Opposition hits out at ‘vague’ reopening plans

Government needs to outline a clear plan for how and when it will reopen the island’s borders, Opposition leader Roy McTaggart said Tuesday.

Describing announcements at recent press briefings as “vague” and “lacking clarity”, McTaggart insisted urgent questions remain unanswered.

He said people and businesses need reassurance that the islands will be able to welcome back tourists in a safe and structured way.

And he claimed government had announced little in the way of substantive plans on how it would manage the return of visitors and the increased risk from COVID-19 that is expected to follow.

McTaggart, in a video address and press release, specifically criticised Premier Wayne Panton and Health Minister Sabrina Turner for the apparent public dissatisfaction with the government’s response, citing a Cayman Compass poll and social media comments as evidence of widespread discontent.

The Progressives leader and former finance minister said his party supports reopening, though he did not specify a date. Earlier in the year the party had argued for a 1 Sept. reopening, but changed its stance following a community outbreak of COVID-19.

‘Tourism workers need certainty’

Citing the rise of new variants and the need for vaccine booster shots, the Opposition has since advocated for a delay in relaxing quarantine rules for arriving visitors – commonly considered the threshold at which tourism could resume.

McTaggart said Tuesday that his party wants to see a clear, well-communicated plan for how Cayman can bring back tourists and manage the increased risk.

“Our tourism sector, workers, businesses, and the airlines, need certainty about when re-opening will occur to prepare and market their services to prospective visitors,” he said.

“The broader public needs clarity on a re-opening date, but also clarity on how the re-opening will be managed, including the assurances that the Government has the necessary measures in place to steer Cayman through the challenges that re-opening will inevitably bring. Challenges that, as the Premier has acknowledged, include an increased health risk to the people of our islands.”

Mitigating COVID risks

McTaggart said the return of visitors, once quarantine requirements are removed, would inevitably bring increased risk, including that some people could become seriously ill. He said it was up to government to demonstrate that it could manage and mitigate those risks.

“The country is waiting to hear what action the Government has taken to reduce the risks as we plan for thousands of visitors to return to our Islands,” he said.

McTaggart said the Opposition had raised valid questions about how health service providers would handle a rise in infections, how families struggling with the financial burden of tourism’s collapse would be supported in the long term, and how individuals struggling in isolation would be supported.

Countering criticism that the Opposition has played politics with the pandemic, he said the party was simply “doing our job”.

“It is no fault of ours that the Government has provided little that the Opposition or the country can support in their management of, and their response to, COVID-19,” he claimed.