Chamber calls on government to scrap mask mandate

The Chamber of Commerce is appealing to Cabinet to lift its mandate on the wearing of masks, citing Cayman’s high vaccination rate and low hospitalisation numbers.

Current COVID regulations expire at the end of this month, and the Chamber is calling on government to make changes to the law at that point.

“It is time to move to the next phase of the reopening plan. Removing the indoor mask mandate for businesses and simplifying travel restrictions is the natural next step,” Chamber president Shomari Scott said in a statement Wednesday.

He added, “At present and based on the science, the level of vaccinations administered in our community and the relatively low hospitalization and infection rate since reopening our borders to visitors is a clear sign that we are ready to reclaim our position as a premier tourism destination and restore a marquee industry that is the lifeblood for many small and micro businesses.”

Cayman is currently in Phase 5 of its reopening plan – the final phase before all restrictions are dropped. Tourists arriving by air were allowed back on island in November last year, and cruise tourism resumed last month.

The Chamber noted that Jamaica dropped its indoor mask mandate last week, and that the US had scrapped requirements to wear masks on public transport. It also pointed out that some countries, including Aruba and Puerto Rico, were relaxing pre-arrival testing for incoming travellers in time for an anticipated busy summer season.

”Lifting restrictions at this point… based on limited hospitalizations will make it easier to travel to Cayman and will help us to continue to restore our tourism product to improve our economy,” said Scott.

”The longer we wait to lift the restrictions and regulations, the longer it will take for our islands to fully recover,” he added.

At a press briefing last month, government officials said the mask mandate would be reviewed when the current regulations expire at the end of April.

The issue of mask wearing indoors came to the forefront recently after Health Minister Sabrina Turner failed to don a mask while touring a medical facility in Little Cayman last month.

While acknowledging that she should have worn a mask, she said the clinic was closed when she visited, and her ministry, in a statement, pointed out that existing COVID regulations state that medical facilities and businesses ‘may’ mandate the wearing of masks, implying that it is optional for a premises to require visitors or customers to wear masks.

The Compass had reached out to the ministry for a definitive response on whether a business has the discretion to ask customers to wear masks while inside its premises, and is awaiting a response.

A mask-less Turner was videoed by the government’s channel CIGTV alongside medical staff wearing full personal protective equipment touring the Little Cayman Clinic on 22 March. The clinic is run by the Health Services Authority, which has adopted a policy requiring masks be worn inside its facilities.

Other health facilities, including Health City and Doctors Hospital, also require anyone entering their premises to wear masks.

Masks in restaurants

Under the existing regulations, servers and front-of-house staff at bars and restaurants are required to wear masks while serving customers, but the regulations seem to indicate that requiring customers to wear them is at the discretion of the establishment.

Markus Mueri, the representative of the restaurant industry on the board of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, this week told the Compass that it’s time to call a halt to mandatory wearing of masks inside restaurants and bars.

He said he is expecting government to announce soon that the wearing of masks in indoor public areas will be scrapped.

Mueri said that it was already evident at a number of establishments that neither staff nor customers were adhering to mask-wearing rules. “People are not necessarily enforcing the mask regulations,” he said.

Under current regulations, staff in restaurants are required to wear masks. In restaurants where the owners or operators have implemented a mask rule for customers, diners and drinkers can sit at a table or bar without them but must wear them while going to the bathroom or moving around the premises.

Meanwhile, Mueri said, it was common to see mask-less cruise ship passengers in buses where the drivers are also not using masks, even though it is mandatory for public transport drivers to wear them.

Mueri’s argument is that the rules are being widely flouted and are not being enforced, so what difference would it make to simply abandon the mandate, and allow the wearing of masks to be a personal choice.

“If you feel uncomfortable around people, put on a mask,” he said.

Many countries, including the UK, Ireland and the US, have scrapped mask mandates.

Mueri said his understanding of the current regulations is that “If you enter a restaurant, you are required to wear a mask. When sitting, you can take your mask off. If you’re going to the bathroom, you must wear a mask. If standing at the bar, you don’t have to wear one.”

“I think the government should come out with a clear-cut statement of what the rules are,” he said.

What the regulations say

Here is the full section of the regulations dealing with the wearing of masks:

7. (1) Subject to paragraph (4), any person who is five years of age or older who is indoors 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, except —
(a) where the person is unable to wear a mask or cloth face covering due to a
medical condition or the person is otherwise exempted by guidance
provided by the Medical Officer of Health;
(b) where the person is sitting without talking or eating —
(i) at the person’s desk at the person’s place of employment; or
(ii) at the person’s desk, or at a table, at the person’s educational institution, or
(c) where the person is a customer who is indoors a restaurant or bar and is
sitting at a table or counter inside of the restaurant or bar.
(2) A person who refuses to wear a mask or cloth face covering because of a medical
condition shall not be required to produce documentation verifying the condition.
(3) Paragraph (1) applies to all persons including employees and customers of
businesses and other organizations open to the public.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the owner or operator of —
(a) a health care facility;
(b) a residential home care facility;
(c) a prison or place of detention;
(d) an airport;
(e) a place of business; or
(f) such other public place as may be specified by notice by the Medical Officer of Health, 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.