Cayman possible border reopening without quarantine by April or May!

[Joneill]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the radio silence. We actually had a very busy holiday season. While the total number of guests was of course down from 2019, the fact that we have 1/3rd of the staff we had then made us quite busy.



We've had a number of travelers in from the states, and a few staff members also make the trip, returning from trips to the US.

I wrote about my own experiences applying to travel Cayman here: Navigating "Travel Cayman"

and flying back to Cayman here: Flying to Cayman in a COVID world

I will be writing an update on the Lateral Flow Testing shortly, which is quite easy. Many hotels are offering it in-house now.



The Aggressor V left to Honduras for a refit in September, and has not returned. Rumor is that boat is operating in the BVI now.



I find, aside from masks, it's business as normal. Stores, restaurants and dive shops are open for business. Many dive boats are running set schedules like Monday, Wednesday, Friday, sort of thing. Divetech will run the boats for 2 paying guests presently.



OF is. Sunset House is. Cobalt Coast just announced on FB they are now open. We never closed.



As said above, it's been very busy for us due to the Christmas rush. Most of our staff went 2 weeks without a day off.



The testing is pretty quick and easy, and most accommodations are offering it in-house to save you the trip to a doctor.



Omicron is very prevalent on the island right now, and if you do have a positive test, your vacation is ruined. However numbers don't tell the full story, and with a modicum of common sense, it's easy to protect yourself, and avoid catching it,

Many of the community transmissions are due to 2 reasons: 1) There are many "party boats" and party events that end up being superspreader incidents. 2) There are many service personal who, due to the high cost of living here, live in quite close confinement with many others. It's not uncommon for workers to live in an apartment with 8 others.

With distancing, sanitization, vaccination, and common sense, you can have a reasonable degree of confidence you will not catch COVID here. So don't go on a party boat or event where 100 others are sweating, bumping and grinding to dance music. Eat at open air restaurants who don't pack their tables together.

None of our staff have had it, nor any of the staff at our competitors, or any of our customers. That's not to say you couldn't get it, but it's pretty reasonable you can avoid it.



SCTLD has made it around the island completely. Some of our staff work for or volunteer for the DOE SCTLD task force. We still have our disinfecting tank set up. So does SunDivers.

Thanks for the detailed response.

However, for Omicron, my experience is that it is incredibly transmissible - much more so than any previous variant. I personally know of many friends, family and co-workers that caught it through seemingly short, casual, non- large group contacts (all after avoiding it for almost 2 years). So… it is not as easy to avoid as you may think at this point and the travel segments (airport and airplane) are riskier than they had been.

The good news is that everyone I know (except 1) had nothing worse than cold/flue-like symptoms for a few days (most were super mild). So - not concerned about actually getting Covid, but concerned about picking it up during travel and testing positive a few days in.

By April, this peak should be well in the rear view mirror so I’m hoping to still get to do this trip - but will reassess as we get closer.

Question on the SCTLD: how bad has it impacted the reefs? I’ve seen no recent pictures, but it hadn’t been sounding good from the official reports.

 

[drrich2]

The good news is that everyone I know (except 1) had nothing worse than cold/flue-like symptoms for a few days (most were super mild). So - not concerned about actually getting Covid, but concerned about picking it up during travel and testing positive a few days in.

If you're vaccinated, then yes, Omicron is thought to be less risky than Delta (not no risk, though, especially for the elderly with comorbid conditions). But it still puts some people in the hospital, and kills some.

The unvaccinated still have cause to fear Omicron.

Like you, my fear is getting stuck somewhere in quarantine past my original trip plan.

 

[Joneill]

If you're vaccinated, then yes, Omicron is thought to be less risky than Delta (not no risk, though, especially for the elderly with comorbid conditions). But it still puts some people in the hospital, and kills some.

The unvaccinated still have cause to fear Omicron.

Like you, my fear is getting stuck somewhere in quarantine past my original trip plan.

