Covid-19 and Cayman travel...

[scubadada]

Beaches now closed for the week

Being on Grand Cayman is not what most people would think, no diving, closed beaches...

 

[tkaelin]

Its interesting reading about how different countries are taking different approaches, in some cases widely divergent approaches to no or little restriction to an almost full lock down such as on GCM. It seems to me at least that GC approach is more of one of prevention than mitigation which must be based on the hopes of an effective vaccine being developed and administered to the island population and/or antibody testing and studies showing those who have had it cannot get it again and cannot be a transmitter. This approach could take some time and that may be why the GC authorities are suggesting a lock down possible through the end of the year.

With so much unknown at this point it is hard to meaningfully criticize the various approaches, including GCs.

 

[mi000ke]

Its interesting reading about how different countries are taking different approaches, in some cases widely divergent approaches to no or little restriction to an almost full lock down such as on GCM. It seems to me at least that GC approach is more of one of prevention than mitigation which must be based on the hopes of an effective vaccine being developed and administered to the island population and/or antibody testing and studies showing those who have had it cannot get it again and cannot be a transmitter. This approach could take some time and that may be why the GC authorities are suggesting a lock down possible through the end of the year.

With so much unknown at this point it is hard to meaningfully criticize the various approaches, including GCs.

Given what we're observing around the world, I'm very pleased with what Cayman is doing. The Premier's goal at this point (as he reiterated in today's daily briefing) is to get new virus cases to 0 for 14 days. It still appears to be possible, as up until today all identified cases were traceable to off island travel, were under quarantine and contact tracing has been pretty thorough. However, today we learned that yesterday one of the infected citizens violated their quarantine (an illegal act), and Health Services are scrambling to trace that person's contacts. Cayman also now has over 100,000 test kits - almost 2 kits per person, so once they get the test process worked out they will have the ability to do wide testing and act accordingly. Meanwhile the borders will probably remain closed until the end of the year, or at least until the risk of opening the country to the outside world becomes manageable - maybe with the introduction of vaccines.

 

[uncfnp]

I hope to not get infected though I know the likelihood is high if there are indeed additional waves as predicted. If so then my hope is 1) obviously survive, 2) confirmation of immunity and 3) the “immunity passport” becomes a viable option.

 

[KathyV]

Message Received Today from the Clearly Cayman Resorts:

"The Cayman Islands government announced today the continued closure of all airports and suspension of international flights through May 31, 2020. This extension is part of the ongoing effort to ensure that Island residents remain safe from the Coronavirus (COVID-19). There have been a relatively small number of diagnosed cases, largely attributable to quick action to close nonessential businesses and enacting strict curfew orders for residents that restrict activities to grocery/pharmacy shopping, banking and fuel purchases to specific days based on last name. The government has taken further steps to impose fines for residents that violate the curfew orders and who are not observing the social distancing requirements.

Clearly Cayman Response
“As much as we and everyone who loves diving in the Cayman Islands are disappointed in the extended delay, we all recognize the importance of preserving and protecting the health of our guests, our staff and Cayman residents. So just be assured that we continue looking forward and preparing for the announcement of the ‘all clear’ so that we can immediately welcome guests back to Reef Divers, Little Cayman Beach Resort, Cayman Brac Beach Resort, and Cobalt Coast Resort on Grand Cayman,” stated Bradley Barnett, president of the Clearly Cayman Dive Resort family of businesses.

For Guests Scheduled to Visit During This Extended Period
For guests with reservations during the extended airport closure, we will be contacting you to reschedule your travel. We are experiencing a large volume of inquiries so please be patient as we contact everyone impacted by this extension. If you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our US reservations office at CDC and your local authorities. We will continue to post regular updates to our websites and all our Facebook pages to keep you informed.

If you want to reminiscence about your last dive trip or dream about your next visit, you can check out our Facebook page Best Cayman Diving where we will continue to share diving information and experiences, celebrate all that’s great about diving in the Cayman Islands, and even give away some prizes."

 

[caydiver]

@cgills. We have a guest who is still here who is trying to get to Chicago. He has had no luck with State Dept but is going to contact Govs Office. They are looking at chartering NetJet and have a others up for it if they can get through the hurdles. Call the Gov’s Office if you are interested. Good luck!

 

[KathyV]

If you have access to Undercurrent magazine then check out the April 2020 issue. There's a lot of info about Coronavirus and an article about an American couple stranded on Utila due to Covid-19. They were trying to get from Utila to Roatan to Boston but all flights were cancelled, airports were shut down, and a curfew was in effect. They said that the American Embassy wasn't much help but the Canadian Embassy "had their act together" and were getting their people home.
Stranded in Honduras: Our Utila Escape: Undercurrent 04/2020

There were about 500 Americans stuck on Utila and Roatan and all trying to get home. The couple said that the locals were nice but there just weren't many options available. Luckily they were able to continue staying at Utila Lodge while they tried to make some arrangements.

They finally got lucky and hooked up with a production company that was on the island to make a documentary film. The group chartered (expensive) flights that eventually got them to Roatan and Miami, but they had to leave some luggage behind on Utila. They were then able to make their way home from MIA.

According to the article there are virtually no medical facilities on Utila and they were very worried about getting sick in such a remote location but I know that there are some medical facilities available on Roatan.

Grand Cayman has extensive, modern medical care facilities. The Sister Islands are about 80-90 miles away but Brac has a small community hospital and Little Cayman has an outpatient clinic. I would assume that the emergency helicopter service is usually available even when commercial air flights are cancelled, depending on the situation (e.g., not during a hurricane.)

In future, when people feel confident enough to travel again, they may start to look more carefully at travel destinations. Since Cayman is a modern country with good medical facilities available, it may become even more attractive to tourists.

 

[mi000ke]

In future, when people feel confident enough to travel again, they may start to look more carefully at travel destinations. Since Cayman is a modern country with good medical facilities available, it may become even more attractive to tourists.

My wife and I have had a few opportunities to use the healthcare system here, both for emergencies and for less urgent issues, and we have found the quality to be at least as good if not better than what we experience at home - and we're from Boston, which has some of the best health care in the country. I had a procedure scheduled back home for early May, but being stranded on Cayman at the moment had it done here a few days ago. I was again impressed by the level and quality of the medical service and facilities, as well as the attentiveness and high level of customer/patient service. This was a big factor in our deciding to spend time here. And the healthcare system is well prepared to handle any virus issues. Plus we have 100,000 test kits for 60,000 people and the government will be doling out masks to the population next week.

 

[Doctorfish]

Kathy, Mike, no question in my mind about this. I am a physician and have some medical friends on GC. Their health care system is world class with a full range of specialties and resources. With the Development of Health City, they can now handle almost everything locally. In the Caymans you can also safely drink the water, eat the food and walk the streets in safety. Some of the other dive destinations in the Caribbean and central America are what one would describe as developing economies and the lack of medical infrastructure is a reflection of this. There is a price differential between diving Cayman and everywhere else in the Caribbean but at the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

 

[KathyV]