Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee says self-administered lateral flow tests, which can be used at home to detect COVID antigens rapidly, are expected to be available when schools return after the mid-term break.
The Ministry of Education announced on Wednesday night that government schools on Grand Cayman would close early for mid-term break because of the rising number of COVID cases, and related requirements for self-isolation, among students and teachers.
“We are doing this in order that we can try and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Lee said in a video message Thursday.
He urged children and parents not to mix with other families and households during the break, as the purpose of closing the schools earlier than scheduled was to break the cycle of transmission.
Lee said the government plans to roll out lateral flow tests in the second half of the school term, after the mid-term break.
The tests will be used to help with early detection of COVID-positive cases among students, who would be excluded from school and given PCR tests to confirm the results.
This approach would mean that, in cases where a child is found to be positive for the virus in one of the antigen tests, the individual student could be kept out of school, rather than the child’s entire class, or school being closed whenever a cases if detected.
Dozens of students in at least eight schools and two pre-schools have tested positive for coronavirus in the past month.
Speaking in Parliament about plans to introduce lateral flow tests, Premier Wayne Panton said, “Many of these tests can be self-administered and have the potential to eliminate the challenges presently faced by employers, patrons, customers, students and those wanting to go to the gym. Living with COVID means that we will try to keep our unvaccinated children in school using regular lateral flow testing and the isolation only of those who have tested positive rather than the whole class.”
Lateral flow testing will be used when students return to classes after mid-term break on 25 Oct.
Lee said the lateral flow tests can be used much more frequently than PCR tests, “so will give us much more real-time evidence around making decision about what to do.”
He added that more information about how the lateral flow tests would be used will be available “in due course”.
The tests could arrive on island as early as next week, Lee said, so trials could begin at that point.
Mid-term break for the schools originally was scheduled for 14 Oct. John Gray and Clifton Hunter High Schools closed from Thursday, while Cayman Islands Further Education Centre, Lighthouse School and primary schools on Grand Cayman will close for their mid-term break on Monday, 11 Oct.
Lee advised children and their families to contact their doctor or the Flu Clinic if they feel sick or have any COVID-19 symptoms during the mid-term break.
The Flu Clinic can be contacted on 949-3077 or 1-800-5348600 or via email at [email protected].
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