A 15th person has died from COVID-19-related causes, public health officials announced Friday evening.
No other details were released relating to the latest death in Public Health’s update.
Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr. Autilia Newton also reported 488 new positive PCR tests for COVID-19, including 13 on the Sister Islands.
The number of Omicron cases, confirmed or probable, since Public Health began recording cases of the variant last month, had reached 2,559, as of Friday.
As Public Health prepares to shift from daily reporting of local COVID statistics to weekly reporting, limited information is being released. Friday’s statistics did not include the total number of reported active cases on island. The last time this number is as reported was Wednesday, when there were 3,585 active cases
As of Friday, there were eight COVID-19 patients in hospital in Cayman Islands. This included one new patient who had been admitted on Thursday.
Vaccines for vulnerable children available ‘soon’
The Public Health Department also announced Friday evening that it had received approval from the UK’s Health Security Agency (previously Public Health England) to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to vulnerable, high-risk children between the ages of 5 and 11.
Currently in Cayman, vaccines are only available to those aged 12 and over.
Public Health said it would be organising childhood immunisation clinics over the coming weeks, as they will not be administered at the COVID vaccination clinic.
The public will be advised once the clinic dates and location are confirmed.
“These vaccines need to be administered by Public Health nurses who specialise in children, as the dosage and inoculation for children differs from that of adults,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez said in a statement.
A physician’s letter in support of their patient receiving the vaccine will be required for any administration to this age group. Vulnerable or high-risk children aged 5-11 and those in the same age group living with vulnerable or immunocompromised individuals will qualify. This includes children 5-11 years old who have:
- Chronic respiratory disease
- Chronic heart conditions
- Chronic conditions of the kidney, liver or digestive system
- Chronic neurological disease (i.e., Down’s syndrome)
- Endocrine disorders
- Immunosuppression (i.e., those undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients)
- Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen
- Serious genetic abnormalities that affect a number of systems.
Regulations extended
The latest statistics come as the government announced it was extending existing COVID-related regulations until 24 Jan. The regulations had been due to expire this weekend.
In a statement, government said it was continuing to work on addressing concerns around isolation and quarantine periods and their impact on children.
However, government has made no substantive changes to the Control and Management of Covid-19 Regulations, 2022 and Control of Covid-19 (Travel) Regulations, 2022, which are consolidated versions of previous regulations.
For months, there have been repeated calls by parents for government to amend the regulations which stipulate that unvaccinated children arriving on island must quarantine for 14 days.
Though the extended regulations do not address that issue, government said it was working in an “updated regulatory framework”.
It said proposals being considered for inclusion in future regulations include:
- Children aged 0–11 taking the vaccination status of their accompanying parent/guardian.
- Children aged 5–11 following the same pre-arrival and post-arrival testing regime as adults.
- Children aged 0-4 will not be tested prior to or following arrival.
- Updates on testing and reporting procedures for travellers.
In a statement, Premier Wayne Panton said these planned changes would move the Cayman Islands into Phase 5 of its reopening plan. Cayman is currently in Phase 4, which allows vaccinated tourists to enter the islands without the need to quarantine.
“We are well aware of the many and varied concerns expressed by the business sector and the community about the reopening process. Our goal is to address these concerns while ensuring that changes are implemented safely and that we are all prepared for any scenario that may arise. We ask the public’s patience while this work continues,” Panton said.
He said that extending the existing regulations, for another 10 days, “will allow for Government to engage all stakeholders, and provide opportunities for feedback”.
He added that a reopening of the Cayman Islands to cruise tourism is not expected at this time and will “continue to be evaluated”.
Voluntary testing no longer covered
The government also announced Friday that it will no longer cover the cost of voluntary COVID testing.
In a statement, government said that Cabinet had directed that providers of COVID-19 testing may require payment from individuals and businesses engaging in voluntary testing.
The only testing that government will pay for is when the Public Health Department requires that testing take place, such as isolation/quarantine exit testing or PCR confirmation of a positive lateral flow test.
The change will impact all facilities providing testing within the Cayman Islands.
Facilities which currently offer this service include the Health Services Authority, Doctors Hospital, Health City Cayman Islands and Total Health.
Government has not recommended a specific price that facilities should charge for such testing.
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When are Public Health officials going to advise whether Covid related deaths involve unvaccinated patients or patients with severe comorbidities, which information is very much in the public interest?.How much longer does Govt need to address the flood of complaints regarding the 14 day quarantine of children even where the children have had Covid and tested negative immediately before arrival in Cayman?.
Vaccines are widely available for visiting children over the age of 5. There are no delays in the UK, US, Canada etc to access vaccines. Only Islanders who are 5-11 should be exempt as they cannot access the vaccine locally.
Children under the age of 5 should be exempt, there are no vaccines. They should follow status of parents.
Terminating the post arrival testing regime is more important to restore visitor confidence. This policy is no longer relevant. It does harm to tourism and does not materially provide protection to community health.
Kids under 12 are not a threat. The 490 positives yesterday are more of a threat. Get rid of quarantine for kids immediately!!! You are crushing the tourism economy and soon all the airlines will cancel Cayman flights permanently.
More efforts on vaccines, less in so much testing. Unlike previous strains of the pandemic, that’s the approach most countries are embracing. According to EU experts trying to stop Omicron from spreading is like “trying to stop sea waves with your hands”, so the “test everything that moves” strategy is no longer valid under these circumstances.
Public Health Official should note this down, as they are spending a lot of valuable resources on excessive testing an quarantine control (quarantines which are by far some of the longest and most restrictive in the world), having the Health Professionals overwhelmed when they should be redirecting their capacity to improve immunization. And, why not, stop scaring tourism off.