Cayman Islands extends ban on cruise ships
The Cayman Islands government extends its ban on cruise ships until 31 December due to COVID-19.
Acting Port Authority Director Joseph Woods confirmed that a notice was already given to the islands’ cruise industry partners.
“I sent it to the major cruise lines, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, local shipping agents and tender operators,” he told the Cayman Compass in a telephone interview.
In Cayman, the first recorded case of COVID-19 involved a passenger from the Costa Luminosa cruise ship. The Italian passenger sought medical treatment after suffering a heart attack but was later diagnosed with COVID-19 and died at Health City Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands government to stop allowing cruise ships to dock on the island since 16 March.
Cruise industry worldwide has been struggling after several ships the reported outbreak of COVID-19 on board.
Cayman Island is COVID-19 free for a month
After having no new case of COVID-19 for a month, the Pan-American Health Organization has lowered the transmission level rating of Cayman Islands from sporadic to no cases.
Premier Alden McLaughlin thanked PAHO, the stakeholders and the general public for the achievement.
“I am gratified that Cayman has now been declared COVID-19-free by PAHO, one of the very few countries in the world to have achieved that status. This is testament to the careful thought, expert advice and effective execution of the Government’s strategy, coupled with the cooperation of the general public.”
Cayman’s latest batch of COVID-19 tests on Thursday all returned negative as the country’s screening tests crossed the 32,000 mark.
However, Public Health and Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee emphasised there is no time to relax because there is still possibility of having positive cases .
“Cayman has continued to operate a degree of international air travel since our first air bridge in April, which presents an ongoing risk, albeit mitigated by our isolation efforts – we continue our cautious approach. The current Public Health Regulations still stand, although they are under constant review.”
Citing the continuous spread of COVID-19 worldwide particularly in the United States, the Government has also extended border closures until 1 October.