Cayman’s Customs and Border Control department says no other accommodations are available to house Cuban detainees who have opted to sleep on the ground outside the Immigration Detention Centre in a bid to avoid contracting chickenpox during an outbreak at the facility.
Additionally, the CBC told the Cayman Compass on Monday that Public Health has advised that the Cubans “cannot be allowed to mix” with the general Cayman community due to their exposure to the virus.
The Cubans, in a statement to the Compass over the weekend, said they did not want to contract the chickenpox virus so they had moved outside and wanted to be relocated from the detention centre in George Town. Earlier this month, when the outbreak was first detected, some of their compatriots had been transferred to a separate facility so they could be isolated from the detention centre population.
The Cubans at the George Town Facility claim that the CBC was not helping them and they were forced to sleep on wet bedding after the heavy rains on Saturday.
The CBC said it certainly has had “regular communication” with the Cubans.
“[We] are working within the parameters with what is available in the best interest of managing their needs, including access to medical care. It is appreciated that the situation may be frustrating at times. With this, CBC has continually worked with and sought the migrants’ understanding and full cooperation in working through the various processes,” the CBC said in the emailed statement.
Cubans were already exposed to virus
The CBC said Public Health officials had explained that all the detainees at the Immigration Detention Centre by now had all been exposed to chickenpox, because the initial case was symptomatic days before a diagnosis was made and separation from the rest of the group occurred.
“The incubation period can be up to 21 days, which means that they would need to be in quarantine for this amount of time. Hence, from a Public Health perspective, there was no benefit in dividing the group. Given this, Public Health cannot allow for mixing of these migrants with the general Cayman population until they are no longer a Public Health concern,” the CBC said.
It added that the detention centre had been disinfected by a local janitorial company on Friday.
“But despite this, the migrants made the choice to remain and sleep outside and took the position that they would not be returning inside the CBC DC until Sunday. Migrants whom had symptoms were relocated to the Breakers location, but now that facility is at capacity and other accommodations are not available at this time,” it added.
At least 20 detained Cubans have contracted chickenpox, 16 at the Gun Bay Civic Centre in East End and four at the Immigration Detention Centre.
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