Suspected Omicron cases rise to 31

Public Health is examining eight new suspected Omicron cases, bringing the total potential cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant to 31.

No new cases of that strain have been confirmed since Friday, when officials stated that genome sequencing had shown that four people had the new mutation of the virus.

In her update on the latest situation, the interim chief medical officer, Dr. Autilia Newton, reported that 148 new COVID cases – seven among travellers and 141 in the community –  were recorded over the weekend. Of those new cases, according to the statistics released, eight are suspected Omicron.

On Friday, Public Health announced there were four confirmed cases of Omicron and 23 potential cases – seven of which were suspected to involve community transmission. The update released on Monday evening did not indicate whether the eight new suspected Omicron cases were among travellers or people in the community.

Fears about the spread of Omicron has led the government to advise people to work from home when possible, and to announce new measures, such as the closure of bars and clubs at midnight, and tighter restrictions governing the 250-person limit on outdoor gatherings. On Saturday night, the government issued an emergency order to shut down a party at the Lions Centre.

In cases where PCR tests had indicated that a COVID-positive person may have Omicron, that person and everyone in their household are required to quarantine. Once genome sequencing confirms that it is Omicron, they must remain in isolation for 14 days, or for 10 days if they have received a booster vaccine.

There are currently 3,524 active cases of COVID-19 in Cayman, and 11 people with the virus are in hospital.

No new cases were reported in the Sister Islands over the weekend, where there are currently two active cases.

Monday’s update did not include the vaccination numbers from Saturday and Monday, as they were still being tabulated.