A resident of the Pines Retirement Home is among six new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital, Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee stated in his latest update on Tuesday.
Lee said there are now 29 people with COVID-19 in hospital – 23 at the Cayman Islands Hospital and six at Health City.
Lee said it was “really worrying” that a lot of the individuals currently in hospital with COVID are elderly.
Health officials announced over the weekend that 10 of the residents and one staff member at the Pines had tested positive for the virus. The retirement home is now closed to visitors.
Among the COVID patients currently in hospital, one is on a ventilator, one is requiring respiratory assistance with a mask and pressure support, and 13 are being given additional oxygen, Lee said.
Of those hospitalised, 86% are unvaccinated, he added.
Protect the elderly
Lee urged people to be especially vigilant when around elderly and other vulnerable individuals, by avoiding hugging or embracing them, by wearing masks, and by observing social distancing and hand sanitation.
He also encouraged anyone visiting an elderly or vulnerable person to take a rapid lateral flow test beforehand to ensure they are negative for COVID.
“It gives me pause for thought and a wish from my side to remind you of how vulnerable the elderly can be with regards to COVID, whether they be vaccinated or not vaccinated – not only, of course, the elderly, but also people with … diseases that put them at additional risk,” he said.
Mask advice
Lee also issued a warning regarding the correct wearing of masks, saying he had seen many people in the community and in his workplace removing their masks when speaking, in order to be more clearly heard.
“That’s absolutely not the right thing to do,” he said. “Your mask needs to be on when you’re speaking, that’s one of the at-risk times, when you’re more likely to disperse any virus. So, keep your mask over your nose and mouth, including when you’re speaking and including when you’re in meetings. These are all times when you are at greater risk, when there are gatherings of people and you may cause a transmission event.”
As of 8am Monday, 22 Nov., there were 4,047 active COVID cases in Cayman, and 4,115 people were in isolation. Between Friday and Monday morning, 559 new cases were reported, including 553 local transmission cases.
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I’m not just elderly, I’m old. It’s a shame that my life requires contact with government workers who are not vaccinated. The re-open campaign is immoral, and the government is weak. Every “game-changer” has failed to change the game and I’m getting that thrown-under- the- bus feeling.
Comments?
Visitors should have been encouraging them to get vaccinated, we still do not know how many of the staff were not vaccinated.
There have been (almost) daily videos by Dr Lee for the last couple of months, giving infection numbers – not emphasizing how bad they are, and saying it’s all OK because hospitalisations are low, and “precautionary”. There’s been so much opportunity to explain why the numbers are bad, and how we can minimise them: wearing masks properly and continuously indoors – but nothing is said till a press conference/interview. There’s govt texts saying “isolate when you get infected”, “report positive lateral flow results”, “limit your interactions and attendance at large gatherings”, “watch the press conference” – none of which emphasize the high positivity rates, and how to get this under control.
We have the worst reported infection rates in the world (look online at cases per 100K, or per 1M) and we’re getting ‘carry on as we are’ , ‘it’s under control’ talking points from govt. What do they think is going to happen in the build up to Xmas and New Year, get better? What science would that expectation be following?
25 of the 29 hospitalised patients have NOT been vaccinated. You don’t have to have a college degree in Statistics to see the message: GET VACCINATED to help prevent spread of this disease and its serious complications.