Five people in the Cayman Islands are being tested for coronavirus, health officials revealed Monday.
Four have been isolated at home, while the fifth – a visitor to the island – is in an isolation room at Health City Cayman Islands.
The Public Health Department is sending five samples to the Caribbean Public Health Agency to be tested for the virus. Results are expected within six days.
The five potential cases involve people “who are feeling unwell and have recently travelled to countries that are experiencing an outbreak”, according to a government press release.
The inpatient at Health City was admitted for a “cardiac event”, but has subsequently developed respiratory symptoms. Officials say this is typical for recovering heart patients but the patient is being isolated and tested “out of an abundance of caution”.
Cayman’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez said all the impacted people were in isolation and were being monitored by health professionals. He said there was no risk of onward transmission.
“The Public Health Department is in daily contact with all persons who have agreed to comply with best procedures for self-isolation while they wait for the results from CARPHA,” the release stated.
The tests are being carried out as a precaution, in line with regional guidelines, and the fact that samples are being sent for analysis does not mean that Cayman has its first case. Globally, Williams-Rodriguez said, the number of negative test results is exponentially higher than positive results. In the UK, for example, more than 20,000 people have been tested, but only 163 have been confirmed positive.
He said residents and visitors should continue to practise preventive hygiene, including regularly washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and maintaining a social distance of three to six feet from others.
“These things may seem insignificant, but they have been proven to prevent infection,” Williams-Rodriguez said. “A simple way to remember your personal responsibility in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 is to ‘Catch ‘em. Trash ‘em. Contain ‘em’.”
Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee urged members of the public with flu-like symptoms who feel there is a risk that they may have the disease, to email the Health Services Authority at [email protected] or call the flu hotline at 1-800-534-8600.
Two public meetings are being held in Grand Cayman this week to discuss coronavirus – on Tuesday, 10 March, at 7pm, at Mary Miller Hall in Red Bay; and on Thursday, 12 March, at 7pm, at the Bodden Town Civic Centre.
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