Public Health Department Officials are aware of a local sports group traveling back to the Cayman Islands from the Dominican Republic. The Department has consulted with the team regarding its itinerary during their visit to the Dominican Republic and considers the risk of their exposure to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) as very low.

The Medical Officer of Health Dr. Samuel Williams Rodriguez notes, “the concerns are understandable given the report of a single confirmed case in the Dominican Republic yesterday Sunday, March 1, 2020, that involves one individual with a travel history to an affected region. He added, “At this time, we believe the risk of the exposure from this particular incident involving our local soccer team’s visit to the Dominican Republic to be very low. However, as more cases are confirmed within the region and the US, in this regard, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has upgraded the risk of coronavirus disease transmission from low to ‘moderate to high’ within the region.”

The Medical Officer of Health further added, “The Public Health Department seeks to assure all Caymanians and residents that we continue to monitor the global and regional COVID-19 situation carefully. As of today, March 2, 2020, there are no reported cases of the Coronavirus in the Cayman Islands. We continue to review of our plans and make adjustments where necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents of the Cayman Islands is an iterative process. We remain steadfast and vigilant, and continue to work with all local and regional stakeholders to ensure our borders are protected, reduce the chance for any imported case and to implement our plans with the highest efficiency to mitigate the impact of any virus spreading”.

For more information on COVID-19, contact the Public Health Department on 345-244-2621 or visit www.hsa.ky.

NOTE

Countries in the Caribbean that have confirmed COVID -2019

• Dominican Republic
• St Marteen
• St Barts

Residents are being reminded to “be in the know” about COVID-19 when traveling abroad and to practice general infection control measures such as:

• frequent hand cleansing with soap and water or an alcohol based hand sanitizer
• covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections, and
• avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals when travelling.