A recent video report showing Health Minister Sabrina Turner touring the Little Cayman health centre without a mask is raising eyebrows in the community as government continues to reiterate mask mandates.
The minister, in a statement Saturday night, said her visit was made while the facility was closed.
The issue of masks has been a bone of contention since the return of cruise tourism here, with many complaints on social media about cruise shippers not being masked when they arrive.
The Compass reached out to the minister on Thursday, 14 April, for an explanation on why she was not masked on the 22 March tour when the regulations require everyone visiting health facilities to wear masks. Her Ministry of Health and Wellness issued a statement on Saturday night, stating that the facility was closed when she made the visit.
In the statement, Turner said she had made an “impromptu stop” at the Little Cayman Clinic at the end of the day, to thank the centre’s staff, and there were no patients or members of the public present at the time.
“Without proper context, I understand how the photo in question may appear,” Turner said in the statement, but added, “In retrospect, I should have used my mask, regardless of the clinic being closed.”
On Wednesday night’s episode of ‘The Resh Hour,’ Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan once again reiterated that mask requirements must be followed in the community and assured that cruise companies will be advised to remind passengers of local protocols. And the government’s website indicates that masks are legally required in healthcare centres.
The Health Services Authority’s official policy also requires masks be worn at all its facilities.
However, an astute reader spotted the health minister in a recent Government Information Services report, which was broadcast on government television and its social media pages, without a mask and sent a screenshot to the Cayman Compass expressing concern.
The image was accompanied with the comment, “When I saw that government was insisting that the mask regulations were still in effect, I was hoping you can ask the health minister why was she inside a health care facility in late March without a mask and with big shades on?”
The ministry stated that current regulations state that healthcare facilities “may require any person who visits any of such places to wear a mask and a person who refuses to do so shall be refused entry”.
In its statement, the ministry noted that the Cayman Islands government was continuing to encourage members of the public “to follow public health guidelines including proper mask-wearing to control the rate of spreading the COVID-19 infection here in the Cayman Islands”.
The video, posted on 29 April, shows the minister touring the health centre without her mask, while medical staff around her were dressed in personal protective equipment.
In the same report, Premier Wayne Panton and Tourism Minister Bryan were also filmed touring the facility, though on a separate occasion, and were captured wearing their masks.
The Little Cayman health centre tours were part of the activities Cabinet engaged in when they visited the island in late March where they held three days of meetings and engagement with the Little Cayman community.
Under the COVID-19 regulations, any person who is five years of age or older who is indoors in a public place, including an educational institution, and is unable to, or
does not maintain a distance of six feet from every other person, shall cover that
person’s mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face covering.
The government’s website states masks are ‘legally required’ in a number of locations including airports, residential care facilities and health care facilities.
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Good for her!! Cayman,what is wrong with you? Almost every other island has dropped all the mandates except for you! You have the most stupid government! The UK, has dropped all mandates and the UK rules Cayman so why is Cayman still wanting masks, vaccines and tests?
I suppose she believes in the old saying “Do as I say not as I do.”
As others have said, it’s time to let go. This approach from a school off island is the correct approach:
To limit the spread of COVID-19 and help minimize disruption from COVID-related absences, we suggest that all staff and students consider wearing a well-fitting mask when indoors. To be clear, this remains a personal decision.
Confucius say – “ when find yourself in hole – stop digging “.