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.