Fully vaccinated and securely verified travellers will no longer face multiple COVID tests after touching down in the Cayman Islands after government announced it was ditching the unpopular measure.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday afternoon, Premier Wayne Panton said the number of COVID cases on island was starting to decrease and government felt confident in rolling back some of its control measures.
Perhaps the most significant of those was the lifting of the requirement for fully vaccinated and securely verified travellers to carry out lateral flow tests on day 2, 5 and 7 after their arrival in Cayman.
The regime – and the requirement to isolate if found to be positive – has been cited by tourism chiefs as the key remaining barrier to restarting the industry.
Panton, said tourists and travellers will still be required to provide evidence of a pre-departure negative COVID test before boarding a flight to Cayman.
“The removal of post arrival testing is a blessing to one and all who travel,” he said.
The Premier also announced an increase of the limits on public gatherings, among a raft of changes that will come into effect Friday. The new maximum capacity is 500 for indoor events and 1,000 people for outdoor events.
Testing requirements for gyms have also been lifted and the capacity limit for boats has been raised to 500. Bars and clubs can resume normal operating hours.
Panton said the measures would be “good for business” and “good for families”. He added that the changes should remove “95%” of the barriers preventing the revival of tourism.
Unvaccinated travellers will now be required to quarantine, for 7 rather than 10 days. They will also be able to be released from isolation on the basis of consecutive negative lateral flow tests on days 6 and 7, rather than requiring a negative PCR test.
Anyone who actually contracts the virus will still be required to quarantine and face an exit PCR test before release.
Panton said medical chiefs were confident Cayman could move forward with some easing of restrictions without risking its success in combating the virus. There are currently 2,406 active cases in Cayman down from more than 6,000 at the height of the outbreak.
Panton said, “This decision is in the light of the good news that the number of positive cases continue to go down.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we can move forward towards reduced restrictions while still seeing a drop in positive cases.”
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said the industry would be breathing a collective sigh of relief at the changes, which he said would save time, money and inconvenience for travellers and make Cayman more attractive to international visitors.
“The LFT testing regime was presenting major hurdles for visitors,” he said.
“Many were not happy with having to line up three different days during their vacation to take certified tests which took away precious time from their ability to enjoy our beaches and attractions.”
Bryan arrived at the press conference straight from welcoming the first American Airlines flight from Miami to touch down in the Cayman Islands since March 2020.
Both American and United Airlines resumed services to Cayman from five major US gateways in the past few days.
Bryan said Delta and Southwest Airlines would also resume services in the next month while Cayman Airways relaunches its Denver flight on 26 Feb.
“The numbers are starting to increase tremendously,” he added.
“International flights are a crucial element of our recovery effort.”
He added that the increase in capacity for public gatherings would be another boost for the tourism industry, facilitating events and group bookings.
Ready for cruise
Bryan said a significant announcement on the return of cruise tourism would be coming up next week.
Following talks with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association earlier this month he said he was confident that the sector could safely resume operations shortly.
He didn’t go into detail on the nature of those negotiations but said cruise-dependent businesses should start preparing to get back up and running.
“For those in the cruise sector, it is time to get ready,” he said.
“If you need to bring back staff to work start contacting them now. If you need to hire new employees please focus on Caymanian first.”
He said cruise remains an important part of Cayman’s tourism product, supporting many jobs, and urged businesses, including tour operators and attractions which depend on the industry, to stay tuned for a significant update next week.
Population estimate
Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Chris Saunders gave a brief financial update, saying Cayman was still in a strong position despite the challenges of the pandemic.
He also indicated preliminary results from the census, suggesting a new population estimate of 69,656, though he noted this doesn’t include a handful of categories of short stay residents.
Saunders, whose ministry has taken over responsibility for managing the stipend for displaced tourism workers, also highlighted concerns of some people continuing to take the support while being back at work.
He said government would be hunting those cases and attempting to ensure the money goes to those genuinely in need.
There will be no criminal prosecutions, however. Saunders said he believes most people on the stipend genuinely want to get back to work and he said transitional funding would continue to be available for those who were not getting full shifts as the industry continues to struggle.
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Why must fully vaccinated South Africans still quarantine for 7 days. Our infection rates lower than USA and UK.
Cheers to finally getting it right!🥂
Finally, no testing! We were supposed to arrive in Cayman this morning for a 9 day stay, but cancelled everything just 3 days ago and are in Mexico now. Oh well, someday we will get there…
It is the best news to hear, NO MORE TESTING!!!
finally a step in the right direction. now let’s end the mandates. period. there are many amazing employees on this island that need to stay here and they need their permits renewed. We cannot lose great people in a world struggling for talent. remove the nonsense mandates for our people!
Good news but has anyone else noticed the massive increase in the Short Term parking rates?
Prior to the pandemic it was $12 per day. It is now $2 per hour = $48 KYD per day:
https://www.caymanairports.com/2022/pay-parking-at-grand-cayman-airport-resumes-cards-accepted
A fourfold increase.
By comparison Miami Airport is $17 USD per day:
https://www.miami-airport.com/airport-parking.asp
Tampa Airport is free for the first hour then $22 USD per day:
https://airportparkingguides.com/tampa-airport-parking/
Both are undercover parking garages.
The inevitable result of charging such an exorbitant rate here is that very few people will use it and parking income will go down. Meanwhile the long-term parking will run out of space.
Please think again CIAA.
You have not removed 95% of the barriers – at most 50%. The room rates are way too high for a recovery of the tourism industry. Some were under the mistaken impression that the testing is the only issue. It is not.
After not being able to come here for almost 2 full years, many tourists with money and choices moved on to other islands and are not just lined up to come back. In fact, they have found nice alternatives like Turks & Caicos or Baha Mar in the Bahamas.
To get back to 100%, I would propose a 50% cut in room rates for the next 6 months and then a gradual return to full prices AFTER you are over 80% of pre-Covid numbers. Right now, many of the attractions – such as Rum Point – are not even open. Why would people pay full price when alternatives are fully open?
Get more creative to lure people back to the best place in the Caribbean!
My wife and I were recently on Grand Cayman and the testing wasn’t that much of a hassle. We both feel that when you are out in restaurants and stores and see individuals without masks you feel comfortable in the context that they have been recently tested and are negative. That think is obviously flawed now.
Agreed! The testing took 5 minutes max to complete – was not a big deal at all. The combination of ridiculous room rates plus most attractions closed was a far bigger problem