Globally the spread of COVID-19 (or "coronavirus”) has become of the highest concern as countries, governments, heads of state, and health service organisations continually assess how to combat mounting concerns of the virus.
On 12 March the Public Health Department of the Cayman Islands confirmed its first case of COVID-19, which was identified in a cruise ship passenger following his transfer to Health City due to his experiencing critical cardiac issues.
Since then the Government has made numerous decisions, including the passage of regulations, the ban on all cruise ships, the restriction of gatherings of more than 50 people, and the denial of entry of visitors from identified high risk countries in an effort to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the people of the Cayman Islands. Most recently the Cabinet made the decision to restrict travel as a whole into and out of the country for a period of three weeks.
Whilst persons in the Cayman Islands enjoy the right of movement as engrained in s.13 of the Cayman Islands Constitution this is a qualified right and can be restricted in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; or for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons. The Commission supports the efforts of the Cayman Islands Government to protect the Cayman community with these preventative measures.
Further information on freedom of movement, other rights, or the Human Rights Commission can be found at Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 or on www.humanrightscommission.ky. You can contact the Commission via email at info@humanrightscommission.ky or via phone 244-3685.
Comments (0)
We appreciate your feedback. You can comment here with your pseudonym or real name. You can leave a comment with or without entering an email address. All comments will be reviewed before they are published.