Agreed - the “except 1” reference in my post was to an unvaccinated 70ish distant acquaintance who contracted Covid about a week before Christmas and then waited 6 days to seek medical care while his symptoms got worse - at which point it was too late and he died the day before Christmas Eve.

As has been the case all along, the vast majority of deaths have been in people with significant co-morbidities (regardless of age) especially those that are overweight/obese. Hopefully, this experience will drive more people to get healthier and lose the weight as this pandemic has been far worse than it needed to be in the US as a result of the poor health/fitness of a large % of the population.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

However, for Omicron, my experience is that it is incredibly transmissible - much more so than any previous variant. I personally know of many friends, family and co-workers that caught it through seemingly short, casual, non- large group contacts (all after avoiding it for almost 2 years). So… it is not as easy to avoid as you may think at this point and the travel segments (airport and airplane) are riskier than they had been.

Yep, there certainly is a risk. But there is risk with anything in life, and everyone needs to make their own personal assessment. I've always joked that your biggest risk in Grand Cayman, is walking down West Bay road in the evening, where locals seem to think the section by Lone Star is a 1/4 mile dragstrip.

The info I provide is purely anecdotal, but of the 40 or so customers we had over the holiday break, along with the customers of our fellow West Bay operators, none had an issue, and none tested positive. None of the staff at any dive centers, or the bartenders and servers we all know and associate with have tested positive.

The worst I heard about was my own personal doctor - on her staff she had 3 nurses test positive who had to be isolated. Our only staff member who has children had 2 of his kids test positive, however neither he or his wife have.

Question on the SCTLD: how bad has it impacted the reefs? I’ve seen no recent pictures, but it hadn’t been sounding good from the official reports.

It's hard to quantify that statement. Some people, like the folks on the SCTLD task force look at the reef and think all of them are decimated. Others don't seem to notice it at all.

It has impacted certain species of coral. Mainly it affects the brain, pillar and staghorn corals among others. But it does not impact every species, and there are still many beautiful healthy corals on the reef. I notice it on sites I dive regularly, but this is because I tend to look for and photograph the critters that live on and in these corals.

However this is like not noticing the trees through the forest. If some trees in the forrest rot away, you still have thousands of others, along with all of the birds and animals. Some visitors say how bad the reef looks. Other visitors comment that it's not nearly as bad as they were lead to believe. Joanna - the owner of Divetech who is heavily involved with the SCTLD task force says she was taken to the epicenter site on the north wall which was supposed to be the most heavily impacted site. She said she found this section reef to be the most healthy and vibrant of any she had dived in Cayman.

Like you, my fear is getting stuck somewhere in quarantine past my original trip plan.

Like I said there is some risk, and while this has not happened to anyone we know, there are stories, some of which have been publicized in articles and blogs. Recently I read the blog about the horrors of a women who was forced to quarantine in an oceanview suite at the Kimpton and do nothing but read her books, look at the ocean and ride the Peloton machine they were kind enough to provide for her.

Tony

 

[mi000ke]

Quarantine after testing positive just reduced to 6 days (from 14) plus exit test on day 7 for vaccinated people. Slowly getting better.

Quarantine period reduced for COVID

The amount of time people with COVID must spend in quarantine before becoming eligible for an exit test has been cut to seven days for vaccinated people and 10 days for those who have not been vaccinated.

www.caymancompass.com

 

[tridacna]

Mexico just seems so much better every time I read the Cayman Compass.

There is no way that I'm risking a vacation with that labyrinthic process and constantly changing set of rules. You have to take a PCR to be able to leave isolation? Did I read that correctly? PCR tests can continue to read positive for months after infection. Did anyone think this through?

 

[Joneill]

Yep, there certainly is a risk. But there is risk with anything in life, and everyone needs to make their own personal assessment. I've always joked that your biggest risk in Grand Cayman, is walking down West Bay road in the evening, where locals seem to think the section by Lone Star is a 1/4 mile dragstrip.

