Civil Service continuity plans in place, assures acting deputy governor

Acting Deputy Governor Gloria McField-Nixon says plans are in place to ensure the safety of staff and the public, as well as the continuity of business services within the civil service as the nation enters the next phase of its reopening plan.

In a video message released by Government Information Services, McField-Nixon said continuity frameworks have been updated to look at new ways of assessing threats as they evolve.

“In 2020, the big thing that everyone was worried about was infection levels. In 2021 what we’re really looking at is… are we having persons that are hospitalized or God forbid, do we see an increase in deaths. That changing way of looking at what threat looks like because we have such a highly vaccinated population allows our departments to reassess what threats they’re facing and to be sure that they have practical elements in place to keep the services going,” she said.

The first international flights arrived Saturday under phase 4 of government’s reopening plan, sparking a flurry of activity at Owen Roberts International Airport.

Ahead of the reopening, Premier Wayne Panton said Cayman was ready, and the new support systems at the airport facilitating the reopening will have their first stress test.

In the absence of DG Franz Manderson, McField-Nixon heads up the Programme Board charged with executing the reopening.

McField-Nixon said the public can be assured safety and keeping normal operations intact are a priority.

“Our aim in business continuity is to make sure not only that we have essential services running throughout the crisis, but that we’re able to maintain our core business services for as long as there is a demand within the public and it remains safe to deliver those services, so that’s also a really big, important part of the plan,” she said.

Cayman has seen a spike in community cases over the last few weeks, however McField-Nixon said contingencies are in place for things like supply chain deliveries, transitions to remote working to reduce crowding, emphasis on more e-government services and importantly, santisation to keeping customers and staff safe.