Cayman Will Re-Open Borders to Visitors in March 2021

[caydiver]

Me too. I went to GT Hospital. Super easy and well organized. Even the musical chairs. Was fine all day, but jab site is a little sore right now. Overall an excellent experience.

 

[DougieG]

What if you have had Covid-19 infection, beaten it, and are now presumably immune? Would that substitute for the vaccine requirement, as long as you have a note from a doctor saying you have had Covid, and recovered from it?

DougieG

 

[caydiver]

Only time will tell. You need to wait and hear how the reopen progresses. Right now things are still very limited but the role out of the vaccination program here is going well. Fingers crossed. If you go on gov.ky you can read all about the current requirements.

 

[Alucard]

What if you have had Covid-19 infection, beaten it, and are now presumably immune? Would that substitute for the vaccine requirement, as long as you have a note from a doctor saying you have had Covid, and recovered from it?

DougieG

As stated right now, no, that won't qualify you for entry.

 

[AggieDiver]

I guess it will be what it will be, but what bothers me is that by requiring the arrival test AFTER requiring a pre-departure test and proof of vaccination, they are implying that the local test is more accurate or trustworthy than the vaccine or the pre-departure test. If that is the case, why make you jump through the hoops to get vaccinated and do a pre-departure test? Why not just the test upon arrival and send you home or quarantine you if you fail? I know that risks infecting everybody on the flight and at the airport, but if they are saying the vaccine and the pre-departure tests are not trustworthy enough, then aren't they doing the same thing anyway? If they are good enough to get you on the plane and into the airport, they should be good enough to get you into the country.

 

[Calmseas]

It seems Grand Cayman is in a difficult place with regards to tourism. They have successfully kept COVID of the island for all intents and purposes and are happy to be in that place. The problem is they won't be able to stay in that place of comfort or lack of risk and open the borders to any meaningful tourism. There will always be risk of it getting on the island once you really open up and it may eventually slip through even after everyone is vaccinated. If they are only agreeable to a zero presence on the island, I am not sure how that will ever work in conjunction with tourism to any level seen before COVID.

I hope they can pull it off, but don't expect any significant number of people to travel to Cayman as one week type tourists for a very long time.

 

[caydiver]

Our vaccinations are going well. They will probably be changing the quarantine and travel restrictions once they reach the target number of population vaccinated. We live in a great bubble. We go out, we interact, don’t need masks etc. some of that may change and many don’t care to have that happen. However for the most part people here have been very cooperative even during lockdown. Just don’t want to repeat it unnecessarily. Luckily it is only the tourism sector that is being hard hit. Considering that new hotels are being built and new restaurants popping up it is not all doom and gloom. All the events at Cayman Cookout were sold out last week despite it basically all being locals.

 

[Alucard]

I know that risks infecting everybody on the flight and at the airport, but if they are saying the vaccine and the pre-departure tests are not trustworthy enough, then aren't they doing the same thing anyway? If they are good enough to get you on the plane and into the airport, they should be good enough to get you into the country.

I don't see it as saying that the tests are trustworthy enough.

You are supposed to get a sample taken 72 hours before flight and have it come back as negative. There is obviously a 72 hour window where someone could become positive. The check on arrival is to try to close that window of vulnerability before the tourist is allowed out into the wild on the islands.

 

[caydiver]

The only cases we have are travellers coming in. They are trying to prevent it before they come. They still need to check you when you get here and before they let you out.

 

[AggieDiver]

I don't see it as saying that the tests are trustworthy enough.

You are supposed to get a sample taken 72 hours before flight and have it come back as negative. There is obviously a 72 hour window where someone could become positive. The check on arrival is to try to close that window of vulnerability before the tourist is allowed out into the wild on the islands.

Right, but if you are also supposed to show proof of a vaccination, then how could you catch it in the 72 hour window if you are presumed to be immune? It just seems like overkill to me to require another test once you land if you were already tested and vaccinated. It should a one or the other thing IMO. If you test negative 72 hours before flying and test negative when you land, why do you have to be vaccinated. If you test negative 72 hours beforehand, and are already vaccinated, why the need to test again? Who knows when we will actually be able to get vaccinated, so it would be nice to have some combination of tests or actions that would allow you to travel there without having to be vaccinated first or quarantining for 14 days.

ETA: I am not talking about the current program specifically...but the one that is supposed to start at the end of march requiring vaccination.