020 started with a bang, as brilliant displays of fireworks lit up the night sky. Little did the world know at the time that 2020 would be one year for the history books.
NOVEMBER
‘Zombie storm’ Eta wreaks havoc
Cayman had another near miss in early November when Hurricane Eta skirted to the south of the island before pummelling Central America, where it caused an estimated 178 deaths. Eta’s intensity dropped as it made landfall; however, it reemerged from northern Honduras and regenerated, jagging back to the east and passing close to Grand Cayman as a tropical storm, bringing down trees and causing flooding throughout the island.
Medical clinic sues customs for ‘illegal’ seizure
Doctors Express urgent care clinic went to court on 3 Nov. to challenge the legality of a Customs and Border Control raid on the facility. Customs officers seized cannabis oils and vapes from the clinic during the raid in a move which lawyers for the business argued was malicious, illegal and damaging to its reputation. A decision in the case was still pending late December.
Survey shows COVID-19 impact on Stingray City
The number of stingrays at the North Sound sandbar halved as a result of a decline in visitors since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, a survey conducted by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation indicated.
Cayman records second COVID-19 death
Health officials confirmed the second coronavirus-related death in the Cayman Islands on 16 Nov. The patient was a Cayman Islands resident who tested positive after returning to Cayman from travel abroad.
Seven Mile Beach suffers severe erosion
In the aftermath of a series of storms, Seven Mile Beach was found to have suffered severe erosion with parts of the beach totally swept away. The news sparked concern for the long-term future of the island’s greatest natural attraction.
Ritz-Carlton boss becomes new tourism chief
The Ritz-Carlton’s general manager Marc Langevin – one of the more outspoken advocates for swifter and clearer action to allow visitors to return to the islands – was elected as the Cayman Islands Tourism Association president on 21 Nov.
Travellers fined for quarantine breach
On 24 Nov., two travellers, Pascal Terjanian, 52, and Cristina Gurunian, 34, became the first people to be punished by Cayman’s courts for breaching quarantine. They were each fined $1,000. They left Cayman and were ordered not to return while COVID restrictions are in place.
DECEMBER
Dart plans another hotel
Dart and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts on 1 Dec. announced a new plan to build a 10-storey hotel by Seven Mile Beach. Hotel Indigo – a 282-room building, with multiple restaurants, a pool deck and rooftop bar – is scheduled to open in 2024, if the planning application is given the green light.
UK approves COVID-19 vaccine
The UK on 2 Dec. approved the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, becoming the first country in the world to approve a vaccine for its population in the fight against COVID-19. The Cayman Islands and other British Overseas Territories have been promised doses of the vaccine. Premier Alden McLaughlin later outlined a plan to begin vaccinating Cayman’s population in January.
Bush convicted of drunken assault on woman
Speaker of the House McKeeva Bush pleaded guilty on 3 Dec. to a drunken assault on a female member of staff at a West Bay Road bar. Video footage of the incident was shown in court. Bush’s lawyers claimed he was too drunk to remember the incident. He entered guilty pleas to two charges of common assault and one count of disorderly conduct but denied a more serious common assault charge. He was found guilty on all charges but escaped jail time after receiving a two-month suspended sentence on 21 Dec.
Cayman’s parliament opens
Cayman’s Legislative Assembly was renamed a ‘House of Parliament’ as part of constitutional changes that legislators hailed as an historic step for the island. Speaker Bush presided over the ceremonies on the first sitting of the parliament on 5 Dec.
Brac Hawk Showdown
An aviation and intelligence firm, which plans to station Black Hawk helicopters on Cayman Brac, was granted planning permission for an airfield on the island despite opposition from local residents. The showdown over the application was continuing at year’s end with the National Trust and others appealing the decision.
Westin lays off half its staff
The Westin resort on 9 Dec. laid off just over half of its staff – more than 100 people – amid the continued impact of the coronavirus on tourism in the Cayman Islands.
Quarantine breachers jailed
An 18-year-old American medical student and her Caymanian boyfriend were jailed for four months on 15 Dec. after she breached mandatory quarantine conditions, with his help, to watch him compete at a jet-ski event. Skylar Mack and Vanjae Ramgeet were initially given 40 hours community service and ordered to cover the cost of placing her in mandatory government quarantine. The sentence was increased after prosecutors appealed and then reduced to two months by the Court of Appeal.
New $350 million hospital planned for Grand Cayman
Government on 21 Dec. announced plans for a new US$350 million 500-bed hospital in Grand Cayman, called Aster Cayman Medcity. Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare is the company behind the project, which will be managed by local developer Gene Thompson, who previously had been involved in Health City Cayman Islands.
‘Chef John’ Jefferson passes away
Former MLA and popular chef John Jefferson Sr. passed away at the age of 93,on Saturday, 12 Dec. Among the memorial events held for Jefferson was a lying-in-state at the House of Parliament, a motorcade and an official funeral service.
Man stabbed to death at Strand
Jashawn Owen Anthony Johnson, 20, was charged with murder after surrendering to police following the stabbing death on Christmas Eve of Aaron Michael Bush, 22, in the parking lot of The Strand.
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