I am writing to you today to implore the PACT government to consider changing the policies regarding isolation for unvaccinated Caymanian and resident children returning to the island after travelling abroad.
Under current policies, children under the age of 12, unvaccinated, are required to isolate for up to 16 days upon return. I don’t believe this is necessary anymore. We have community spread, this is our reality now.
Why punish the children returning on flights when odds are they would be equally, if not more, susceptible to contracting and spreading the virus here in Cayman, than bringing it home after having had a negative PCR to travel here?
It seems that testing children with lateral flow tests upon returning to the islands from abroad would provide the same results we are getting from testing them with LFTs throughout school outbreaks.
With the availability of lateral flow testing, there is no longer a reason for these children to be subjected to isolation simply because they travelled off-island. As a whole, our vaccination numbers are excellent and we are well protected by the guidelines the PACT government has already put in place.
We plan to take our children out of school one-to-two weeks prior to our mid-December trip to ensure we all receive negative PCR tests and can board the flight. When we return after our two-week trip (during school break), under current policy, our children will have to isolate for up to 16 days. This will obviously affect our work schedule and the kids will be kept out of school for an exorbitant amount of time.
Please stop denying them their freedom to learn and grow and to be children. Isolation isn’t just unnecessary, it’s detrimental to the health and well being of our children. We can still protect our community by administering LFTs to returning children and reporting positives, when they arise, to the schools and Public Health.
Mary Bodden
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Absolutely.
This made perfect sense when we had zero local cases.
We now have one of the highest infection rates per capita in the world.
So why punish our residents and families who want to come here?
Get rid of Travel Cayman, a source of frustration to anyone who IS willing to jump through hoops. They seem to have no understanding of the need for visitors to get their approval days in advance and not after their plane has left.
Allow in unvaccinated children if the CANNOT be vaccinated where they live.
Absolutely agree with the writer and response, Norman. For heaven’s sake, it has taken us 3 months to go through all the government hoops to finally obtain permission to come back on island with our Westie dog and we have owned here since 1996!! We have come on island at least 3 to 4 times per year, staying 4 months during the winter, bringing family, and spending thousands of dollars plus renting vehicles all this time. We left island May 2020. We are returning via private jet as there is no other way to get here. Please do not continue to make it so difficult for owners who contribute a lot of money to the economy to come here. We came here originally in 1992 because Grand Cayman was safe, offered excellent diving, wonderful local life which we were seeking, not high rises of Florida. We have always followed all the laws and regulations. Please make it easier for fully vaccinated owners to come back to enjoy the Caymanian people and island.