The info I provide is purely anecdotal, but of the 40 or so customers we had over the holiday break, along with the customers of our fellow West Bay operators, none had an issue, and none tested positive. None of the staff at any dive centers, or the bartenders and servers we all know and associate with have tested positive.

The worst I heard about was my own personal doctor - on her staff she had 3 nurses test positive who had to be isolated. Our only staff member who has children had 2 of his kids test positive, however neither he or his wife have.



It's hard to quantify that statement. Some people, like the folks on the SCTLD task force look at the reef and think all of them are decimated. Others don't seem to notice it at all.

It has impacted certain species of coral. Mainly it affects the brain, pillar and staghorn corals among others. But it does not impact every species, and there are still many beautiful healthy corals on the reef. I notice it on sites I dive regularly, but this is because I tend to look for and photograph the critters that live on and in these corals.

However this is like not noticing the trees through the forest. If some trees in the forrest rot away, you still have thousands of others, along with all of the birds and animals. Some visitors say how bad the reef looks. Other visitors comment that it's not nearly as bad as they were lead to believe. Joanna - the owner of Divetech who is heavily involved with the SCTLD task force says she was taken to the epicenter site on the north wall which was supposed to be the most heavily impacted site. She said she found this section reef to be the most healthy and vibrant of any she had dived in Cayman.



Like I said there is some risk, and while this has not happened to anyone we know, there are stories, some of which have been publicized in articles and blogs. Recently I read the blog about the horrors of a women who was forced to quarantine in an oceanview suite at the Kimpton and do nothing but read her books, look at the ocean and ride the Peloton machine they were kind enough to provide for her.

Tony

Thanks for taking the time to participate and the detailed and candid answers.

Fingers crossed that things continue to improve and I’ll be back enjoying some great diving and supporting the Cayman Dive Ops in April - definitely plan on getting some day and night dives in at Lighthouse Point!

 

[staggsSevin]

I think it'll be like anywhere and the process will (hopefully) continue to improve over time. Seems like if omnicron was going to shut them down again it would have been done already.

I totally get not wanting to deal with a lot of the logistics for sure, there's a reason I hit up Cozumel twice last year vs going other places.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Mexico just seems so much better every time I read the Cayman Compass.

It is a constantly changing bar, but to put some perspective on it, it's not that bad. Having gone through the process, the LFT tests take only minutes. Literally you walk in the tent, sign your name, they swab you and you're out the door. Most hotels do it on-site. For my 3 tests I walked the 5 minutes from my house to the testing site. My tests took 3 minutes from the time I walked in the door to the time I walked out. You don't need to even wait for the results, the assume it's negative and call you if it's otherwise. The worst part IMO is the $90 you spend on them. That's beer money.

You have to take a PCR to be able to leave isolation? Did I read that correctly? PCR tests can continue to read positive for months after infection. Did anyone think this through?

This one we agree on. And so does CITA. They are actively working on changing this.

I think it'll be like anywhere and the process will (hopefully) continue to improve over time. Seems like if omnicron was going to shut them down again it would have been done already.

It seems (at present) unlikely that Cayman will shut down again, unless the Sigma variant, or whatever the next wave is ends up having a catastrophic amount of hospitalizations and deaths. There was massive community pushback in October when they delayed the opening.

I totally get not wanting to deal with a lot of the logistics for sure, there's a reason I hit up Cozumel twice last year vs going other places.

Just remember though the US requires a negative test to get back in, so I would say Cozumel (or any other destination) has a similar level of risk when it comes to travel complications.

 

[staggsSevin]

Just remember though the US requires a negative test to get back in, so I would say Cozumel (or any other destination) has a similar level of risk when it comes to travel complications.

I don't worry about the return part too much, I take my laptop so I can work if I get stranded, locked up in a hotel room etc.

I'm rolling the dice on Fiji come late April/May for two weeks....a lot can change before then for sure. If Fiji closes down again I'll target the Caymans for that time period. Probably one of our best trips was a week at LCBR then the following week we spent 4-5 days diving with you guys on the way back.