CAYMAN
ISLANDS (March 19, 2020) – Health City Cayman Islands is reporting
that two staff members currently in
quarantine have tested positive for COVID-19. The results of the
second batch of tests run by the Cayman Islands Health Services
Authority (HSA) were announced at a Cayman Islands Government press
conference on Thursday, March 19.

Presently
thirty samples would have been tested for Health City staff members,
their families and any other individuals who were considered to be in
direct risk. This means out of these thirty tests, two would have
been positive. These persons were immediately quarantined and had
samples taken from them once a patient at the facility tested
positive for the virus on Thursday, March 12. The direct contacts of
the two individuals who have tested positive have also been in
quarantine, and neither of the COVID-19 positive staff members have
any children.

“While
we’d obviously hoped that we would have no positive cases, these
results are in keeping with the fact that those who tested positive
had more direct contact with the first patient who tested positive
and was being cared for at our facility. While these are not the
results we hoped for, we must take heart in that only two out
of thirty of the samples from the staff members
and their relatives tested returned a positive result. This shows
that our infection control and containment procedures are as
effective as possible given the circumstances. Moving
forward we must all remain calm and vigilant in our precautionary
measures,” Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Clinical Director of Health
City Cayman Islands said.

Those connected
to Health City who have tested positive for COVID-19 will remain in
quarantine for 14 days, as is the standard for these cases as
confirmed by Public Health Cayman Islands and Public Health England.
They will have confirmatory clearance tests conducted at the
conclusion of this period.

He said, “At
Health City, we have taken rigorous measures to contain the spread of
the virus, and have also been advised, instructed and reassured by
Public Health England officials in this effort that we are taking all
of the necessary and correct steps to curtail community
transmission.”

None
of the family members are showing symptoms at this time and are all
doing well. These two staff members that tested
positive are experiencing very mild symptoms.

The
hospital quarantined and tested all staff members and their families
who were at direct risk for exposure to the COVID-19 virus. The level
of contact with the patient determined the risk level. Additionally,
any of those staff members who were symptomatic were included in the
testing group.

Dr.
Chattuparambil outlined the levels of contact assessed.

“In the context
of COVID-19, there is an important degree of difference between what
is considered ‘social contact’ – such as passing someone in a
hallway; ‘infectious contact’ – such as being sneezed or
coughed on by a symptomatic contact; or ‘secondary infectious
contact’ – such as touching a surface that a symptomatic person
has sneezed or coughed on. Those individuals who have tested positive
would have had ‘infectious contact’ or ‘secondary infectious
contact’. In this instance, it is unlikely that a positive test
result would have resulted from ‘secondary infectious contact’ as
Health City employs stringent infection control procedures including
mandatory regular hand-sanitation and hand-washing by staff members,
and ongoing cleaning and sanitation of the facility,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. Studies to date suggest that the virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets rather than through the air. (Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses)

Dr.
Chattuparambil outlined that these positive staff members would
remain in quarantine for the rest of the prescribed 14 days. If they
remain symptomatic after 14 days which is unlikely, they would remain
in quarantine until symptoms disappear. This, he explained, was the
standard endorsed by visiting Public Health England officials
currently on island to assist with the Cayman Islands’ official
government response to COVID-19.

He further
explained that that any person who has had potential infectious
contact with a quarantined individual at Health City has already been
notified and has been followed up with by the Public Health
Department for evaluation and potential testing.

Currently testing
capabilities are limited on island and testing for COVID-19 and at
present is being restricted to symptomatic high risk contacts and
those that have other factors that would lead to suspicion of having
the virus. Symptoms include fever, respiratory
symptoms such as sore throat, cough, chest tightness or shortness of
breath.

According to the
Health City Infection Control Team led by pulmonologist Dr. Archita
Joshi-Bhatt, “It is advisable to self-quarantine yourself for 14
days after your last day of possible exposure. The risk of
transmission of the virus to others can be reduced by implementing
personal protective measures, such as frequent hand washing, covering
nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, avoiding close contact with
people suffering from acute respiratory illnesses and avoiding large
social gatherings.”

According to the WHO, the COVID-19 incubation period - which means the time between catching the virus and beginning to have symptoms of the disease - ranges from one to 14 days, and is most commonly around five days. (Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses)

Dr.
Chattuparambil counseled members of the public to remain calm in the
wake of the positive test results.

“Please rest
assured that we are abiding by the highest standards of infection
control and have also taken expert advice on the containment of
COVID-19. I would like to continue to urge everyone to follow
standard precautionary measures against contracting the virus,
including regular hand-washing and practicing good respiratory
hygiene,” he said.

Dr.
Chattuparambil advised that Health City is continuing to work closely
with Cayman Islands Government health officials on regular updates
regarding the local COVID-19 situation and will issue further updates
as soon as any new information is available.

Individuals who
develop any flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose etc.,
are advised to contact the Cayman Islands Public Health Department at
flu@hsa.ky or via the flu hotline at 1-800-534-8600.

For more
information about how to protect yourself from acquiring COVID-19,
visit www.hsa.ky/coronavirus
and www.gov.ky/coronavirus

About
Health City Cayman Islands

Health
City Cayman Islands, the vision of renowned heart surgeon and
humanitarian Dr. Devi Shetty, is supported by Narayana Health, one of
India’s largest private healthcare systems. Health City, only the
second hospital in the Caribbean to receive the Joint Commission
International's "hospital accreditation", provides
compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services in a
world-class, comfortable, patient-centered environment. Offering
healthcare to local, regional and international patients, Health City
Cayman Islands delivers excellence in adult and pediatric cardiology,
cardiac surgery, cardiac electrophysiology, medical oncology,
orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatric endocrinology,
gastrointestinal, hepato-pancreato-biliary and bariatric surgery,
neurology, interventional neurology and neuro-diagnostics,
neurosurgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, gynecology, urology,
pediatric allergies, colorectal surgery, dental, sleep lab and
pulmonology services.

For
further information, visit www.healthcitycaymanislands.com.

ENDS