Covid-19 and Cayman travel...

[KathyV]

Divers push for reopening of scuba industry - Cayman Compass

 

[Joneill]

Divers push for reopening of scuba industry - Cayman Compass

Wow - government silliness and ignorance on display to the extreme. I would have thought the Cayman government and their advisors would understand the scuba industry - apparently not at all. It's one thing to keep foreigners out, but to prevent locals from diving with some controls after months of quarantine makes little sense.

 

[scubadada]

Ignorant government leaders, so sad they could not be educated

 

[BrackaFish]

Wow - government silliness and ignorance on display to the extreme. I would have thought the Cayman government and their advisors would understand the scuba industry - apparently not at all. It's one thing to keep foreigners out, but to prevent locals from diving with some controls after months of quarantine makes little sense.

Ignorant government leaders, so sad they could not be educated

Now before you go bashing the local government, let me explain a few facts. In the Sister Islands we are allowed to dive, but Grand Cayman cannot. There are several valid reasons.
In the Sister Islands we divers are a civilized group. We don’t spit in our masks. We don’t lick each other’s regulators. We even raise our pinky finger up into the air when we drink our Red Stripe. And so we are allowed to dive.
On the other hand over in Grand Cayman, the divers are like a pack of wild rabid animals. They slobber over each other’s gear. Gathering in very large groups, they man handle stingrays and pick up poor defenseless starfish. They constantly drool into their regulators and spit into their masks. And they wonder why they are not allowed to dive. Honestly, it is truly a miracle they are not all in prison.

 

[mi000ke]

Now before you go bashing the local government, let me explain a few facts. In the Sister Islands we are allowed to dive, but Grand Cayman cannot. There are several valid reasons.
In the Sister Islands we divers are a civilized group. We don’t spit in our masks. We don’t lick each other’s regulators. We even raise our pinky finger up into the air when we drink our Red Stripe. And so we are allowed to dive.
On the other hand over in Grand Cayman, the divers are like a pack of wild rabid animals. They slobber over each other’s gear. Gathering in very large groups, they man handle stingrays and pick up poor defenseless starfish. They constantly drool into their regulators and spit into their masks. And they wonder why they are not allowed to dive. Honestly, it is truly a miracle they are not all in prison.

Guilty as charged. And we spread out all over the boat and never leave a tip. However we never pee in our wetsuits. We do have some minimal level of decorum after all.

 

[KathyV]

Now before you go bashing the local government, let me explain a few facts. In the Sister Islands we are allowed to dive, but Grand Cayman cannot. There are several valid reasons.
In the Sister Islands we divers are a civilized group. We don’t spit in our masks. We don’t lick each other’s regulators. We even raise our pinky finger up into the air when we drink our Red Stripe. And so we are allowed to dive.
On the other hand over in Grand Cayman, the divers are like a pack of wild rabid animals. They slobber over each other’s gear. Gathering in very large groups, they man handle stingrays and pick up poor defenseless starfish. They constantly drool into their regulators and spit into their masks. And they wonder why they are not allowed to dive. Honestly, it is truly a miracle they are not all in prison.

Guilty as charged. And we spread out all over the boat and never leave a tip. However we never pee in our wetsuits. We do have some minimal level of decorum after all.

Maybe this approach would stop that nasty licking behavior!

 

[mi000ke]

Dr. Lee , chief medical officer, just announced in today's briefing, in response to the Compass article, that he will be recommending that diving be allowed for those who own their own equipment once the next phase of regulations goes into effect (presumably June 22).

 

[Doctorfish]

The Premier's reasons for not allowing diving yet are among the most inane things I've ever heard. He should be nominated for a Darwin Award.

 

[tkaelin]

Tourists are not welcome in GC now due to COVID 19 but reading the news article from the Compass it looks like permit holders working in the tourism industry are not far behind on the welcome list. A number of stories with statements in them attributed to government officials about using COVID19 as an opportunity to remake the tourism industry and to get more caymanians into the business. That translates to me as expressing a preference for reducing the number of permit holders, at least in the tourism sector. Anyone picking up the same vibe?

 

[mi000ke]

Tourists are not welcome in GC now due to COVID 19 but reading the news article from the Compass it looks like permit holders working in the tourism industry are not far behind on the welcome list. A number of stories with statements in them attributed to government officials about using COVID19 as an opportunity to remake the tourism industry and to get more caymanians into the business. That translates to me as expressing a preference for reducing the number of permit holders, at least in the tourism sector. Anyone picking up the same vibe?

I think the government's primary goal is figuring out how to resurrect the tourism industry here over the next couple of years, rather than specifically limiting work permits. One of the themes being considered is positioning Cayman as a safe destination (as it was with Zika, for example). Another is to reduce the contribution of the cruise industry in favor of stay-over visitors. I personally support both.

Cayman is limiting who comes into the country for now, whether permit holders or not, to avoid importing the virus, until some method such as an "instant" test for infection before boarding a plane becomes available. And of course they are not going to let foreign workers with permits back unless they have a job to come back to - which they don't at the moment.

Anyone returning at this time (primarily citizens) needs to quarantine for at least two weeks in a government managed facility (local hotels are being used for this) and until they test negative for the virus. Local companies (or the returning employee) will have to bear the cost of the quarantine, which has been reported to be about $2000-$3000. (Note: citizens do not have to pay.) So while there are some companies that will probably see value in paying to get some of these foreign workers back when the economy opens because they can't find enough of those skills locally (e.g., the need for certified dive masters), the primary way to bring back the industry in general will probably be to train and hire Cayman citizens. And that, of course, would be beneficial to the Cayman economy in general and is wholly appropriate. Any country would and should do the same for its citizens.

The question this raises for me is why, in the past, were there so many foreign workers imported here rather than hiring locals. Depending on the answer (e.g., the demand for labor could not be fully satisfied by the local population), there is no reason to think that things won't go back to how they were at some point if the economy comes fully back.

Anyway, just my less than totally informed $0.02