Cayman Islands, February 23rd, 2021 (Cayman Compass) The Cayman Islands is moving closer to its target of vaccinating 90% of its over-60 population, with 81% having received at least one of the two-dose COVID-19 inoculation by Friday.
Premier Alden McLaughlin earlier month announced that COVID protocols could be eased once 90% of those aged 60 and over were vaccinated.
With some 5,000 residents of the Cayman Islands in that age bracket, approximately 4,500 would need to receive both doses of the vaccine before changes will be made to the islands’ quarantine rules. By Monday, some 4,050 had received at least their first shot.
McLaughlin said once the target has been reached, the mandatory 14-day quarantine could be reduced to 10 days.
The total number of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines administered up to today was 19,938, with 7,693 people having completed the two-dose course so far. The latest statistics also show that 87% of those aged over 70 also have received at least one vaccination shot.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee reported on Monday that there were three new positive cases of COVID-19 – all among travellers who will remain in isolation until they test negative.
This brings to 26 the number of current active cases of coronavirus in Cayman. Just one of those cases is symptomatic. None have required hospitalisation.
Since the first cases in Cayman were reported in March last year, 431 people have tested positive for COVID. There have been no community transmission cases for several months.
All arriving passengers are required to present a negative COVID test before boarding a flight to Cayman. They are then tested again upon arrival on island and placed in mandatory isolation for 14 days, before undergoing another test on the 15th day.
As of Monday, 729 people were in quarantine either at a government facility or in their homes.