500 COVID CASES IN CAYMAN SINCE OUTBREAK

500 COVID CASES IN CAYMAN SINCE OUTBREAK

Cayman has passed the 500 mark for the number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the jurisdiction since the pandemic began just over a year ago.

Significantly though, 477 of those infected with the virus have recovered and there have only been two deaths directly linked to the disease.

According to new statistics from the Public Health Department, 82,843 COVID-19 tests have been done.

In the latest update on testing, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee reported on Thursday that of 288 COVID-19 tests carried out across the previous day only one was positive.

The individual is a traveller and they will remain in isolation until considered recovered.

Of the 22 cases being monitored, 18 are asymptomatic with the other show showing symptoms, but no one is currently hospitalised with COVID-19.

A previous report earlier in the week had put the number of persons in isolation either in their own home or a government-managed facility at 736.

That was before reports surfaced of another breach of the quarantine regulations with the person said to have now been removed from their home isolation and forcibly quarantined in a government-managed facility.

Travel Cayman which oversees the jurisdiction's COVID-19 arrivals protocols stated in a release that the offending traveller “was found to have had another person visiting with them in their yard space” in violation of the regulations.

The breach is being investigated by the police. If found guilty, the offender faces a CI$10,000 penalty.

Meanwhile, the vaccination programme is continuing.

To date, 50,763 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered. Of that, 30,607 - or 47% of the estimated adult population - have received at least one dose with 31% having completed the two-dose course.

Another shipment of the vaccine provided by the British government is due here next week (by April 7th), with a further 63,000 doses bringing the quantity of vaccines received to over 100,000, enough to vaccinate the entire adult population of 50,000 people in Cayman.

It is expected that by early May, all those over the age of 16 who want to be vaccinated could have received their second dose.

The government has pinned the reopening of the economy on the success of the vaccination programme.

While no firm target date has been set, the issue of reopening the borders to international travel especially tourism - and the economy by extension - is one of the top issues in the ongoing campaign for this month's general election on April 14th.

The consensus among the candidates has been to delay reopening until the medical experts advise otherwise.