Cayman spent $12.1 million testing for the COVID-19 virus last year, five times more than the original budget of $2.4 million, lawmakers heard this week.
At a Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, 7 June, where legislators were signing off on funding for projects that went over their expected budgets last year, one of the items considered was a supplementary appropriation of just over $12 million for ‘public health programmes, investigations and treatments’. The original budget was for $2.4 million.
Red Bay MP Sir Alden McLaughlin questioned why the budget was five times more than projected when it was originally being drawn up, asking, “Is there any reason why the budget was less than $2.5 million and now we’re looking at $14.5 million?”
Ministry of Health and Wellness Chief Officer Nellie Pouchie explained that the unforeseen expenses had arisen as a result of COVID testing of residents, which was paid for out of government coffers at various healthcare facilities.
She said $9.92 million had been spent on PCR tests at the Health Services Authority, $1.46 million at Health City, and $757,000 at Doctors Hospital.
Premier Wayne Panton, chairing the Finance Committee meeting, told McLaughlin, “Part of the issue has been the fact that when this original budget number was developed… in 2021, there would have been no specific clarity on how long the public health issues would have persisted in relation to COVID.”
At the start of 2022, anyone testing positive for COVID on a rapid LFT home test was required to undergo a confirmatory PCR test, and was mandated to isolate until another PCR test showed they were negative. Government covered the cost of those confirmatory and isolation-exit tests. Testing for travel or other purposes was paid for by the individual taking the test.
Confirmation PCR testing for COVID-19 continued in Cayman until 1 March 2023, when the Public Health Department announced it was dropping that requirement, and testing centres ceased operations on all three islands. At the same time, LFT-positive online reporting was also dropped.
Related Videos
