Out of 316 test results today, all are negative.

·         994 anti-body screening tests are conducted so far.

·         In the past week, over 1,600 tests conducted have shown very low positives and all those are asymptomatic.

·         More reopening changes come into effect on Sunday, 5 July 2020 during this Level 2 Minimal Suppression time. These include summer camps and vacation Bible schools. The number that can gather at one time is 25 persons. Contact sports are planned to start only on 19 July.

·         In Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, restaurants and bars will be able to offer both indoor and outdoor services, with some social distancing restrictions.

·         People will be able to exercise in strata and public gyms from Sunday.

·         People travelling to the UK from Cayman Islands are exempted from quarantine as the UK has announced this today for all 14 British Overseas Territories.

·         TravelTime is actively working on more repatriation flights including to Kingston, Miami and London.

·         Forty Caymanians are among those who are lauded for their work on the 72^nd anniversary of the UK’s National Health Service.

·         The annoying numbers of Black Marsh Mosquitoes currently felt by residents are not disease carriers.

Grand Cayman (GIS) – At the COVID-19 press conference today, Friday, 3 July 2020, Cayman Islands’ leaders expressed continuing optimism at the control and management of the infection in the Islands, which includes new positive cases remaining very low. The Cayman Islands are at a very good point in relation to COVID-19 at this time.

            They also noted that more re-openings commence on Sunday, 5 July on schedule which include all restaurants and bars opening full indoor and outdoor service, as well as all gyms, summer camps and vacation bible schools, all with social distance restrictions.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Lee reported:

·         Out of 316 test results today, all are negative.

·         Of a total of 201 positives, there are no symptomatic, six are asymptomatic, none admitted and 194 have recovered.

·         There are 63 individuals at government run isolation facilities and 23 in home isolation.

·         The ‘flu clinic had 5 visits, with three having mild ‘flu symptoms and the ‘flu hotline had one ‘flu related out of 13 calls on Thursday.

·         All those called by Public Health to get retested are requested to heed the call, and be tested. This is to ensure there are no outbreaks.

·         Of 994 antibody screening tests carried out so far, two thirds were done at the HSA and one third at Health City. Predominantly covering former PCR test positives and healthcare workers, 41 of those tested are positive for antibodies. Of these, 33 were known positives with PCR tests, three contacted for presenting positive and five had no history of being positive on PCR tests. Additionally, nine previous PCR positives were negative for any antibodies.

·         Dr. Lee revealed a gadget he is testing which may be useful in monitoring persons in the future that come into the jurisdiction.

Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin said:

·         The continuing low positive tests are excellent news as CI continues to reopen the economy and society.

·         More significant re-openings commence on Sunday, 5 July.

·         The low interest loan programme for small business is going well, with so far 65 applications received with a total value of $2.221 million. Five have been approved so far.

·         For full details from the Premier, see sidebar below.

His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Martyn Roper said:

·         Cayman Islands test results are extremely encouraging.

·         The situation in the US is worrying and being watched carefully. “COVID remains a marathon, not a sprint.”

·         Cayman has done three things to be successful in managing the infection so far with its “calm, clear leadership”, its strong Public Health system and individuals taking responsibility and being serious about it.

·         The BA flight to Chennai India left successfully today with 270 Indian nationals and 50 others travelling for humanitarian reasons on the same flight and disembarking in London.

·         Airbridge BA flights will depart on 31 July and 28 August for benefit of students to the UK.

·         All those who wish to return to the CI on these flights should register at www.exploregov.ky/traveltime.

Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said:

·         The National Gallery in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the private sector are offering one-time artist grants of $1,000 per artist (20 grants are available on a first come, first served basis).

·         The mosquito creating the irritating situation felt across the island is known as the Black Salt Marsh Mosquito but is not a disease carrier.

·         For more from the Minister, see sidebar.

Sidebar: Premier Highlights More Re-openings, Support for Businesses

It’s been a week since the last press briefing and during that time we’ve continued with our aggressive testing programme and have seen more than sixteen hundred tests carried out with very low positive results and those that have tested positive being asymptomatic.

This is excellent news as we continue to reopen our economy and society.  Our plan has always been to wait at least 2 weeks between reopening phases to see what the effects of that reopening have on our community. 

It’s now been two weeks since we ended all curfews, saw more people returning back into the workforce, increased the number of people who can gather to 25, opened back our churches, cinemas, theatres and beauty salons.  While for the time being we remain at Level 2 minimal suppression I’m very comfortable moving to the next reopening changes that will come into effect on Sunday 5^th July.  These are:

·         Educational institutions and facilities, including Summer Camps and vacation bible schools may commence full operation including social and sporting activities.  (However it should be noted that sporting activities do not include contact sports which are planned to start on 19 July)

·         In Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac restaurants and bars will be able to offer both indoor and outdoor services.

o   Each table can now be six feet apart;

o   Persons at a table can now be seated three feet apart i.e. persons who are members of the same household;

o   Servers and front of house staff must wear masks or cloth face coverings while serving customers.

·         Persons will be able to exercise in a strata gym and public gym from Sunday.

·         Persons wishing to travel from Grand Cayman to the Sister Islands shall prior to travelling

o   Notify the Medical Officer of Health of the proposed travel and

o   Be tested for the virus

Again persons are reminded that they will only be permitted to travel to the Sister Islands after receiving a test results which has been declared to be negative by the Medical Officer of Health.

