Increased COVID risk triggers Coral Fest postponement

4 November 2021

Citing the current COVID-19 risk in the community, the Department of Environment has postponed Saturday’s planned Coral Fest until early next year.

The announcement came Thursday afternoon as Cayman faced a continuing spike in COVID-19 cases.

As at 8am on Tuesday, the total number of active cases in the Cayman Islands stood at 1,299. Eight people remain hospitalised, with one – a patient who was transferred from Cayman Brac to Grand Cayman overnight – requiring supplemental oxygen.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 2,356 COVID-19 cases reported in Cayman.

The DoE, in announcing the postponement of the event which aimed to shine the spotlight in local corals and the threats they face, including stony coral tissue loss disease, said it would update the public on a new date for the festival.

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“We are looking to reschedule Coral Fest in early 2022 and will be in touch as soon as we have the date confirmed. We appreciate everyone’s support and are using the extra time to make Coral Fest even more amazing than originally planned,” the statement said.

In the run-up to the festival, the DoE had invited local students to submit entries in a poster competition. Poster finalists will be chosen by department staff, and the entries will be posted to the DoE’s social media on Friday, 5 Nov. for public voting.