By: Gina Matthews GIS

Effective 7 November 2020 travellers residing in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman will be permitted to quarantine at their residence (QAR).

The Cayman Islands government has today announced that it has extended this option to the Sister Islands based on the success of the pilot programme in Grand Cayman. Consequently, Sister Islands residents who meet the established criteria will be able to spend the mandatory 14 day quarantine period at home, provided they agree to wear monitoring technology and their homes have been pre-approved by Public Health. If they reside with other people, all members of the household will be quarantined at the same time and are subject to the same requirements as the traveller.

To facilitate the programme’s implementation in the Sister Islands, the process currently in place in Grand Cayman will be replicated in Cayman Brac but on a smaller scale and will be managed by the Ministry of District Administration. Teams are in the process of being trained to undertake the various responsibilities, including PCR testing at the airport; fitting travellers with their wristbands; onboarding them to the geofencing platform; carrying out the monitoring and compliance requirements and conducting random spot checks. 

Given that the programme is anticipated to be on a smaller scale than currently pertains in Grand Cayman, the only difference is that travellers will not be transported to their homes via authorized transportation. Instead, they will be permitted to self-drive in their private vehicle and will be accompanied to their residence by an enforcement vehicle, to ensure that stops are not made along the way. 

Travel Cayman Application Process

Persons wishing to quarantine at their residence in Cayman Brac or Little Cayman must first register their travel request using the Travel Cayman online portal and should select Cayman Brac or Little Cayman as their preferred quarantine option. If the traveller will quarantine with non-travelling household members, their details must be entered at the same time. Questions or concerns should be directed to the Travel Cayman team by emailing [email protected]  or by calling 743 8463 between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The web address for the Travel Cayman portal is https://www.exploregov.ky/TravelCayman

Quarantine at Residence Approval

Travellers should note that permission to quarantine at home is not guaranteed and is subject to approval by the Medical Officer of Health.  Once approved, the traveller will receive an email from Travel Cayman with an attached Certificate to Travel. If the quarantine location should not be approved, the traveller can re-apply with a suitable location or will be required to quarantine either at a government-sponsored or privately run facility in Grand Cayman. Irrespective of where a person is quarantining, the mandatory quarantine period is 14 days followed by a COVID-19 PCR test on day 15 and a negative result signed off by the Medical Officer of Health is required for the quarantine period to cease.

Travellers quarantining at home are asked to allow 24 -72 hours for the off-boarding process, which includes receipt of the negative test result, removal from the monitoring dashboard and return of the monitoring equipment.

Delivery of Food and Supplies

While a household is in quarantine, food, medication and essential supplies should be ordered from suppliers who offer contactless payment and delivery. This means paying online or over the phone and having the delivery left outside the front door. There should be no face-to-face or direct physical contact.

When receiving supplies, persons in quarantine should wear a mask and must wait until the person making the delivery has left the property. Persons who do not reside in the household should not enter the yard space if someone in quarantine is outside at the same time. Delivery personnel, relatives and friends are not allowed to enter the home or have physical contact with the occupants while they are in quarantine.

Penalties

Any breach of these conditions may result in removal from the programme without notice and a requirement to complete the quarantine period in a government quarantine facility. Additionally, the penalties under Section 71 of the Public Health Law (2002 Revision) were recently increased to a fine of ten thousand dollars and imprisonment for two years, and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of five hundred dollars for every day on which the offence continues after conviction.

The QAR programme is part of the Governments multi-tiered strategy to protect the islands from COVID-19. It was initially trialled with a select group of participants in September, followed by the launch of a pilot programme on 1st October. To date, approximately 70 % of travellers have opted to quarantine at home rather than in a government or privately run facility.

Dr Tasha Ebanks Garcia, Director Travel Cayman, explained that “having to quarantine after travel is a necessary protection for our Islands and being able to spend the time in the comfort of your own home helps to make the sacrifice a little easier.  I am very pleased with the success of this programme thus far and commend all of the participants for their compliance and taking the quarantine responsibilities seriously. Since launching the programme our teams have been continually reviewing and evaluating the processes and technology and are largely satisfied with the results. Where necessary, minor tweaks and adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience and improve response times, and feedback from all quarters has been encouraging.”

Cayman Airways Repatriation Flights to Cayman Brac

Cayman Airways has scheduled two flights from Miami on Friday, Nov 20th and Fri Dec 4th which will stop in Cayman Brac to allow passengers to disembark, prior to proceeding to Grand Cayman. Based on demand, more flights will be added in the future. For health and safety reasons, no passengers will be permitted to board the flight in Cayman Brac. To book a flight, contact Cayman Airways by calling: 345-949-2311, 1-800-422-9626 (toll-free in the USA); or book online at www.caymanairways.com

For the latest news and information regarding travel to and from the Cayman Islands please visit https://www.exploregov.ky/travelUpdated: November 3, 2020