Travel to the UK

Some good news for our students, parents and others who will be travelling over the summer direct from Cayman to England, the UK Government has announced today that there will be no need to quarantine once you land. I’m very grateful to the Governor and others who have lobbied so hard on behalf of the Overseas Territories. All 14 British Overseas Territories have been exempted from quarantine. I’d to thank Andre Ebanks, our representative in the Cayman Islands Government Office in London for the work he and his colleagues have done to lobby the UK Government for this exemption. 

72^ND Anniversary of the NHS

The Governor will shortly speak to the 72^nd anniversary of the UK’s National Health Service and the stellar work they are doing to save lives. I do not wish to steal his thunder but I do wish to recognize the Caymanians who I understand work in the NHS.

A 2017 NHS study reported that amongst the many nationalities working in the NHS were 40 Caymanians.  If you are a Caymanian working in the NHS or know of Caymanians working in the NHS or in healthcare overseas, please encourage them to get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] or via their website www.caymanconnection.org so we can personally thank them for their hard work and dedication.

Travel Time

I’d just like to remind everyone that TravelTime went live on Wednesday, 1 July.  Anyone wishing to travel to, from and within the Cayman Islands, whether by air or sea, is asked to reconfirm their intentions and desire to travel atwww.exploregov.ky/traveltime.  

The TravelTime team is actively working on repatriation flights.  Flights currently scheduled include 3 flights to Kingston, 4, 9 and 11 July, two flights to Miami on the 8 and 10 July and a flight to London on the 31 July. I would add that there were 2 flights that left for Miami today as well as a flight through London for persons returning to India.

Micro and Small Business Grant Programme

The Cayman Islands Centre for Business Development, under the Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure, began accepting applications for grants to the micro and small business sector in April of this year.

To date, nine hundred and fifty (950) applications have been received. One million and seventy six dollars($1,076,000.00) have been paid to applicants with a further four hundred and fourteen thousand dollars (414,000) approved for payment.

·         Of the 950 applications received, 84% have been processed, with 178 business owners receiving full payment of $3,000.00.

Based on the number of approved applications, the total funds so far committed by the Government to the programme is $2.6 million.

With a 97% application approval rate, the micro and small grant programme has sought to ensure that all businesses that meet the criteria are given access to these funds.

The Centre is now moving to introduce a digital application form which will be rolled out later this month.

Low Interest Loan Programme

There have been 65 applications to the low interest loan programme with a total value of two million, two hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars ($2,221,000.00).

Five have so far been approved, with another five currently being assessed for approval. The total value of loans at the approval stage is four hundred and fifteen thousand dollars ($415,000.00)

For the benefit of those applicants who are unable to adequately present their financials to the bank, the government has also implemented a technical assistance programme, where qualified accountants have been employed to help prepare these documents at no cost to the small business owners. 

This programme has so far worked with 32 loan applicants, helping them to prepare their financial statements and business plans.

The Centre has conducted five training webinars over the period with 350 persons in attendance.

Business Advisors at the Centre will now move to introduce small group trainings based on an assessed need, with primary focus on helping small businesses to pivot in the current business environment.

Entrepreneurs, micro and small business owners interested in support, should contact the Centre for Business Development at 244-8009 or via email at [email protected]

I want to commend the team at the Centre for their tremendous work at this time.

Sidebar: Minister Seymour Outlines Help for Artists, Dealing with Mosquitoes

Today I would like to give a quick update on two areas.

Firstly, I want to remind our local artists of the Artists Relief Grant. The National Gallery in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the private sector are offering one-time Artist Grants of KYD$1,000 per artist (20 grants are available on a first come first served basis). To qualify artists should be reliant on their artwork as their primary source of income, and should be experiencing significant loss of income due to the pandemic. The deadline is 24 July 2020 and the form must be fully completed and signed to qualify. Artists should contact the National Gallery for more information and to apply at [email protected]. Artists are a huge part of our story-telling heritage so I am happy to support this great initiative.

Secondly, I want to also speak quickly to the subject of mosquitoes as I have received a few queries in this regard. The mosquito creating the irritating situation felt across the island is known as the Black Salt Marsh Mosquito. The first thing to note about them is that they are not disease carriers but we do know they are very annoying and are making life very pleasant for many of us.  In fact, they are referred to as the “nuisance mosquitoes”.

It doesn’t help that these mosquitoes are strong flyers and will travel many miles from the water in which they were produced. Females can easily fly several miles in search of blood.

I want to remind the public that The Mosquito Research and Control (MRCU) has been surveying and treating the production sites and emergent, flying and biting mosquitoes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have done so whilst, and most importantly, ensuring that personnel and staff adhere to all the proper precautions related to the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Though MRCU has tried not to allow COVID-19 to impact their service, like the rest of us it has influenced and impacted operations to some extent.

Despite limitations in airport operating hours, the aerial team has worked closely with the airport operations to continue flying at this time. Aerial and ground operations both have been impacted by high winds this month that made spray operations impossible. Additionally, aerial operations were briefly paused due to the extreme dust situation, but resumed last Friday as dust conditions improved.

I want to assure the public that the MRCU is working hard to help eliminate the problem and will continue to do so.  I encourage the public to wear environmentally safe mosquito repellent as well to help to repel the mosquitoes.

Lastly, further to the words of His Excellency and The Premier, I would like to suggest, we show our appreciation of thanks to Caymanian healthcare workers by also taking a moment to clap, which will be recorded.  I understand there will be a clap in the UK at 5pm on Sunday, so this recording will be played on various social media channels at 5pm on Sunday so that we are clapping along with all of those clapping for the NHS. 

I thank you and God Bless!